Sanfermines, or the Running of the Bulls may be one of Spain’s most famous traditions, well-known throughout the world and hosted annually for a week each July. The celebrations take place in Pamplona, where over a million people gather each year to participate, watch, and party during the festival. The fiesta draws foreigners and locals alike, and other cities throughout Spain often host similar events during the year. Most famously, six bulls are released, while hundreds of people run in front of them through the narrow, old streets. Other traditions of the festival include “el chupinazo”, a rocket that is set off to signal the beginning of the week, and “Pobre de Mi”, a song sung at each closing ceremony. Each night to conclude the day there are fireworks and bullfights, in which the bulls that ran earlier are killed.
The 2018 San Fermin festival occurred last week, and was a topic of discussion in many of my classes. The natives I talked to were all of the same opinion regarding the festival; they believed it to be cruel and unnecessary, yet acknowledged the tradition and history behind it. This dichotomy is what creates some of the controversy related to the festival and its continuation. Some believe that the cultural and historical aspects of the fiesta do not justify or excuse the cruelty they see present, while others value the preservation of the tradition despite that.