The Bulls are getting into shape for Sanfermin 2015

Here at Sanfermin.com we will be waiting for the official announcement from the  Casa de Misericordia (organizers of the Sanfermin bull- fighting week) in order to let you all know which bull ranches have been chosen for The Running of the Bulls and the afternoon fights for Sanfermin 2015. At present, we do not have any information about that but it is very likely that they already know most of the bull breeds. And, as the song says (the one sung by Fary in his day), the Bulls will be already getting into shape for the fiesta events. We can use one of the cartoon figures from RTVE national television made for Sanfermin last year where we can see the Bulls smarten up for the fiestas. It’s true that they will lose their lives but they can also achieve eternal glory.

© Javier Martínez de Lapuente

Sanfermin never gets stopped by water

The fiesta of Sanfermin, once it takes off, becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to stop. It has to be said, that the climate does not know much about fiestas and partying and it is capable of unloading its heavy rain over Pamplona, whenever it pleases. On those days of rain and water during Sanfermin, the public begin to wonder if the bullfights will be suspended… if Estafeta Street will dry out before the start of the morning bullrunnings… or whether the party revelers will have been able to get some sleep on the park lawns around the city… But nobody doubts that the party will go on, rain, hail or snow. And the morning dawn reveals a pile of plastic raincoats, colorful umbrellas and lots of black plastic garbage bags on the streets of the city and so the party continues to roll on within its rain tires.

Imagen from Javier Martínez de la Puente. 

© Josu Pezonaga. 7 julio de 2014. Mercaderes

The 2015 Running of the Bulls survey: To regain the children’s’ running of the Bulls and not to allow anyone take part in The Running of the Bulls who is not wearing white gear

We received 283 responses to the outlined proposals at Sanfermin.com since July 2014. The results indicate that the questions most voted on were as follows:

-Regain the children’s’ running of the Bulls (171 out of 283, 60%)
-Not to allow anyone to enter the Running of the Bulls course who is not dressed in white (115 out of 283, 41%)
-Not to allow runners wearing multi-colored tee shirts with publicity on them to take part in the running of the Bulls(111 out of 283, 39%)

If we add the responses of those who feel only white gear should be allowed for runners and not to allow publicity on tee shirts, which are in fact, analogous questions, then really the result would be different. However, we have wished to separate the options as the answers arrived to us separately and these could raise some subtle differences (such as that there are people who might be against publicity being shown on T-shirts but not against color T-shirts.

But this is not the case as really about 95% of those who marked one answer of these two options would have also selected the other one. So that we know that those in favor of running in white only are also in favor of no publicity on the t-shirts, but nothing more than that. (from among those who have taken part in the survey, obviously.

What improvements would you make to The Running of the Bulls for Sanfermin 2015?

Recover the children’s’ bullrunnings. Every afternoon in Estafeta at 17.30 p.m. 171 60%
Runners with publicity messages on their T-shirts should not be allowed to enter the bullrun course 111 39%
Not allow anyone not dressed in white to enter the course 115 41%
The bull ranches should use eight Bulls (not six) for each participation in The Running of the Bulls 86 30%
Limit access to a maximum figure of 2.000 runners 82 29%
Eliminate the anti-slipping application in those zones where it is applied each morning. 64 23%
All those who touch the Bulls inside the course should be banned from taking part in any further bullrunnings for life. 62 22%
Not wish to change anything and leave things as they are 29 10%
It would be logical to also sing the homily to the saint in English in the same way as is being done at the moment in the Basque and Spanish languages 9 3%

Without being the most responded variables, there are some options that stand out in the survey; for example, using eight Bulls or limiting the number of runners to 2000 people at most. In this regard, it should be noted that more than half of the 2014 runnings had more than 2000 runners (consult 2014 figures.)

There are some options which had hardly any success but which are still important precisely for that decision expressed, such as that only 3% of the people would not touch any of the present norms and would leave everything exactly as it stands. It is also significant in this regard that different proposals were made from the comment of “other responses” among which we would underline: tighter control of the people who have drunk too much(at present, this is being done, but the demand is that it be done more completely), not to broadcast the Running of the Bulls on TV; make an ID card for all runners to ensure that all who take part in the event know the norms to follow on the course.

See all the responses

What improvements would you introduce to enhance The Running of the Bulls events in Sanfermin 2015?

