PEOPLE AND PLACES

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Monday, July 9, 2012

HEMINGWAY’S RUNNING WITH THE BULLS IN PAMPLONA SPAIN

 

 

HEMINGWAY’S RUNNING WITH THE BULLS IN PAMPLONA

Every year, the Festival of San Fermin attracts thousands of visitors to Pamplona, Spain. Lasting nine days, the festival kicks off with massive crowds at the Chupinazo in Pamplona town square, followed by a carnival, fireworks, many bullfights, and of course, the encierro, or "running of the bulls." Held since 1591, San Fermin remains a popular, if also dangerous and controversial, event: Several people have been injured already this year, and the festival continues until July 14. Collected here are some scenes from the first days of this year's Festival of San Fermin.
  • Revellers pack Pamplona ahead of the release of the bulls
  • Start delayed after nationalists drape Basque flag over city hall
  • Festival injures hundreds of people a year and has killed many
  • After running through the streets, the animals are killed in the bullring
  • Welfare groups says tradition is cruel and that participants 'have blood on their hands'

It is the high octane, adrenaline-fuelled extravaganza that injures - and sometimes kills - hundreds of of people a year and has been branded cruel by animal welfare groups. But in extraordinary scenes today, the annual bull-running festival of San Fermin - made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises -  showed it has lost none of its lure, as thousands of people packed the streets of Pamplona to mark the start of nine days of blood and gore. Bedecked in white and holding the traditional vivid red scarves, a writhing mass of humanity basked in blazing temperatures as they prepared for the traditional launch of a firework that signals the release of the bulls.

Sea of humanity: The square in Pamplona is packed with thousands of people ahead of the start of the nine-day bull-running festival of San Fermin

Sea of humanity: The square in Pamplona is packed with thousands of people ahead of the start of the nine-day bull-running festival of San Fermin

Riot of colour: A glorious sea of red means it only one thing in Pamplona - bulls

Riot of colour: A glorious sea of red means it only one thing in Pamplona - bulls

Defiant: Concerns over animal welfare were ignored by the throng of people who flock to Basque city every year for perhaps the most famous festival in Spain

Defiant: Concerns over animal welfare were ignored by the throng of people who flock to Basque city every year for perhaps the most famous festival in Spain

Packed in tight: Revelers kick off the event with a party ahead of the launching of a rocket to mark the release of the bulls

Packed in tight: Revelers kick off the event with a party ahead of the launching of a rocket to mark the release of the bulls

United: Several thousand people hold up the traditional red scarf as they celebrate the beginning of the festival

United: Several thousand people hold up the traditional red scarf as they celebrate the beginning of the festival

Drenched: Participants hurled booze and water at each other to cool off during the wild pre-running party

Love is in the air:

Hedonistic: Passions run high for one couple, right, while a group of men get into the spirit of things, right

The party was delayed briefly after suspected nationalists draped the Basque flag over the city hall.

Six 100-stone bulls and six steers from are set free from their corral and a crowd of revellers will then run for nearly a kilometre through the city, ending up at the bullring.

There are absolutely no hiding places. Workers erect 12-feet barriers along the route, and many participants push their luck too far. Around 200 are injured during San Fermin each year, and the bull runs have claimed 15 lives since 1924, with the most recent death, that of a 62-year-old Spaniard, occurring in 2003.

Surfing: A girl rides the crowd, as the party atmosphere reaches fever pitch

Surfing: A girl rides the crowd, as the party atmosphere reaches fever pitch

Thirsty work: A reveler drinks wine at the start of a festival that injures on average about 200 people a year

Thirsty work: A reveler drinks wine at the start of a festival that injures on average about 200 people a year

Celebration: A group of men hoist a woman in the air during the 'Chupinazo' marking the start of the San Fermin Festival

Celebration: A group of men hoist a woman in the air during the 'Chupinazo' marking the start of the San Fermin Festival

Tradition: Revellers gathered in Ayuntamiento square, in Pamplona, to mark the start of the famous festival

Tradition: Revellers gathered in Ayuntamiento square, in Pamplona, to mark the start of the famous festival

Red and white: People gathered in the square are covered in red paint and consume red drinks

Red and white: People gathered in the square are covered in red paint and consume red drinks

Party: A man is held aloft above the crowd, where everyone has come dressed in white

Party: A man is held aloft above the crowd, where everyone has come dressed in white

The issue of animal rights has long gone hand-in-hand with San Fermin. The bulls that take part in the run each morning are killed by bullfighters in the evening, usually in a slow and torturous manner.

