Telefónica

Just in front of the Telephone Exchange this is a short stretch of about 90 metres (about a 100 yards) which opens out at the end of Estafeta Street and leads to the corral at the entrance to the bull ring. Here, a lot of runners are bunched up ready to lead the bulls towards the corral and on down into the ring. Many of them are inexperienced and are a potential hazard to each other as they run towards the narrow corral. By this stage there is a good possibility that one or more of the bulls has become separated which greatly increases the potential danger.

This stretch swerves progressively towards the left until it goes straight down the final stretch leading into the bull ring. Here, the bulls speed up which usually means that the runners who are trying to lead the bulls cannot do so at the same speed. This provokes many dangerous situations and that is why statistically speaking there are a high number of incidents occurring on this final stretch.

There is a traditional belief in the use of a rolled-up newspaper as if it were some kind of baton to help lead the bulls along. And this is indeed the case when it is done by an experienced hand and following the guidelines of the bull minders with their canes. Without this coordination between both parts, hasty actions can create complicated situations for everybody.