Fun Fact: You know how bulls charge at red capes? That’s all just showmanship. Bulls are actually colorblind.
The San Fermin Festival, a nine-day affair held every July in Pamplona, sounds like a nice, wholesome European event for the whole family. Definitely not the kind of place where you’d find a crazy and potentially dangerous adrenaline rush like no other.
Each morning during the festival, participants (mozos) gather and eagerly await the sound of a rocket, which signifies the--seemingly unnoteworthy--opening of a gate. Once the rocket is heard, the red and white clad mozos all tense up and get ready to run like their life depends on it. Because it actually does. Spectators pack the alleys and balconies, and Spaniards are glued to their television sets, as the mozos start to run like mad men through the streets.
The second rocket communicates the fact that all the animals are through the gate, and coming straight for you. There are 12 animals in the run; six bulls (black) and six steers (not black). The steers are calm, docile animals that keep the herd together and know the drill. The bulls on the other hand, are confused, scared, and angry. Considering the fact that there are 6 bulls, and each weighs 1300 pounds (600 kg), you want to give them a wide berth. The mozo’s strategy is to stay ahead of the herd and, depending on their level of bravery, only get out the way at the very last moment. Insofar as none of the bulls get separated from the pack, the days run is usually a predictable, if heart pounding event. On the other hand, if a bull finds itself scared and alone, anybody unlucky enough to be within goring distance is in trouble. Each year dozens of people are trampled and gored by the bulls, yet attendees continue to come back to this event with great enthusiasm.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
One piece of advice – stay down on the ground if you fall. It is much better to be trampled by a herd of bulls than to be mauled by one.
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