Several events will take place today on the 25th anniversary of the events of Sanfermin 1978, when the fiestas were suspended on the 8th of July of that year after the serious incidents which took place at the end of the bullfight and which resulted in the death from gunshots of the young man, Germán Rodriquez. A dozen other people suffered gunshot wounds in the ring or later in the streets after the forces of Public Order entered the bullring and this lead to serious disorders in the city of Iruña/Pamplona.

It is planned to pay homage to Germán Rodríguez at the spot where he fell dead in Roncesvalles street. There will be “txalaparta” music “aurresku” dancing and “bertsolaris.” Some of his old comrades from the LKI party that he belonged to will also attend. Further events will take place in the afternoon in the bullring, where music will be played and an “aurresku” dance homage will be made. Moreover, today the peña clubs will not play any music in the stands and their exit from the bullring will be made in silence.

The incidents of that fateful 8th July, 1978 began inside the bullring. When the bullfight was over, and with the crowd shouting and whistling in the stands, the anti-riot police entered the bullring and charged against people who were about to exit from the ring. The people rushed back up to the stands and from there they threw bottles, seat cushions and plastic ice buckets at the police until they eventually pulled back out of the ring. Already some shots had been fired by the police. When the public managed to leave the bullring, news spread quickly about the incident and there were further incidents in the street between the police and the people. There was eventually a total of some one hundred wounded, ten of those from bullets, and one death: Germán Rodríguez, killed by a gunshot to his head. That year the fiestas were suspended. Today those events will be remembered.

For more information, visit our Sanfermin guide