Ahead of this year’s edition, one of its most high profile opponents has been Benjamin Zephaniah, the writer and poet.

Writing for the Guardian’s Comment is Free section, he argued all visitors to the festival have 'blood on their hands'.

Euphoria: Animal rights groups have denounced the festival as cruel but it remains as popular as ever

Euphoria: Animal rights groups have denounced the festival as cruel but it remains as popular as ever

Fountain: Festival-goers cool off in Ayuntamiento square

Fountain: Festival-goers cool off in Ayuntamiento square

Glorified: Ernest Hemingway featured the festival in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises

Glorified: Ernest Hemingway featured the festival in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises

Leap of faith: A reveller jumps from a fountain at the Plaza de Navarreria as he is sprayed with water during the start of the San Fermin festival

Leap of faith: A reveller jumps from a fountain at the Plaza de Navarreria as he is sprayed with water during the start of the San Fermin festival

Regional pride: Proceedings were delayed when a Basque flag that was planted on the town hall was removed

Regional pride: Proceedings were delayed when a Basque flag that was planted on the town hall was removed

Colourful: Pamplona was turned into a sea of red, as hundreds of tourists joined locals to celebrate the festival made famous by Ernest Hemingway

Colourful: Pamplona was turned into a sea of red, as hundreds of tourists joined locals to celebrate the festival made famous by Ernest Hemingway

Full to capacity: Every vantage point was taken as crowds flocked to get a look in on festivities

Full to capacity: Every vantage point was taken as crowds flocked to get a look in on festivities

Having a ball: These people have 'blood on their hands' according to Benjamin Zephania, who says the suffering experienced by bulls at the festival is cruel

Having a ball: These people have 'blood on their hands' according to Benjamin Zephania, who says the suffering experienced by bulls at the festival is cruel

'Tourists who participate in the run or visit Pamplona simply to watch it contribute to the carnage,' he said.

'Every shared tapa, every cerveza, every booked hotel room and balcony bolsters the killing. As long as the city makes money off the event, bulls will continue to suffer and die.'

'Tormenting and butchering bulls for entertainment belongs to the dark ages – not the 21st century.'

The League Against Cruel Sports, a charity, blamed 'lads magazines' for 'sensationalising the event... playing up the braveness' of the human participants, and glossing over 'the reality as to how the bull run ends'.

But there are signs Spain's treatment of the animals could be changing after Catalonia became the second Spanish region to ban bullfighting, following the Canary Islands.

Carnage: Expect more scenes like this from 2007 when the bulls are released

Carnage: Expect more scenes like this from 2007 when the bulls are released

 

 

With his wife Hadley, Hemingway first visited the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain in 1923, where he became fascinated by bullfighting.[5] The Hemingways returned to Pamplona in 1924—enjoying the trip immensely—this time accompanied by Chink Dorman-Smith, John Dos Passos, and Donald Ogden Stewart and his wife.[6] The couple returned a third time in June 1925; that year they brought with them a different group of American and British expatriates: Hemingway's Michigan boyhood friend Bill Smith, Stewart, Lady Duff Twysden (recently divorced), her lover Pat Guthrie, and Harold Loeb.[7] In Pamplona the group quickly disintegrated. Hemingway, attracted to Lady Duff, was jealous of Loeb, who had recently been on a romantic getaway with her; by the end of the week the two men had a public fistfight. Against this background was the influence of the young matador from Ronda, Cayetano Ordóñez, whose brilliance in the bullring affected the spectators. Ordóñez honored Hemingway's wife Hadley by presenting her, from the bullring, with the ear of a bull he killed. Outside of Pamplona, the fishing trip to the Irati River (near Burguete in Navarre) was marred by polluted water.

