Not long to go ...
Not long to go ...
Cartel de 1881.
There hasn't been a fiesta without a poster since then. At first, posters were used to announce the programme of the fiesta and were put up in conspicuous places like stations, bars, markets and crossroads. As media like radio, television and Internet didn't exist, posters were the most effective way to announce the days of fiesta, the bull fair and most significant events.
That's why older posters are nearly always overloaded and elaborate, their having to include a lot of information. Nowadays, appearance is everything and the only information given is the dates. The San Fermin posters now appear on a wide range of supports, not just in conventional poster form. Although they now bear less information, they have also become better-known and are a clear reference point for San Fermin. Many of these works of art have followed the trends of the artistic avant-garde of the day and haveemployed brave, daring formats which have marked the way for many other fairs, fiestas and artists.
At the end of the XIX century, the posters were generally vertical and used a rich palette of colour. References to bulls, together with horses and the heraldry of Pamplona, were the most popular themes. In 1886 and 1894, a horizontal poster was chosen and one even imitated a train ticket.
The Bullrun was included for the first time on the 1895 poster, but only the last part, in the bullring itself. The main theme that year, for example, was Sarasate. The posters show that the Bullrun was not particularly important for those who wanted to illustrate the fiesta. The Bullrun did not feature again until 1904, and not until 1913 was it the main theme of a poster, as it was in 1917, 1922, 1927 and 1936.
The essential red and white of today's posters are a recent addition. 1936 was the first year in which the poster made a direct reference to people dressed in red and white. Before that, a municipal txistulari (1930), dressed in immaculate white, was nearest thing. It was when the costume started to become popular at street level in the 50s that these colours started to dominate and inspire the works of art which announced the fiestas.