A survey by Sanfermin.com, which rejects any changes in the dates for the annual fiestas and which insists on the 6th of July for theTxupinazo Opening rocket

Sanfermin.com launched a short fast survey on its different social networks last Thursday afternoon on the question of changing the dates of the Sanfermin fiestas so as to ensure that there were always two weekends available.  The results reached a very clear conclusion: “It would be simply unthinkable to have the opening day’s Txupinazo on any other date than the 6th of July”. This option had the largest backing of the participants – 80% (226 votes, from 284 participants and a total of 356 responses it was possible to choose more than one option to each question).

The survey proposed the option of always starting the Sanfermin fiestas on the Saturday before the 7th of July, thus ensuring that there would always be two weekends over the eight days. When the fiestas do fall in this way on some calendar years, it brings a higher number of visitors to the fiestas and it makes the  services industry in Pamplona more profitable. This double-weekend also influences the number of international visitors which tends to be higher when there are two weekends over the fiesta period. (As occurred in 2014 and which will occur again in 2017).

The options open to the interviewees in the Sanfermin.com survey were: (1) to leave the dates as they are, (2) to open a debate on this idea of changing dates and to consider the possibility of celebrating a seventh of July in the middle of fiestas. In addition, three options were set down within the multi-response question such as “I could not conceive of theTxupinazo opening rocket on any other date than the 6th of July”“This would be good for the service industry and for visitors but not for the local people” –Yes, change would be a good idea and I would support it for 2015.” The interviewees also had a further option of adding a more personal and individual opinion.

From all the options, the most selected was the question of the Txupinazo change of date which was conceived as something unthinkable. As can be seen on the graph, the second option most voted was “To leave the fiestas as they are at present” and then followed by “I would not like to have a 7th of July right in the middle of the fiestas days as proposed”. The options which were most clear to the interviewees was that the fiestas should be left as they are at present, that the Txupinazo should be on the 6th and that the saint’s day should be on the 7th of July. In other words, the general public is largely not open to the idea of making any calendar changes to the fiestas.

Detalle encuesta de Sanfermin.com sobre las fechas de la fiesta.

In addition to the responses to the survey sheet – which were anonymous – on the Sanfermin Facebook page, the “posts”on this survey were seen by 6.737 people. Of these, 208 indicated that they liked the idea of the survey, 11 posted them on their walls and 32 people published commentaries. In Twitter, 1.966 people saw the survey and they left 8 FAVS and 4 RTs. Follow us on Facebook and you can take part and check out the comments which largely agree with the results of the survey. That is to say, leave everything as it is and don’t move either the 6th or the 7th and don’t link the fiestas to purely benefits.

In the future, we plan to carry out some further surveys on themes related to the Sanfermin fiestas. Getting a close picture of what how the public see the fiestas can always be useful and expedient.

http://meltawayproductions.com/

A commercial for sandals recommends that you shouldn’t wear them to take part in The Pamplona Running of the Bulls

The North-American Footwear Company that makes flip-flops under the name Combat Flip Flops has given an original marketing twist to its campaign with the slogan “Bad for running…”  They have just pinned up a video which shows that coming to the Sanfermin fiestas and wearing flip-flops for the bullrunning is not exactly a bright idea. The point of their campaign is to stress that flip-flops are not good for running in and even less good for fighting in (BAD FOR RUNNING, WORSE FOR FIGHTING). The idea is that, in this way, they underline the good qualities of their footwear, how the flip-flops are cute and go down well for most other situations. Here is the video which features Matthew Griffin (CEO of Combat Flip Flops) and after you see it we’ll fill you in on the story:

The video was shot by Metalway Productions

Just over a year ago they put out a challenge (see video) stating that if they reached a minimum figure of 10.000 fans on Facebook they would go to Pamplona in July to take part in The Running of the Bulls. And, no sooner said than done, when they reached that figure, they did as they promised, and that is how the video came about.

Combat Flip Flops.Combat Flip Flops.

Combat Flip Flops is a firm located in Issaquah in the State of Washington, on the west coast of The USA, not far from Seattle. Their good working approach has been recognized in 2014 when they were given an award by the local Chamber of Commerce in Issaquah. Their strategies and initiatives are original and quite unlike the standard kind of Footwear Company, as can be seen in their blog where Griff relates the details of their trip to Pamplona and explains this photo in which he features and which was published by The Daily Beast
Matthew Griffin fue portada del Daily Beast en las vaquillas.
Matthew Griffin photo in the The Daily Beast
Matthew Griffin en el recorrido del encierro.