Hemingway intended to write a non-fiction book about bullfighting but thought that the week's experiences had presented him with enough material for a novel.[6] A few days after the fiesta ended, on his birthday (21 July), he began to write the draft of what would become The Sun Also Rises, finishing eight weeks later.[8] By 17 August, with 14 chapters written and a working title of Fiesta chosen, Hemingway returned to Paris. He finished the draft on 21 September 1925, writing a foreword the following weekend and changing the title to The Lost Generation.

A few months later, in December 1925, the Hemingways left to spend the winter in Schruns, Austria, where Hemingway began revising the manuscript extensively. Pauline Pfeiffer joined them in January and against Hadley's advice urged him to sign a contract with Scribner's. He left Austria for a quick trip to New York to meet with the publishers, and on his return, during a stop in Paris, began an affair with Pauline, before returning to Schruns to finish the revisions in March.[10] In June, he was in Pamplona with Hadley and Pauline. On their return to Paris, Hadley asked for a separation and left for the south of France.[11] In August, alone in Paris, he completed the proofs, and dedicated the novel to his wife and son.[12] After the publication of the book in October, Hadley asked for a divorce, and he gave her the royalties from The Sun Also Rises

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A cow jumps over revelers in a bullring during the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin Fiesta, in Pamplona, Spain, on July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga)

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Revelers hold up traditional red scarves during the "Chupinazo", the official opening of the 2012 San Fermin fiestas, on July 6, 2012 in Pamplona, Spain. Revelers from around the world kick off the San Fermin festival with a messy party in the Pamplona town square, one day before the first of eight days of the running of the bulls. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Revellers hold up red scarves during the start of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona July 6, 2012. (Reuters/Vincent West) #

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Celebrations in Ayuntamiento square, in Pamplona, Spain on July 6, 2012 to kick off the Spain's most famous bull-running festival with the annual launch of the "chupinazo" rocket. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

Participants celebrate during the "Chupinazo" to mark the start at noon sharp of the San Fermin Festival on July 6, 2012 in front of the Town Hall of Pamplona. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images)

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A reveler is sprayed with water after the "Chupinazo", on July 6, 2012 in Pamplona. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Festival-goers are doused with water after the "Chupinazo" in Pamplona, on July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Partying during the "Chupinazo" in Pamplona town square, on July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A San Fermin festival reveler jumps from a fountain in Pamplona, on July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Men and women are packed together in the messy "Chupinazo" party in the Pamplona town square, on July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A Toro del Fuego, flaming bull, runs through the streets of Pamplona on the second day of the San Fermin running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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A couple kisses before the second run of the bull of the San Fermin Festival, on July 8, 2012, in Pamplona. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A placard depicting Muhammad Ali, left by street artists next to sleeping men in Cidadela Park during the second day of the San Fermin running of the bulls on July 8, 2012. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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A girl reacts as she is hit by the hat of a "Kiliki" during San Fermin festival's "Comparsa de gigantes y cabezudos" (Parade of the giants and the big heads) in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. "Kilikis", wearing outsized masks, playfully hit bystanders with sponges on sticks, and parade daily through the city accompanied by brass bands during the nine-day-long festival. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

Revelers run through Estafeta street on the third day of the San Fermin running-of-the-bulls on July 9, 2012 in Pamplona, Spain. (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

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Runners make space for a Miura fighting bull before entering the Estafeta corner on the second day of the San Fermin running-of-the-bulls on July 8, 2012 in Pamplona. (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images) #

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A runner, identified by a Navarran government spokesperson as a 21-year-old Japanese man from Ikeda, is lifted by his scarf onto the horns of a Dolores Aguirre fighting bull on the the first day of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 7 2012. The man was dragged for approximately 50 meters (164 feet) and suffered light back injuries. (Reuters/Vincent West) #

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A runner is dragged by his scarf by a Dolores Aguirre fighting bull at the entrance to the bullring during the first running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012. (Reuters/Vincent West) #

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Doctors and paramedics give assistance to an injured man after a Dolores Aguirre Yabarra ranch fighting bull tossed him during the running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Runners fall in the path of a Cebada Gago fighting bull and steers at the entrance to the bullring during the third running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 9, 2012. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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Steers enter the bullring during the second running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

 

 

A cow jumps over revelers in a bullring during the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin Fiesta, in Pamplona, Spain, on July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga)

 

A recortador leaps over a bull during a contest at Pamplona's bullring on the third day of the San Fermin festival, on July 8, 2012. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

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A man sleeps during the second day of the San Fermin Festival, on July 8, 2012, in Pamplona. (Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty Images)

 

  • Annual festival has runners dashing through streets of Pamplona while bulls chase them
  • Fiesta, which lasts nine days, originally organised in honour of San Fermin

It demands nerves of steel, quick relfexes and the ability to run like the wind.

