IN SPAIN THE DUEL BETWEEN THE ANIMAL AND THE BEAST CONTINUES

In Greek mythology there is an animal with the body of a man and the head of a bull, the Minotaur, locked in a labyrinth located on the island of Crete by Daedalus, a very skilled architect. For years, the inhabitants of Crete locked seven men and as many women in the labyrinth to be sacrificed. The Minotaur was considered the adulterous fruit of a sexual relationship between the princess Pasiphae and a Cretan bull.
All this is one of the great pages of Hellenic mythology, but in Spain there is still a duel between animal and man that is celebrated every year in the city of Pamplona. It is the so-called “Great week of San Fermin” that Hemingway immortalized in a novel, “The sun also rises”, one of his most appreciated works.
The San Fermin festival takes place between July 6 and 15, and its main attraction is the release of a group of fighting bulls through the streets of the city until they are locked up in the bullring where, in the afternoon, they will be fought by bullfighters. first order.
The release of bulls through the city is something very dangerous, but that is what makes the show attractive and what attracts thousands of foreign tourists to Pamplona every year.
It is a very dangerous festival and every year a good number of young people are injured by being attacked by animals. Sometimes there are even deaths, but that is part of the party.
Because since the bulls are released, thousands of young people dressed in white pants and a large red scarf around their necks also jump into the streets. The youngsters get in front of the animals and run at the same pace, but not always, because the boys' races are broken by the bulls that blister anyone who comes before them.
But all this is still the party. The race is very fast: between two and three minutes. But sometimes one of the animals breaks out of the group and attacks people on its own. This is the most dangerous. If the bulls march in a herd, the problem is less, but if they get loose and each animal runs on its own, that is where accidents cannot be prevented.
Pamplona maintains against those who criticize the festival, that this is an offering to its patron saint, San Fermín, and that it has been celebrated for centuries. The first recorded bull race was held in 1186, when the bishop of the city, Pedro de Paris, collected the relics of the saint in the French city of Amiens to bring them to Pamplona.
There is therefore a religious background to this festival, although many people do not like that the bulls are let loose and that the animals injure or kill one of the runners. But those who defend the festival remember the Minotaur and affirm that it is something unique in the world, although in other Spanish towns they make their own "San Fermin". In any case, only the one that is celebrated in Pamplona has an international patent seal and is a much more appreciated festival than others that are celebrated in Spain every summer, such as the famous "battle of tomatoes" (la tomatina) that takes place in the town of Buñol, in the region of Valencia. Next Saturday San Fermín will end with the launch of a firework... but don't worry, it will return in 2024