Revelers doused each other with red wine and grape juice, waved red scarves, and chanted ‘San Fermín.’ The first bull run starts Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. and repeats daily until July 14. Several fighting bulls weighing 600 kilograms each will be chased along an 848-meter route through the old town to the bullring, with hundreds of runners sprinting ahead of them.
Every year, dozens of people are injured; since 1924, there have been 16 deaths. In the evening, the same bulls are killed in a corrida. The program also includes concerts and parades. As in previous years, animal rights activists protested the event, some wearing bull horns and covered in red paint.
The festival dates back to the late 16th century and honors the city’s patron saint, San Fermín. The bull run gained worldwide fame through Ernest Hemingway’s novel ‘Fiesta’ (‘The Sun Also Rises’), which turns 100 this year. The festival attracts visitors from Europe, Australia, Asia, and the United States.
Source: www.dw.com