Because this is Spain's infamous running of the bulls, where thousands of daredevils race through the streets of Pamplona - with a herd of bulls hot on their heels.

Runners - or 'mozos' - raced through the streets of the northern Spanish city of Pamplona today in a hair-raising but relatively clean second bull run of the famed annual San Fermin festival.

People lean out of balconies to cheer on the brave runners as they dash in front of Alcurrucen's bulls during the first bull run of the San Fermin Festival

People lean out of balconies to cheer on the brave runners as they dash in front of Alcurrucen's bulls during the first bull run of the San Fermin Festival

Run! The festival is a symbol of Spanish culture that attracts thousands of tourists to watch the bull runs despite heavy condemnation from animal rights groups

Run! The festival is a symbol of Spanish culture that attracts thousands of tourists to watch the bull runs despite heavy condemnation from animal rights groups

Look out! The annual Fiesta de San Fermin was made famous by the 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemmingway

Look out! The annual Fiesta de San Fermin was made famous by the 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemmingway

The daredevils - quickly followed by the bulls - run through the historic heart of Pamplona for nine days as part of the adrenalin-fuelled fiesta

The daredevils - quickly followed by the bulls - run through the historic heart of Pamplona for nine days as part of the adrenalin-fuelled fiesta

There were no gorings in the run and four people were treated in city hospitals for injuries suffered in falls, Navarra Hospital chief Javier Sesma said.

The early morning race saw thrill-seekers dashing alongside six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers that try to keep the creatures together along the narrow 930-yard (850-meter) course from a holding pen to the city bull ring. Today's run lasted just over two minutes. The run is televised nationally and is the highlight of the nine-day street partying festival, which became world famous following the 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway's novel 'The Sun Also Rises.'

'Never again,' said Jonathan Chadwick, 31, an engineer from Auckland, New Zealand, who said it was his 'first and last time' to run.

Look out! Daredevils take part in the bull running festival in...

There were no gorings in the run and four people were treated in city hospitals for injuries suffered in falls, a hospital chief said

There were no gorings in the run and four people were treated in city hospitals for injuries suffered in falls, a hospital chief said

A reveler, left, falls on the Estafeta corner as others keep running with Dolores Aguirre Ybarra ranch fighting bulls

A reveler, left, falls on the Estafeta corner as others keep running with Dolores Aguirre Ybarra ranch fighting bulls

A steer runs towards revellers during the running. The bulls that are run each morning are invariably killed in evening bull fights

A steer runs towards revellers during the running. The bulls that are run each morning are invariably killed in evening bull fights

The heart-stopping run and subsequent parties were originally organised in honor of San Fermin, patron saint of Navarra

The heart-stopping run and subsequent parties were originally organised in honor of San Fermin, patron saint of Navarra

HOW THE BULL RUNNING BEGAN

The origin of the controversial fiesta stems from the need to move the bulls from the off-site corrals to the bullring where they would be killed in the evening.

Foolish youngsters would dash in amongst the creatures to prove their bravery.

In Pamplona the festival is run to honour San Fermin, the city's saint, and runs between July 6 and 14.

Runners wear red and white, ask San Fermin for protection, and hold rolled up newspapers in case they need to distract the bulls.

They run from the corrals, through the streets, before finally ending in the bull ring.

Each year hundreds of people are injured, and occasionally killed, in the fiesta.

'It was really scary,' he added.

Ade Erinkitola, a 47-year-old IT worker from San Francisco said it was his first time but he'd be back.

'It was really exciting, my heart was beating really fast. I didn't know what to expect,' he said.

Three Spaniards and a 41-year-old man from Pheonix, Arizona, were injured but none were in a serious condition, according to the Navarra regional government press office.