Chicago Bulls. 2014.

The Running of the bulls reimagined

A Sanfermin-style Running of the Bulls featuring fighting Bulls appear as the protagonists of the latest promotional video from the Chicago Bulls made for the opening of this year’s NBA season. The video was premiered just two days ago under the title “The Running of the bulls reimagined” and it was first shown in public at the first home game of the season for the Bulls when they played against the Cavaliers. For some time now (since 1994) it has been a tradition for the famous basketball team from Chicago to make these videos and this latest one is in the sixth generation and substitutes the one made by the  Wachowski brothers in 2006 (Matrix). All of them include the theme from Alan Parson Proyect, which has become so well-known precisely thanks to these presentations.

With this video, the twentieth anniversary of the United Center is also being celebrated and that is why this year’s video has been made with such care and with such an impact. Work began in August and from the beginning was composed of a quality professional team of video-makers. “The Running of the bulls reimagined integrates all the latest in visual technology along with the traditions that our fans are looking for and expect from our team. This new video, along with the improved graphics in the lead plaques of the screens at United Center, as well as the design of the concert-style illumination, in addition to new special effects, are all going to raise the experience of our fans to new heights,” stated Michael Reinsdorf, president of the Chicago Bulls, at the presentation.

In the video we can see how the Bulls come out from the walls of a large high-rise, while behind, the shadow of a large bull fills the Chicago skyline. The bulls gallop down the walls of some of the most emblematic high-rise buildings of Chicago until they reach the ground. The animals pass along some of the typical urban locations such as the street basketball courts or under some of the emblematic subway trains crossings. Finally, in the video, we see the fighting bulls arrive at the United Center , home to the Chicago Bulls. This video has retained the essential spirit of earlier ones but making maximum use of the latest technology at the same time.

The video was directed by Michelle Harris and produced by Josh Kahn, both members of the Chicago Bulls staff. They received the collaboration of 5D Global Studios (wondros) and the creative direction from Rhythm & Hues  (Oscar winners for The Life of Pi) for the special effects.

Running of The Bulls Redux. Making Off, behind the scenes

2006. Wachowski Bros.

2005

1997.

© Konrad Waliszewski. Pamplona

He sets up a Startup even when he comes to Sanfermin to run the bulls

We have just learned of a new twist to running the Bulls in Pamplona during Sanfermin fiestas – at the same time create and maintain a Startup business venture while you are at it. This is what we learn from Intel which reveals that Konrad Waliszewski, operations manager at Speek, decided one fine day to get rid of all his properties and ties that were binding him to a particular place and he decided to continue his work while he travelled around the globe in what he called his  #worldventureproject. Speek is a Startup created by Waliszewski which offers solutions to video-conference techniques and which allows him to work from anywhere as long as he has his new technology tools to work with. Thus, he combines travelling with work and he unburdens himself of all those things that bind a person to a particular place and location. Thanks to his use of the new technologies he can now work from any place around the globe.

And that is precisely what he is now doing as we have found out thanks to Intel and to an article from Timothy Gunatilaka where Waliszewski outlines how one fine day he realized that he did not need his office in Chicago in order to competently and successfully carry out his work. “So then I thought, if I could have been anywhere, why was I sitting in Chicago (where I lived at the time) — especially during the winter? Unable to come up with a good answer, I sold my car, canceled my lease and set off around the world. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I figured the worst case scenario would be that I lose all my revenue, burn through my savings and have to come back. I figured that it was a risk worth taking for such an incredible experience. I just made sure that I was always available by phone and email during U.S. hours. None of that happened, and I never missed a beat.I assumed traveling the world would actually increase my expenses, but it would be worth it. However, they were actually lower and my savings increased. The cost of living is generally much lower throughout the world, and I no longer had expensive rent, car payments, cable bills and other living expenses. Having visited approximately 50 countries, I’ve been fortunate to have many fascinating experiences. Some of the ones that come to mind are traveling through rural Mozambique by land, exploring Petra in Jordan, running with the bulls in Pamplona…”, said Konrad to IQ.

konrad-intel-running-of-the-bulls

The Publication from Intel which treats of these nomadic digital users and underlines how Konrad Waliszewski maintains his Startup even as he is making his journey across the globe.

