The “Running of the bulls of the 15th July” closes the fiestas

15/07/2009. On the Telephone stretch for a few short meters the runners recovered the tradition of the running of the bulls in front of an urban bus, and one of the runners even got up on the roof of the bus

The running of the bulls of the 15th of July was celebrated with its usual zany humor and crowded participation. The “15th of July movement” faithfully kept their appointment, among them, the monkey, “Txarly”, “The Holy Patron”, “the macebearers” and “Indurain” the cyclist. Some two hundred people attended the event imitating a normal running of the bulls but where nothing is normal. There are no bulls, no fencing, no passes, no runners, but plenty of zany humor and with a real fiesta spirit. The crowd followed behind “Indurain” all along the length of the course along with the monkey “Txarly,” singing songs, both humorous and at the same time in protest. Perhaps the most popular one goes something like “The fiestas are not over, just because the Mayor says they are”, and others that remember the role of the municipal police in poor taste.

“Indurain” was riding his “special” bike, “La Spada” and he had to overcome several obstacles along the course. On the Santo Domingo stretch, near City Hall square he came across a sofa abandoned in the middle of the street and he was forced to make his first stop. The anti-slide liquid on the ground at the Mercaderes bend was another of the stumbling blocks he needed to overcome. Here all the participants slid to the ground. A pile-up ensued and it seems there was a bit of everything here. Someone even said that the monkey “Txarly” had been abused, but only just a little. Txarly admitted to this reporter that he didn’t remember a thing.

On reaching the end of the course there was one final act when some of the participants blocked the no.3 urban bus by running in front of it for a few meters. One of the “runners” got up on the roof of the vehicle while some others lay on the ground in front of it. The passengers got off the bus with an indulgent smile on their faces but the driver of the bus was heard to curse and slate the culprits. When the municipal police appeared, the group broke up and the “running of the bulls of the 15th” was over for another year, but they will be back next year no doubt.