PAMPLONA, Spain — A red-and-white sea of revelers erupted in
celebration Wednesday, dousing each other with wine in a packed Pamplona square
as
Spain’s most famous bull-running festival returned after a two-year absence
due to the pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
The launch of a firecracker known as the “chupinazo”
from the balcony of the northern city’s town hall at noon marked the official
start of the nine-day San Fermin fiesta, kicking off the bedlam.
Thousands of party-goers from around the world —
most dressed in the traditional all-white outfit with a red scarf — responded
ecstatically, screaming “Viva San Fermin!” and spraying each other with wine.
Despite a light rain falling, the throng cheered
wildly as they waved their red scarves in the air and passed giant yellow
inflatable balls over their heads as scores looked on from crowded apartment
balconies.
“The rain doesn’t matter. Seeing the square full
again is terrific,” said Saioa Guembe Pena, 54-year-old civil servant whose
white shirt was stained pink with wine.
The annual festival, made famous by
Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises”, was last held in 2019.
Local officials called off the hugely popular event
in 2020 and the following year because of the Covid-19
pandemic — the first time the festival was canceled since Spain’s civil war in
the 1930s.
Many revelers started drinking early, sitting at
outdoor patios or wandering Pamplona’s narrow, cobbled streets with large
bottles of sangria hours before the “chupinazo”.
The festival, which dates back to medieval times,
features concerts, religious processions, folk dancing, and round-the-clock
drinking.
But the highlight is the bracing daily test of
courage against a thundering pack of half-tonne, sharp-horned bulls.
Every day at 8am, hundreds of daredevils race with
six fighting bulls along an 850m course from a holding pen to Pamplona’s bull
ring.
The bravest run as close as possible to the bulls’
horns, preferably without being gored.
The first bullrun, which traditionally draws the
largest number of participants, is on Thursday.
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