The bulls that are run each morning are invariably killed in evening bull fights, and their meat is served up in Pamplona's restaurants.

Animals rights groups have previously slammed the event, branding it cruel to the bulls forced to run.

A PETA spokesman slammed the event, and called for a boycott of the annual festival.
They said: 'In this day and age, it's appalling that sensitive animals are still being tormented and killed in front of a screaming crowd.

'PETA and Spanish group AnimaNaturalis are joining compassionate people from around the world in condemning this cruel blood sport – and in urging tourists to stay far away from the bullfights.'

The heart-stopping run and subsequent parties were originally organised in honor of San Fermin, patron saint of Navarra, although the religious aspect has now faded.

The bull run begins with the runners chanting for protection as they stand just a few metres up the slope from the corral where the bulls are waiting.

They raise their rolled newspapers and chant to an image of San Fermin placed in a small recess in the wall in the Cuesta de Santo Domingo.

A steer lays on the ground during the running. Many animals rights groups have denounced the event as cruel to the bulls

A steer lays on the ground during the running. Many animals rights groups have denounced the event as cruel to the bulls

Several hundred runners or 'mozos' are chased by bulls: The bull run begins with the runners chanting for protection as they stand just a few metres from the animals

Several hundred runners or 'mozos' are chased by bulls: The bull run begins with the runners chanting for protection as they stand just a few metres from the animals

Before running, runners or 'mozos' raise their rolled newspapers and chant to an image of San Fermin asking for help

Before running, runners or 'mozos' raise their rolled newspapers and chant to an image of San Fermin asking for help

Panic: The early morning race saw thrill-seekers dashing alongside six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers that try to keep the animals together

Panic: The early morning race saw thrill-seekers dashing alongside six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers that try to keep the animals together

Against a backdrop of silence, they chant: 'A San Fermin pedimos, por ser nuestro patron, nos guie en el encierro dandonos su bendicion,' translated as: 'We ask San Fermin, being our patron saint, to guide us in the bull run and give us his blessing'. When they finish they shout 'Viva San Fermin!, Gora San Fermin,' the official website said. This chant is sung three times before 8am, until the gates are opened and the bulls released.

After the launching of two rockets, the bulls charge behind the runners for 825 metres, the distance between the corral and the bullring.

When a third rocket is fired from the bullring it signals that all the bulls have entered the bullring.

A fourth and final rocket declares that all the bulls are safely in the corral located inside the bullring, and that the bull run has ended.

Yesterday emergency services to tended to an injured runner who had defied safety - and possibly sanity - to dash through the streets chased by bulls

Yesterday emergency services to tended to an injured runner who had defied safety - and possibly sanity - to dash through the streets chased by bulls

Almost there: A runner sprints in front of a a fighting bull at the entrance to the bull ring in Pamplona

Almost there: A runner sprints in front of a a fighting bull at the entrance to the bull ring in Pamplona

The run - which lasted two minutes this year - is televised nationally and is the highlight of the nine-day street partying festival

The run - which lasted two minutes this year - is televised nationally and is the highlight of the nine-day street partying festival

Made it to the ring: Three Spaniards and a 41-year-old man from Pheonix, Arizona, were injured but none were in a serious condition

Made it to the ring: Three Spaniards and a 41-year-old man from Pheonix, Arizona, were injured but none were in a serious condition

 

   

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People walk amid piles of rubbish at the end of the first running of the bulls, in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A reveler rests on a chair in the old city, at San Fermin fiestas, in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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The hands of a festival-goer hold her wineskin and railings as she waits for the start of the running of the bulls on the Estafeta corner, at the San Fermin fiestas, in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A Cebada Gago ranch fighting bull falls on Estafeta corner during the third Running Of The Bulls, on July 9, 2012. Three people, two from Britain and one from the U.S. were gored by Fugado (Runaway), a 545 kg (1,199 lb) bull that broke from the pack after falling in Santo Domingo in a run that lasted three minutes and thirty-eight seconds. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

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Runners enter the bullring during the third running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival, on July 9, 2012. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A steer attempts to break through the crowd of runners blocking the entrance to the bullring during the second running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A reveler tries to escape a bull in the bullring, at the end of third running of the bulls, on Monday, July 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A man is tossed by a bull in the bullring in Pamplona, on July 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

Every year, the Festival of San Fermin attracts thousands of visitors to Pamplona, Spain. Over the course of nine days, the festival hosts many bullfights, a carnival, fireworks, and of course, the encierro, or "running of the bulls." Held since 1591, San Fermin remains a popular, if also dangerous and controversial event: Several people have been gored already this year, and the festival continues until July 14th. Collected below are some scenes from the first few days of this 2011's Festival of San Fermin.

