San Fermin Festival

San Fermin Festival

July 6-14

The festivities surrounding this well-known festival in Pamplona, Spain, honoring the city's bishop, begin with a rocket fired from the balcony of the town hall. Bands of txistularis (a Basque word pronounced chees-too-LAH-rees)—with dancers, drummers, and txistu players (a musical instrument like a flute)—and bagpipers march through the town and its suburbs playing songs announcing the "running of the bulls," an event that has taken place here for 400 years. Each morning, young men, dressed in typical Basque costumes, risk their lives running through the streets of Pamplona ahead of the bulls being run to the bullring where the bullfights will be held. Perhaps the best-known portrayal of this scene occurs in Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises.

CONTACTS:
Pamplona Tourist Office
c/Hilarion Eslava 1
Pamplona, 31001 Spain
34-948-206-540; fax: 34-948-207034

SOURCES:
AnnivHol-2000, p. 114
BkHolWrld-1986, Jul 7
FestWestEur-1958, p. 201
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 163

Celebration days: Jul 6 - Jul 14