Not long to go ...
Not long to go ...
© Mikel Urmeneta
© Javier Rey
Officially, the fiestas come to a close on the 14th of July, but there are those who prolong it into the morning of the 15 th , even creating their own "running of the bulls". This particular running has its origins in the legendary "Running of the public bus". With the official fiestas over, this morning bus would once again take up its habitual route by way of the slope of Santo Domingo Street and pass by the now empty bull-pen.
The gathered crowd would anxiously await its early-morning appearance. They would sing in front of the niche to the saint (now substituted by an empty bottle) and of course, it was prohibited to shout to catch the attention of the "beast", etc. This was a tongue-in-cheek disrespect to the established order for having brought the fiestas to a close. And the established order was not amused. So it has done all it can to stop this "running in front of the early-morning bus". The bus schedule was changed to ensure that it would not run at that time. But for some people it didn't make any difference. They just ran in front of whatever vehicle made an appearance - perhaps a delivery truck heading for the nearby public market or indeed, any vehicle that came up Santo Domingo Street .
Lately, the thing has changed somewhat. Now the crowd run in front of a cyclist (dressed in his proper gear, of course) or someone dressed up in a "bull" suit. And there are some homilies sung to the saint, to whom some have given the name of Holy Patron of the 15 th . It would seem that it is a saint somewhat "under the weather" and very much alive, who parades about after the "Pobre de Mí" closing ceremony and goes about blessing the people until the early-morning running takes place.
If you want more information, you can find it at http://www.movimiento15dejulio.com/