A Torrestrella ranch fighting bull is seen during a bullfight at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, on July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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Chilean Alonso Ceardi poses with a picture that shows when he was severely gored during the running of the bulls at the 2010 San Fermin Festival in Pamplona. Ceardi nearly died from the goring, but said he would run again at this year's festival. (Reuters/Eloy Alonso) #

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Attendees hold up traditional red scarves as tens of thousands of people packed Pamplona's main square in Spain, on July 6, 2011 to celebrate the start of Spain's most famous bull-running festival with the annual launch of the "chupinazo" rocket. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga) #

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Participants hold traditional red scarves during the 'Chupinazo' to mark the start at noon sharp of the San Fermin Festival on July 6, 2011. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Festival goers celebrate during the Chupinazo on July 6, 2011 in Pamplona, Spain. (Denis Doyle/Getty Images) #

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Participants react as water is thrown from a balcony during the 'Chupinazo' in Pamplona, Spain, on July 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Festival goers gather during the 'Chupinazo', the official opening of the 2011 San Fermin Festival on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 in Pamplona, Spain. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Revelers smile during the 'Chupinazo', in Pamplona, Spain, on Wednesday July 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A man celebrates during the 'Chupinazo' on July 6, 2011 in front of the Town Hall of Pamplona, northern Spain. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A woman drinks wine during the 'Chupinazo', on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 in Pamplona, Spain. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A festival goer jumps from a fountain at the Plaza de Navarreria during the start of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 6, 2011. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A man lies injures on the ground after leaping from the Navarre, a fountain in Pamplona, Spain Wednesday July 6, 2011 at the start of Spain's most famous bull-running festival. The man was not caught by other revelers and fell directly to the ground seriously injuring himself. At the time of the photograph, there were no further details on his condition. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga) #

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A man sleeps after the first running of the bulls, on July 07, 2011, in Pamplona, Spain. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Workers carry the stuffed body of a bull named Bravio to stand in a hall at a hotel in Pamplona, Spain, Friday July 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A couple kiss after the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Friday, July 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A "Kiliki" tries to calm down a frightened boy during San Fermin Festival's "Comparsa de gigantes y cabezudos" (Parade of the giants and the big heads) in Pamplona, on July 8, 2011. Enormous puppets accompanied by brass bands parade daily through the city during the nine-day-long festival made popular by U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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Participants run next to Torrestrella ranch fighting bulls on Estafeta street during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A tourist takes photos from a balcony on Calle de la Estafeta before the first running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Thursday July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A man falls next to a steer during the first bull run of the famous running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 7, 2011. (Reuters/Eloy Alonso) #

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Festival goers run on the Estafeta corner ahead of Jose Cebada Gago ranch bulls during the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Friday July 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A photographer prepares his camera on the famous Estafeta Corner before the start of the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Friday July 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Revelers run on the Estafeta corner as one bull falls during the second running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona northern Spain, Friday July 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Men are pinned by a leading bull, used to drive the fighting bulls during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, on Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Two policemen arrest a man too drunk to take part in the second San Fermin Festival bull run, on July 8, 2011. (Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A man tries to avoid a steer that broke away from the pack of fighting bulls during the second day of the San Fermin running-of-the-bulls on July 7, 2011. (Denis Doyle/Getty Images) #

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Participants run with Cebada Gago's fighting bulls during the second San Fermin Festival bull run, on July 8, 2011. (Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images) #

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A calf jumps into the arena after the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival on Thursday, July 7, 2011, in Pamplona, Spain. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga) #

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A runner is trampled in the bullring following the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin Festival, on July 8, 2011. (Reuters/Eloy Alonso) #

