el dia de los sanfermines

Madelyn Beavers and Jessica DorganEl Dia de los Sanfermines

Madelyn Beavers and Jessica Dorgan

Saint Fermin

• The celebration is in honor of Saint Fermin, an ordained priest who was beheaded in Amiens, France while on a preaching voyage. Because of this, he became a known as a martyr of the Catholic church.

Origins

• The celebration originated from two different medieval events. In the 14th century, commercial fairs were held annually at the beginning of the summer, and as cattle merchants entered the towns, bullfighting became a tradition. Religious ceremonies to honor Saint Fermin were held on October 10th. However, in 1591, the religious ceremonies were transferred to July 7th, taking place the same time as the fair, when the weather was better. The combination of the two traditions marked the beginning of El Dia De Los Sanfermines.

Who, Where, When

El Dia De San Fermines is celebrated annually from 12:00 P.M. July 6th through midnight July 14th. It is a street festival celebrated in Pamplona, Spain. It is celebrated by over 100,000 Pamplonians and visitors every year.

The beginning of the festivals is marked by the launching of a rocket called the chupinazo. It is launched off the balcony of a city hall with thousands of people celebrating below. The city mayor decides who sets off the rocket every year. The launcher is usually a member of a political party or important member of the community (sports figure, etc.)

Chupinazo

Riau-Riau

• The Riau-Riau is held on July 6th. Members of the city hall would parade from the city hall to a chapel that was dedicated to Saint Fermin, dancing to the Austrian Waltz along the way. This tradition began in 1911, but was removed from the festival in 1992 because of political activists began to use the event as a chance to clash with political authorities. However in recent years, the Riau-Riau has been attempted unofficially with no participation from the political authorities.

Saint Fermin Procession

• The procession is arguably the key point of the festival. It is held on July 7th, as thousands of people parade through the streets with a 15th century statue of Saint Fermin. Dancers and entertainers accompany the crowds.

El Struendo (the Roar)

• El Struendo is always held on different days of the week and is not openly advertised to the public in order to keep the crowds manageable. Crowds gather at 11:59 P.M. in the town hall , bringing drums and instruments of choice, and make as much noise as possible for several hours.

Running of the bulls

• The running of the bulls happens daily throughout the festival. It consists of hundreds of people running in front of six bulls and six steers down a half-mile stretch of a narrow street in Pamplona. The run ends in a bull ring where the bulls are held until the afternoon’s bullfight. This event is very dangerous. Since 1925, 15 people have been reported dead from the event, with hundreds receiving injuries.

http://youtu.be/4-M1AYLYQnE

Fireworks

• A firework spectacle is held every night of the festival in citadel park. Since the year 2000, national firework contest have been held at the festival.

Clothing• In order to honor Saint Fermin,

thousands of members of the festival dress in traditional all-white clothing with red handkerchiefs around the necks. The red hendkerchiefs have been a part of the festival since it’s beginning, and symbolize the blood shed by Saint Fermin as he was a martyr. The immaculate white clothing however, was not adopted until the 60s when it was encouraged by the mayor of the time.

The Giants and big heads• Everyday of the festival, eight figures are paraded

throughout the streets. The giant figures are known as gigantes y cabezudos, and are representative of queens and kings of various races.

• Following days of festivals, crowds gather in the town hall Plaza on midnight on July 14th. The city mayor closes the festivities with a candle-lighting ceremony. Crowds sing a song called “Pobre de mi.” They finalize the ending of the ceremonies by removing their red handkerchiefs.

• “Pobre de mi, Pobre de mi, que se han acabado las fiestas de San Fermin”- (poor me, poor me, the San Fermin festivities have ended.)

Vocabulary

• Fireworks- Fuegos Artificales • Pamploneses- People from Pamplona• Encierro- the running with the bulls• Religious ceremonies- ceremonias religiosas• Folkloric events- eventos folcloricos• Traditional- tradicional• Tourists- Turistas• Festival/party – fiesta• Bullfight- la corrida de toros• Basque Folklore- Folklore vasco• Parade- desfile• Handkerchief- panuelo• Poor me- pobre de mi• Steer- dirigir• Bull- toro• giants and big heads- gigantes y cabezudos• Santo-saint• Martyr- mártir

Compare and Contrast

• El dia de los Sanfermines could be closely compared to the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Louisiana. The two celebrations are similar because they are both mainly street parades and are celebrated in specific cities as opposed to entire countries or nations. Mardi Gras celebrations last about two weeks, which is similar to the nine days of celebration for el dia de los Sanfermines. Both celebration bring in thousands of visitors from around the world. The parades also both result in an extreme increase in crime during the celebrations. During Mardi Gras, the colors purple, green, and gold and displayed proudly by most who participate, similarly to the white and red of el dia de los Sanfermines.

Test Questions

• What is the significance of the red handkerchiefs worn by participants during el dia de los Sanfermines?

• What is the religious importance of el Dia de los Sanfermines?• El Dia de los Sanfermines has grown to be a widely

controversial celebration throughout the world. Why do you think the celebration faces such controversy?

• Why was the Riau-Riau an opportune chance for political activists to display their opposition toward political authority?

• Why is El Struendo held on different days of the week every year? What do you think would happen if the event were advertised openly to all of the public?

Bibliography

• don quijote. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/holidays/san-fermin.asp

• Running of the bulls. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.sanfermin.com/index.php/en/sf12/portada

• Butcher, L. (1999). The festival of San Fermin: Tradition, entertainment or cruelty?. Animals Today, 7(2),

17.