The third day of bullfighting in the Sanfermin Feria del Toro week, began at a crescendo – two ears with the first two bulls – a bit of a sweetener, but that is how it usually is in Pamplona- only to quickly decline with the next four Victoriano bulls, which made it impossible for the bullfighters to shine or achieve anything in the way of trophies. The two early ears were for Sebastián Castella and Iván Fandiño, who made the most from getting the two best bulls early to win an ear apiece from these first bulls.
Las fotografías del encierro tienen magia. En dos o tres minutos de carrera pasa de todo. Caídas. Miradas. Pisotones. Saltos. Gestos. Agarres. Empujones. Sustos… Hay momentos en que toros y corredores fluyen en un poderoso río de vida haciéndose sitio para desembocar en un mar de arena, la plaza. Lo cuenta esta imagen tomada por Juantxo Erce del día 8.
Today, the protagonist has been this runner with the orange-colored T-shirt. He was charged by the Victoriano fighting bull just at the end of the first stretch at the top of the Santo Domingo slope. He was hooked by the bull’s horn and the garment was ripped up but the horn just stroked his back and the only apparent damage he suffered was to be tossed to the ground flat on his face.
After the rest of the pack of bulls and steers had passed by, this runner got to his feet and climbed through the fencing at the side of the stretch. Several Red Cross personnel immediately hurried over to him to check his back for what seemingly had to be a wound from the bull’s horn. But much as they searched and scrutinized him, there simply was not a goring wound to be seen, although we can only suppose that the horn must surely have left at least a small scratch on the man’s back.
In spite of the dramatic charge made by the bull, the official medical report does not list any wounds made by the horns of the bulls after today’s bullrun, so that it seems this lucky runner has had a miraculous escape. All that remains is the dramatic image, which, no doubt, will fill many media and TV reports throughout the day.
One of the norms of the Running of the Bulls event is the prohibition of holding or touching the fighting bull inside the course. And plain common sense would also tell us that it is not a sensible idea to grab the horns of the bull – essentially because this could make the animal angry, take one good look at you and proceed to do you some serious damage.
At this morning’s bullrun, a runner grabbed hold of the bull’s horn as if it were his very own, just as both man and beast were charging at full speed down into the entrance to the bullring. And he only let go because the bull pulled away ahead and left the runner falling flat on his face. Luckily, the fighting bull had paid no attention to the rash runner, but as you can see from the photo sequence, that fall has left the reckless runner with something more than egg on his face.
The third Running of the Bulls of 2015 could be described as fast and dangerous. The pack of bulls and steers came out of the pens in a tight bunch but soon, as they began to move up the slope of Santo Domingo, one of the black bulls ran ahead and charged at the runners on his left side. This bull raced ahead on its own at a powerful pace and led the others all the way to the bullring.
As this black bull entered the Mercaderes Corner it slipped up, knocking down a runner in front. As the animal got to its feet again, the rest of the pack arrived and the bull was momentarily united with the rest of the pack once again. However, it soon began to pull ahead of the others as it moved up Estafeta Street and it continued to stand out from the others running at a fast solitary pace, creating various moments of danger for the runners, but without, it seems, causing any gorings. Today’s Running of the bulls lasted just 2min. 27sec. There were 5 injured runners with just traumas.
In one fell swoop, a girl passed from the happy emotional “high” of taking part in the Running of the Bulls to the terrifying scare of not wanting to know anything more about the damned event after suffering a fall at the entrance to the bullring and experiencing the fright of her life.
She was running happily along the course, with a smile on her face, perhaps alongside a friend or mate, just running down the stretch that leads into the bullring, totally unaware of the bell oxen behind her and of the bulls coming further back. One of the bell-oxen grazed her ear with its horn and knocked the girl to the ground (you can recognize her by her blue sneakers).
After she got back to her feet, she was no longer smiling. She went on through the bullring entrance leading to the arena with a scared look on her face and with an instinctive gesture she covered her ears with her hands as if she wished she could disappear out of there right away. A bull overtook her and was just a few short centimeters from tossing her, but in the end, it was nothing more than a fright, a real big fright.
Just a few days before Sanfermin takes off and we have decided to check out a theory that has been on our minds for quite a while now:Is all that Sanfermin white gear really so pure white?
With wishing to appear sexist, it has always been said that women were the ones who really had the gift for distinguishing the whole range of different colors and this is something it seems that many men find hard to do. So, we just wanted to lend a helping hand in checking out if that Sanfermin white gear is really just a dirty white or even a pale rose-color which has faded in the wash. Make sure you have a bottle of bleach close at hand just in case.