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Bullfighter assistants wait before a bullfight at the San Fermin Festival, on Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Mexican bullfighter Arturo Saldivar prepares for the start of the first bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 7, 2011. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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Mexican bullfighter Arturo Saldivar performs during a bullfight at the San Fermin Festival, on Thursday, July 7, 2011.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Rejoneador (bullfighter on horseback) Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza performs at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona July 6, 2011. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

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Spanish novillero bullfighter Jimenez Fortes falls in front of the horns of a bull during a bullfight in Pamplona, Spain, on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Fortes fell in front of the bull and managed to roll over to avoid the horns, lucky to be unhurt in the incident. Novilleros, is the stage prior to becoming a 'matador' where bullfights are performed with young bulls. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Mexican bullfighter Arturo Saldivar performs a pass with a bull during the first bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona July 7, 2011. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A dead bull is dragged away following a bullfight by Rejoneadores at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 6, 2011. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

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Mexican bullfighter Arturo Saldivar performs during a bullfight at the San Fermin Festival, on July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Spanish Matador Javier Rubio, before a bullfight in the San Fermin festival at Pamplona's bullring on July 8, 2012. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images)

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A bull pushes the horse of Spanish mounted bullfighter Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza during a horseback bullfight at San Fermin Fiestas, on July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A puntillero, or bullfighter's assistant, delivers the coup de grâce, killing a bull during the first bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

Spanish bullfighter Fernando Robleno performs with a Miura's ranch fighting bull during a bullfight in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Spanish bullfighter Roberto Armendariz kneels in front of a bull during a horseback bullfight on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

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Spanish bullfighter Jose Miguel Perez 'Joselillo' performs during a bullfight at San Fermin Fiestas, in Pamplona, on July 7, 2012 in Pamplona, Spain. (AP Photo/Ivan Aguinaga) #

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The body of Navajito (Little Blade) is dragged away to be taken to the slaughterhouse following the second bullfight after being killed by Spanish bullfighter Javier Castano at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. The 640-kg (1,430 lbs) Miura fighting bull had earlier raced ahead of the pack of fellow bulls during Sunday morning's Running Of The Bulls, scattering runners in Estafeta Street and landing two in hospital. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu)

Photos: The Festival of San Fermin 2013

 

Every year, the Festival of San Fermin, including the "Running of the Bulls", attracts thousands of visitors to Pamplona, Spain. Lasting nine days, the festival kicks off with massive crowds at the Chupinazo in Pamplona town square, followed by a carnival, fireworks, the running of the bulls, and many bullfights. Held since 1591, San Fermin remains a popular, if also dangerous and controversial, event -- dozens of people were injured this year. The festival came to an end yesterday, July 14. Collected here are scenes from this year's Festival of San Fermin.

Revelers back away from an Alcurrucen's ranch fighting bull during the running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, Spain, on July 7, 2013. People from around the world travel to Pamplona every year to take part in some of the eight day festival.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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Participants hold red scarves as they celebrate the "Chupinazo" marking the start of the San Fermin Festival at Castle square in Pamplona, Spain, on July 6, 2013. Tens of thousands of people packed Pamplona's streets for a drunken kick-off to Spain's best-known fiesta.(Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Revelers hold up their red scarves during the "Chupinazo" in Pamplona, on July 6, 2013. (Reuters/Eloy Alonso) #

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Festival-goers are sprayed with water thrown from balconies during the launch of the "Chupinazo" rocket, to celebrate the official opening of the 2013 San Fermin fiestas, on July 6, 2013 in Pamplona. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Men and women pack Pamplona's town square during the opening of the 2013 San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, on July 6, 2013.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Revelers grab at a woman atop another person's shoulders during the drunken kick-off of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 6, 2013. (Reuters/Vincent West) #

