Description: Toros from the Dolores Aguirre ranch taking part in the 4th encierro. This guy was lucky. Here is was running directly for the vallados on the corner of Estafeta (hamburger corner, deadman’s corner, la curva, etc) which is not the best thing to do. At the last moment he did the smart thing and turned, thus saving his ass, and his medical insurance cover. The guy on the right background trying to touch the bull is doing the wrong thing – his body is turned directly towards the bull, reaching out to touch the bull. One swift flick of his head, and the guy is gored.

Title: 1, 2, 3…Line them up.
Description: Fourth encierro, July 10th. The corner of Calle Estafeta, so called “Deadman’s corner”.

Los Mansos, por Javier Lorente. from sanferminencierro on Vimeo.

Javier Lorente Cía, is a veterinary surgeon who worked in the veterinary services involved in the encierro and corridas for many years.

In this interview he explains what “los mansos” (the meek) are, and the different variations (cabestres, from the south of Spain for example).

Los mansos are bulls who have been castrated at an early age. As a result they are These bulls are involved in the encierro. Each day two groups of mansos lead and finish the group of toros bravos.

Their job is to provide safety (and apply a certain slowing of the group) by leading the toros bravos to the plaza, while the second groups job is to lead any bulls that might have stopped or been left behind in the bull run towards the bullring (so-called ‘sweep-up” group).

Location: Pamplona, Navarra
Description: On the morning of the 11th of July, an Irish guy, Ian Chambers, was gored during the encierro. It was his own fault, as he broke one of the golden rules: he tried to get the bulls attention and caused the bull to attack him.

Ian says he was trying to distract the bull from charging an older man, and instead the bull charged him. This is a NO NO. In the encierro, look after number 1 – YOU.

Don’t distract the bull.

Sometimes you will see runners distracting the bull to take his attention from goring someone or charging someone: these people are experienced runners, or else they are pastores, who’s job it is to keep the bulls on their course. It is not the job of novice runners to put themselves, and more importantly, other people in danger.

The last photograph of this sequence. The man who in the first shot, stops to look back, eventually looks after himself and hops the vallado in front of me, obscuring my view, but saving himself.

Alan Chambers gets floored, but the bull then moves on.

This is Alan Chambers introducing his leg to a toro bravo from the ranch of Dolores Aguirre.
You can see more about this event here here and here.

This is Alan Chambers milliseconds before he got knocked to his feet by this toro bravo from Dolores Aguirre. As discussed in this post, he made one major mistake: he distracted the bull, which charged him.

You can read his account of the event here.

This is one of los mansos, (“the meek”), the bullocks who run after the toros bravos as the sweeping group. Their job is to make sure all of the bulls end in the plaza, and not on the streets, where they are more dangerous.

Click here to see an interview with Javier Lorente discussing these animals.

This is a great short video from Vimeo user, Miguel Eraso.

It really captures the essence of what happens inside the Plaza De Toros in Pamplona.

The Plaza De Toros is the location for the bullfight (corrida), which takes place daily from 6PM to 9PM. Each torrero must fight a bull for, at maxium, 30 minutes. There are 6 toros bravos (“brave bulls”), and 6 torrero.

Eventhough the video is called “el sol”, the area of the Plaza where the peñas (social groups have their areas for drinking , eating and dancing).

Some people are watching the corrida (bullfight), some people are drinking and dancing and eating, some people are captivated by the corrida, the “real” aficionados, others are disgusted.

Don’t be fooled-the bullfight looks very slow, but it lasts for up to thirty minutes. The bull is a brave, powerful, beautiful animal-nothing about the corrida is easy.

Great video Miguel.