San Fermin (English)

The festival of San Fermín (or Sanfermines) in the city of Pamplona (Navarre, Spain), is a deeply rooted celebration held annually from 12:00, 6 July, when the opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo,^[1] to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the Pobre de Mí. While its most famous event is the encierro, or the running of the bulls, the week-long celebration involves many other traditional and folkloric events. It is known locally as Sanfermines and is held in honor of Saint Fermin, the co-patron of Navarre. Its events were central to the plot of The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, which brought it to the general attention of English-speaking people. It has become probably the most internationally renowned fiesta in Spain. Over 1,000,000 people come to watch this festival.

Chupinazo

Chupinazo

The opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo (or txupinazo in Basque language). The rocket thrown at 12:00 noon the 6th of July from a city hall balcony with thousands of people celebrating the act in the city hall square and other locations of Pamplona.^[8]

The Riau-Riau

The Riau-Riau was a mass activity held on 6 July. The members of the city council would parade from the City Hall to a nearby chapel dedicated to Saint Fermín. Protesting youths would mass blocking the way, dancing to the Astrain Waltz played by the city band. The councilors would be stuck for hours sometimes being unable to exit the City Hall. The procession was finally removed from the festival calendar for political reasons as extremists used the "Riau-Riau" to promote unrest and clashes with authorities, police and other participants. Nevertheless in recent years in has been held unofficially without the participation of the members of the city council.

San Fermin procession

The most important day of the festival is 7 July, when thousands of people accompany a replica of the statue of Saint Fermin along the streets in the old part of Pamplona. Saint Fermín is accompanied by dancers and street entertainers, such as the Gigantes and the Cabezudos and different political and religious authorities.

Pobre de mí

After nine days of partying, the people of Pamplona meet in the Townhall Plaza at midnight on 14 July, singing the traditional mournful notes of the Pobre de Mí ('Poor Me'), in a candlelit ending.