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People are sprayed with water thrown from balconies during the launch of the opening of the 2013 San Fermin Festival, on July 6, 2013 in Pamplona. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A festival-goer sleeps on a bench as cleaning operators work at Plaza del Castillo in the early hours ahead of the Running Of The Bulls, on July 9, 2013 in Pamplona. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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People await the running of the bulls during the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Torrestrella ranch fighting bulls and revelers run in Pamplona, on July 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Participants move quickly during the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, on July 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Runners fall and step over a fallen Fuente Ymbro ranch fighting bull during the running of the bulls, on July 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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People on balconies watch runners and Alcurrucen's bulls during the first bull run of the San Fermin Festival, on July 7, 2013, in Pamplona.(Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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(1 of 4) Runner Diego Miralles (blue and yellow shirt) is caught between the horns of an El Pilar fighting bull on Estafeta street, during the sixth running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 12, 2013. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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(2 of 4) Diego Miralles is tossed in the air by an El Pilar fighting bull, on July 12, 2013. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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(3 of 4) Diego Miralles hangs onto the bull's horn as his leg is gored, on July 12, 2013. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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(4 of 4) Diego Miralles is helped through a barrier by police and a fellow runner to receive medical treatment, on July 12, 2013. Four runners were gored in a run that lasted four minutes and fifty seven seconds, according to local media. Miralles, who was gored three times, was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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Revelers are surprised by a steer, used to drive the fighting bulls, during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 7, 2013.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A fighting cow leaps over festival-goers upon entering the bullring following the first running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, on July 7, 2013. (Reuters/Joseba Etxaburu) #

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Runners enter the bullring followed by Miura fighting bulls in Pamplona, on July 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Runners are trapped in a stampede at the entrance to the bullring, pushed by steers and Fuente Ymbro fighting bulls, during the seventh running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 13, 2013. (Reuters/Josu Santesteban) #

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A cow jumps over runners lying down at the bullring entrance, on Thursday, July 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Runners are knocked down by a bull at the end of last running of the bulls in Pamplona, on July 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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People take part in The "Comparsa de Gigantes y Cabezudos" or the Parade of the Giants and Big Heads, at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, on July 14, 2013. (AP Photo/ Alvaro Barrientos) #

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A couple kiss after the running of the bulls, on July 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Revelers smile as sparks from the "Fire Bull", a man carrying a metal structure loaded with fireworks, fly on the fourth day of the San Fermin Festival, on July 9, 2013. (Reuters/ Vincent West) #

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Spanish bullfighter Ivan Fandino waits to make the "paseillo", or ritual entrance to the arena before a bullfight during the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona, on July 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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An El Pilar ranch fighting bull, during a bullfight in Pamplona, on July 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Spanish bullfighter Manuel Escribano aims his sword before killing a Dolores Aguirre fighting bull during a bullfight ar the San Fermin Festival, on July 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Bullfighter "banderillero" David Peinado is tossed and gored in the head by an Alcurrucen's fighting bull in the bullring, on July 7, 2013.(Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla turns his head to look at a bull as he kneels down during the seventh bullfight of the San Fermin Festival, on July 13, 2013. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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Revelers celebrate during a bullfight with Miura's fighting bulls on the ninth day of the San Fermin Festival, on July 14, 2013.(Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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Spanish bullfighter Ivan Fandino barely escapes getting gored by a bull during the fifth bullfight of the San Fermin Festival, on July 11, 2013. (Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A Fuente Ymbro ranch fighting bull bleeds during a bullfight, on July 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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A Miura's ranch fighting bull's broken horn, during a bullfight on July 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza) #

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Spanish bullfighter Saul Jimenez Fortes is tossed by a bull during the last bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, on July 14, 2013.(Reuters/Susana Vera) #

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A horse belonging to Spanish mounted bullfighter Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, looks at the bleeding bull during a horseback bullfight in Pamplona, on July 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

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Bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla celebrates his performance with a Fuente Ymbro's fighting bull on the eighth day of the San Fermin Festival, on July 13, 2013. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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A dead bull of Dolores Aguirre Ybarra lies on the floor after taking part in a bullfight of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, on July 8, 2013. (Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Revelers raise red scarves and candles as they sing the traditional song "Pobre de Mi" (Poor Me) in the city council building, marking the end of the San Fermin Festival, on July 15, 2013. (Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Festival-goers sing the "Pobre de Mi" song, marking the end of the San Fermin Festival, on July 15, 2013 in Pamplona, Spain.(Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images) #

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Participants are overcome by emotion after the "Pobre de Mi" ceremony marking the end of the 2013 San Fermin Festival, on July 15, 2013.(Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

Spanish bullfighter Rafaelillo performs with a Miura's ranch fighting bull during a bullfight in the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, on July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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