San Fermin is upon us once again. Today, Tuesday, July the 6th, starts with the opening ceremonies at noon with the Chupinazao, the explosion of the fireworks rocket, signaling the start of nine days of non-stop partying.

"Pamploneses, Pamplonesas, Viva San Fermín! Gora San Fermín!"

Tomorrow morning/Wednesday/the 7th at 8am local Spain time starts the first running of the bulls. You can watch on TV in Spain but also online at http://www.rtve.es/noticias/sanfermines/directo/ . Coverage starts at 7:15am.

The end of the festival in Pamplona is the 14th of July.

These days I always sleep a bit less, waking up by 7:30am every morning to watch the interviews and then The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. ¡¡VIVA SAN FERMÍN!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks for the link:)
I'm getting really tired of being in Spain in spirit only ... will this bloody recession ever end?

I like ,the Running of the bulls, the'll have to see in a bar

I watched the opening of San Fermín on TV this afternoon . Totally amazing just a sea of red an white , and the famous firework , the dancing , the music from the guys dressed in their " boinas rojas " . Truly spectacular to see 1000´s of people going crazy in Pamplona !
And whilst I have faced a bull in the ring before ( Una capea ) , If I ever do go to Pamplona I will NOT be running with the bulls . I´ll just watch . Too many foreigners from USA , Australia , NZ , etc that don´t understand the power of these animals . I do know the power and speed of the bulls being a regular spectator at the bullfight .. A guy last year tripped and was killed by one of the bulls in Pamplona . Crazy stuff !

Im with Steve on this one too many people without any knowledge of bulls, plus I cant run for toffee.
There was 19 year oldfrom San sebastian de los reyes killed at an encierro at the weekend in Fuentesauco.

he!he! Joe not heard that saying for ages.

being ignorant im afraid how do yo get the t.v up after the link please

This morning's first "Running" came off without major incident. No bulls were separated from the group and no spectacular gorings along the way. Only one man was sent to hospital with a head injury but they expect it's not too serious. Seemed to have dry "running" conditions - which is ALWAYS a good thing.

It was tough waking up this morning at 7:45am - AND NOT HITTING the snooze button. Man, that was tough. Can't remember the last time I woke up that early - without having to go to the airport. I know. I know. You're not likely to give ME any sympathy, but that's okay. hehehee.. When I worked a "normal" job I would wake up at 5am to be at the office by 7am so I'm not totally unaccustomed.



billy the man, just go to the link I've listed above and the flash player should start automatically on that page. NOTE: It doesn't broadcast 24 hours, however, only during the running. TVE does stream-via-internet special events of this kind. For example, should Spain win the World Cup in football you can be sure the parade and festivities will be streamed live online on TVE as well.

!Viva San Fermín!

Saludos, MadridMan

,,,and another year went by! Well, after watching one of the encierros in MM's link, it seems like a miracle that a lot of more people dont get creamed during the these runs... the dudes pressed against the walls holding their bellies in,,, man! I cringed throughout the whole scene...

A few people DID get creamed in this morning's runs. I think 4 were sent to the hospital. And wow, one poor kid first got knocked down by a bull, rolled over into a sitting position, then got hammered by the next passing bull. Wow. Call me sick, but I love to see that. Not only is it a "better him than me", thing, but you know what they say, "Play with fire and sooner or later you'll get burned." He knew what he was getting himself into when he stepped out onto that pavement. Wasn't one of the more famous lines in the movie "Forrest Gump", "Stupid is - is stupid does." No one should feel sorry for him. If anything, I feel sorry for their families.

Saludos, MadridMan

Extraordinary photos of The Boston Global
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/07/the_festival_of_san_fermin_201.html
What do you think of it?