Fiesta de San Fermin: Safety First

If you fancy getting gored and seriously injured, why not try racing angry cows with big horns in Spain? Some people take on El Enciero every July.

I’m all for a wacky festival – after all, things like the Bognor Regis Clown Parade or the International Wife Carrying Championships in Finland can’t fail to amuse – but there’s one bizarre event that you’ll probably never catch me at.

That’s the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain, a nine day event which is best known for the Running of the Bulls (or El Enciero in Spanish). This frankly insane celebration takes place during the Fiesta in July, and sees a series of bulls being let loose in the city streets, goaded and vaguely forced to head in a certain direction. In front of these bulls, members of the crowd decide to go for a run, getting as close to the raging beasts as they dare. Sometimes they get too close, and when they do, those horns hurt

In the last 100 years, fifteen people have died and over 200 have had serious injuries. Most of this is due to goring from angry agitated bulls, and you really do have to ask the question: Why do it?

Leaving aside the cruelty aspect for now (and this attracts so much attention that animal rights groups have started to organise naked races called the Running of the Nudes in protest), surely taking part is just rank stupidity?

Yes, the testosterone may be flowing, and manliness may need to be proved, but can’t these people – who are often tourists – do a bungee jump or skydive instead if they’ve really got something to prove?

Still, it appears as though logic is not going to stop the event growing in popularity, but if you do decide to go, be careful, huh?

More on Spanish festivals in South European Cultural Events.