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In Pictures: The return of the bull running at Spain’s San Fermín festival

Pamplona's annual bull-running festival known as San Fermin was last held in 2019 but it returned this year after the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the stand-out images from Spain's famous festival this year.

Published: 13 July 2022 12:44 CEST
Updated: 13 July 2022 14:08 CEST
In Pictures: The return of the bull running at Spain's San Fermín festival
A young cow jumps over participants at the Pamplona's bullring after the seventh "encierro" (bull-run) of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 13, 2022. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/ AFP

The famous San Fermín festival in the city of Pamplona, Navarre, northern Spain, returned this year after local officials called it off in 2020 and the following year because of the COVID-19 pandemic — the first time the festival was cancelled since Spain’s civil war in the 1930s.

People from around the world flock to the city of around 200,000 residents to test their bravery and enjoy the festival’s mix of round-the-clock parties, religious processions and concerts.

The festival begins with fireworks known as the ‘chupinazo’ at midday on July 6, then a rendition of the song ‘Pamploneses, Viva San Fermín, Gora San Fermín,’ before the most famous part of the festival: the bull run, known as the ‘encierro.’

READ ALSO: Five in hospital as Spain’s Pamplona bull run returns

The festival, which dates back to medieval times, also features concerts, religious processions, folk dancing and round-the-clock drinking.

Participants cheer before the start of the “encierro” (bull-run) of the San Fermin festival. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP

But the highlight, of course, is is the bracing daily test of courage against a thundering pack of half-tonne, sharp-horned bulls. 

Participants run ahead of bulls during the “encierro”. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP

Every day at 8:00 am, hundreds of daredevils race with six fighting bulls along an 850-metre (2,800-foot) course from a holding pen to Pamplona’s bull ring, which this year marks its 100th anniversary.

READ ALSO: Three gored at Pamplona’s fifth bull run

The bravest — or most foolhardy — run as close as possible to the bulls’ horns, preferably without being gored.

Sixteen people have died in the bull runs since 1910. The last death occurred in 2009 gored a 27-year-old Spaniard in the neck, heart and lungs.

The Local has put together some of the best pictures so you can safely enjoy the festival from the comfort of your own home.

A participant is struck by a bull. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP
 

A young cow jumps over participants at the Pamplona’s bullring after the seventh “encierro” (bull-run) of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 13, 2022. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/ AFP
 

A cabezudo (big-head) walks in the street between revellers during the seventh day of the San Fermin Festival. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/ AFP
 

Participants run ahead of the bulls. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP
 

People eat a traditional brunch in a street during the San Fermin festival. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/ AFP
 

Participants look on before the start of the “encierro”. Photo: Ander GILLENEA/AFP
 

A participant is thrown by a young cow. Photo by Jose Jordan/AFP
 

Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/ AFP
 

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SPANISH HISTORY

The forgotten country that existed between Spain and Portugal

The surprising story of Couto Mixto, a landlocked microstate located in between Spain and Portugal.

Published: 30 April 2024 10:39 CEST
The forgotten country that existed between Spain and Portugal

The tiny republic of Couto Mixto or Couto Misto was situated between the towns of Montalegre in northern Portugal and Ourense in the Galician region of Spain.

It included the villages of Santiago de Rubiás, Rubiás and Meaus, all of which are located in Spain today, and measured approximately 27 km².

You could easily pass through this area of Galicia and into Portugal without knowing you were driving through an ancient nation.

Today, all that remains are several small sparsely-populated villages and herds of cows that roam the pastures next to the Salas River.

The independent nation of Cuoto Mixto was located in between Spain’s Galicia region and Portugal. Source: Google Maps

Historians aren’t exactly sure when Couto Mixto was established as a state, but it was thought to be sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries.

Some believe that its creation was born out of the signing of the Treaty of Zamora on October 5th, 1143. It was an agreement between two Alfonsos – Alfonso I of Portugal and Alfonso VII of León, which somehow left out a piece of land that was too small to fight over, but large enough to become a republic.

Another hypothesis is that it was created in the Middle Ages as a place where prisoners could serve out their sentences, repopulating lands after the occupation of the Moors.

Meanwhile, locals talk of a legend of an exiled princess who took refuge in the region and was looked after by the inhabitants. To thank them, the princess granted the people freedom to govern themselves.

Whatever the reason it was formed, Couto Mixto continued to be independent for around 700 years and even had its own flag and national anthem.

The inhabitants of Couto Mixto enjoyed several special privileges over those from neighbouring Spain and Portugal, including little to no taxes, exemption from military service, freedom to trade and cultivate land and few crop regulations, meaning that the tobacco trade flourished here.

Inhabitants also had the right to choose their nationality, whether they wanted it to be Spanish, Portuguese or both.

The country of Couto Mixto which once existed in between Spain and Portugal. Photo: Fabio Mendes / Wikimedia Commons

Because of these privileges, it was a haven for refugees and fugitives, and some historians even believe that it was founded for this purpose.

Because of the relaxation of trade rules and the freedom to cultivate, Couto Mixto became a popular smuggling destination. A smuggling route connected the villages within the state with Tourém in Portugal, named the Caminho Privilegiado or Privileged Path, where there were no border guards and no products could be seized. In addition to this, anyone found smuggling here couldn’t be detained.

This doesn’t mean that Couto Mixto was a completely lawless state, on the contrary, it had its own form of democracy.

It wasn’t ruled over by kings or feudal lords, instead it was presided over by a judge who was elected every three years and was supported by delegates in each of the villages. There was also a local vicar, who also had the responsibilities of a sheriff to carry out orders.

Couto Mixto continued to exist until the mid-19th century, when it was finally absorbed by the two neighboring countries as a result of the Treaty of Lisbon in 1864. It was signed in order to put an end to the smuggling and local gangs that had formed. Most of it became part of Spain, modern-day Galicia, while a small slither went to Portugal and the town of Montalegre.

Couto Mixto’s penultimate judge was Delfín Modesto Brandán and today you can find statue of him the atrium of the church of Santiago, as well as in the village of Calvos de Randín where this microstate once existed. 

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