Bring your pants or your tee shirt up close to the image and clear up any doubts by comparing with the extra whiteand thepure white. We have already tried it out and some of us have come away with a bit of a shock. Obviously, our best guarantee is to stick to the spotlesswhite Kukuxumusu T-shirts for Sanfermin 2015.
Behind Good Mythical Morning are a couple of “youtubers” who are among the most followed videos in the world. Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln “Link” Neal III currently have over seven million subscribers and they continue to surprise with their videos, day after day. Today, we are reminded of one of their favorites which has had “only” about eight million visits and where they show us the secret of getting through the Sanfermin fiestas with immaculately white gear intact. Yes indeed, the miracle explanation is at hand and you can check out the video to see how it is done.
The secret is to pour on a product which is called NeverWet which sponsors this section of their program and this helps to avoid getting any stains on the clothes. Maite H Mateo has sent us in this video as she has found the perfect excuse for “Sanfermin”, the opening Chupinazo event, Good Mythical Morning and this incredible product… check it out… it’s well worth your while.
The Sanfermin Runnings of the Bulls and the bullrunnings in general have been used in a stack of publicity spots, as can be easily seen on the YouTube Channel on Sanfermin. Today, we look back at a TV commercial from 1983 which we came across, made for the prestigious automobile Renault trademark, and its legendary Renault 4 model. In this commercial we can see a bullrunning which was filmed in the town of Candeleda (Ávila) with a yellow Renault 4.
The Running of the bulls features in the final part of this commercial and it attempts to show what appears to be a complete running, just like the Pamplona one, in which the car features as just another runner. We can see how the running of the bulls starts off with the traditional rocket being set off and then it continues through some narrow streets, similar to Estafeta Street, and it comes to an end inside a bullring. The runners are not dressed in the traditional red and white gear, but the bulls and the bell oxen are very similar to those that appear in Pamplona.
It should be remembered that just a year earlier (1982), Spanish national TVE had broadcast the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls live for the first time. This broadcast was repeated once again in 1983 and that year it had a big impact on audience ratings and popularity. It seems clear that the creative staff of the publicity company decided that featuring a running of the bulls would be the perfect outlet for their automobile commercial. The slogan used was “Renault 4, its beauty lies in its mechanics” Even the musical jingle is personalized and reflects exactly the type of music which was in fashion in those years.
This commercial served to promote sales of the Renault 4 in Spain in 1983. This particular model was being made in the FASA Factory in Valladolid. The commercial spot was filmed in different parts in different regions; in Asturias they shot the river scene and the canoes, while in Andalucía they filmed the highway scenes and in the province of Ávila they filmed a running of the bulls, in the town of Candeleda.
Dennis Clancey is a regular runner of the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls, habitually in the stretch between the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Mercaderes corner, ever since 2007. In addition, he is the director of the latest film about the Sanfermin Bullrunning (a documentary entitled Chasing red). Right now he is in Nepal with some twenty other members of the Rubicon Team. This team is made up of military veterans from the USA army who use their military training to help people caught up in natural disasters.
Dennis Clancy carrying out some of his daily tasks, accompanied by Lang Hasta, a Gurkha from the British army. Image from SETH ROBSON/STARS AND STRIPES
Clancey has been part of this team for the past six months and he is now experiencing his first rescue attempt, according to the army magazine, Stars & Stripes, the official magazine for the military community of the United States army. The team arrived in Katmandu on the 2nd of May and they have mainly worked on restoring electricity supply to outlying areas with difficult access. Clancey and his companions experienced the second earthquake tremor but without suffering any direct casualties. Sanfermin.com got in touch with Clancey yesterday, 13th of May, and both he and his colleagues are in good condition and carrying out their relief tasks on schedule.
Clancey himself is a veteran of the Iraq war and an ex – infantry captain of the United States army. His concrete role within the RubiconTeam is on this occasion is to plan aid tasks for peripheral areas of Katmandu, in areas with difficult access and under complex conditions.
Dennis Clancey is well-known among Sanfermin fans for being the director of the latest film about the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls – the documentary, Chasing Red. This film has been shown at some film festivals and has already received some awards. The film deals with the experiences of several runners in the Pamplona Running of the Bulls such as Bill Hillman and Gus Ritchie and it also counts on the appearance of the all-rounder, Andy Bell, among others.
Clancey is a fervent fan of the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls and he himself has done some good running on the stretch between city hall at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and corner of Mercaderes/Estafeta Street. His relief work in Nepal will not prevent him from enjoying this year’s Sanfermin fiestas during this coming July, 2015.