In spite of spending several days in Sanfermin fiestas, including participations in the Running of the Bulls, the professional career of Konrad continues to run smoothly. He travels with his laptop, his smart phone, his Kindle, and with a water-proof satchel for the rain. He also has his external battery, his extra money and his offline maps downloaded. With this particular outlook and attitude he does not forego his work commitments even in the middle of the fiestas scene and he points out “I believe that there are so many personal advantages, as well as academic and professional, in being able to travel, that it is a great pity that more people cannot manage to do it during their lives. Luckily, for me, thanks to the new technologies, work is not incompatible with travel.”

The tools which Konrad Waliszewski are: “Speek for all my telephone conferences and display work; Yesware for mail, because it is the most efficient and it allows templates to be created for the repetitive parts of mail which avoids having to write the same thing 10 times per day; I also externalize many of my tasks to my virtual assistant at Zirtual to make better use of my time. I also use oDesk and Fiverr for certain projects; Dropbox to back up my files and to ensure that I can accede to these from any kind of application. I can chat with people all day at HipChat and I also use an unblocked iiPhone. I also make use of the global roaming plan at Verizon for short trips. I also make sure to use local SIM cards wherever I am, if I am more than a day or two there, and particularly when the plans at Verizon are not covered in any particular zone.”

© Konrad Waliszewski

Los Lebreles en Sanfermin © Warner Music Spain

Sanfermin with the “Lebreles”

Warner Music has just issued this piece of fiesta action which they had been set up in Sanfermin by the group, Los Lebreles between two streets of the old part of Pamplona in Eslava Street and Mayor Street. The “Los Lebreles” did one of their typical scenes, making a sudden live appearance with their own fiesta scene and their music. As you can see in the images, they surprise us with the quality of their music in the city of the Sanfermin party scene.

Check out their web page and enjoy the show:  Loslebreles.com

The Los Lebreles in Sanfermin © Warner Music Spain

Singer Piero Pelù inspired his “Toro Loco” video with some Sanfermin images

Today we give an account of a curious musical video that was sent in by Maco Biagioli to the Sanfermin page of Facebook.. In 2000, Italian Singer, Piero Pelù, published his musical piece, “Toro Loco” and whose accompanying musical video featured a lot of Sanfermin images. In the video we can find shots of the young bulls which are habitually released in the Pamplona Bullring just after the Running of the Bulls.  We can also see shots of several Pamplona streets and the people who appear in the video are dressed up as if they had really come to the Sanfermin Fiestas.
We did not know of the existence of this video, and, although fourteen years have passed since its publication, it is rather amusing to think that this Italian artiste would have chosen Sanfermin images to illustrate and accompany his song, whose theme is love and passion. Yet another example of the close connection constantly being made between the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and any kind of reference made to the word, “BULL”, for better or for worse.

The song was reissued in 2013 and the group, Eiffel 65 made their own version in a Eurodance style. Since 2009, Piero Pelù went on to form part of the group, Litfiba along with Ghigo Renzulli, but currently he continues as a solo act. From time to time he plays with his old group, Litfiba, as for example, this past summer at the Traffic Festival of Torino. (Thanks to Paloma for that item of news).

On the Occasion of Spain's National Day Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC October 11, 2014

The American Secretary of State, John Kerry, remembers Sanfermin fiestas in his salute to Spain

The American Secretary of State, John Kerry, spoke in the name of President Obama- when an official statement of congratulations was issued from The USA Government to toast Spain on the celebration of its annual national day – the Día de la Hispanidad. In his statement, Kerry made mention of the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls and of his own participation in the Pamplona Fiestas. The text was published on the 11th of October, in the segment “Diplomacy in action” on the web site of the Department of State of The USA. This is not the first time that this has occurred as he also used the same reference in his congratulations last year, which shows, perhaps, the intensity of his Sanfermin memories when it comes to making reference to Spain. In January, 2013, the United States Ambassador to Spain at that time, Alan Solomont, revealed that new Secretary of State, John Kerry, had once participated in the running of the bulls in Sanfermin, back in the 1970s.

The 2014 congratulatory statement from John Kerry reads:

I’ll never forget my first visit to Spain – and to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls – while I was in college with friends road-tripping our way through Europe…

John Kerry, secretario de Estado Sanfermin Pamplona

This reference to the Running of the Bulls in Sanfermin is perhaps from someone from the highest level of political importance ever made up to now.

John Kerry. Official Portrait Department of State USA
John Kerry. Official Portrait Department of State USA