ALL THE PHOTOS OF TXUPINAZO 2014 by Javier Martínez
ALL THE PHOTOS OF TXUPINAZO 2014 by Carlos Mediavilla
Txupinazo Live (Spanish language)
This is how the Txupinazo opening rocket of Sanfermin 2014 was reported by us:
12:08 h. The fiestas now spread out across the whole of the old quarter of the city. Sanfermin 2014 is now on. Thank you for following this broadcast at Sanfermin.com
12:03 h. “Pamplonesas, pamploneses, Iruñeko seme-alabak, ¡Viva san fermín, gora san Fermín!”. This was how Mikel Martínez, presidente de Cruz Roja Navarra, declared the fiestas open.
12:01 h. PAMPLONESES, PAMPLONESAS, VIVA SANFERMIN, GORA SANFERMIN
11:59 h. Sanfermin, Sanfermin, Sanfermin, Sanfermin, Sanfermin
11:58 h. The authorities appear on the balcony of City Hall. In 2 minutes time, Mikel Martínez, in representation of The Red Cross will set off the opening rocket. Thousands and thousands of people are waiting to put on their bandanas.
11:52 h. Thousands acclaim the recently retired football player, Patxi Puñal, the charismatic captain of Pamplona’s soccer team, and the most important professional team in Navarra. Only 7 minutes to go and it seems there will be no unexpected delays this year.
11:42 h. Several banners with political slogans can be seen in the square. Shouts of Sanfermin, Sanfermin.
11:39 h. With just 20 minutes to go for the Txupinazo, city hall square is now jam-packed. There are several youths with political banners in the middle of the square, but no confrontations and simply lots of yearning for the fiestas to begin.
11:16 h. Some political slogans can be heard being shouted by some of the people in the crowded square, such as the classic “UPN Kanpora”, (UPN Get out) but there are louder shouts from the rest of the crowd “We are here to get drunk and we don’t care about the result”.
11:08 h. The color of wine covers everything. Some people are now being lifted onto the shoulders of their mates and the party mood is warming up.
10:47 h. The square looks dazzling and crowded in red and white colors. There are still some gaps in the crowd, but they are closing fast.
9:59 h. Everyone has one eye on the cloudy sky and checking the weather forecast on their cell phones. It seems likely to rain. The people shout “let it rain, “let it rain JB”
9:49 h. The pólice start to search the people for prohibited glassware as they enter the city hall. Some drizzle is falling.
9:12 h. People begin to move into the city hall square. The sky is dark and it is forecast to rain.
Photographs: Javier Martínez / Carlos Mediavilla
Sanfermin 2014 opens with the Txupinazo event, the traditional form of declaring the start of the Sanfermin fiestas, the biggest and best fiestas in the world. Mikel Martínez Monreal, the President of The Red Cross organization in Navarra, is the person selected to set off the rocket this year at 12 .00 midday in Pamplona.
