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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY
OF THE SAN FERMIN FIESTA
The historical origins of the San Fermin fiesta are difficult to pin down. There are 13th and 14th Century writings which mention the Sanfermines which, up to the 15th century, were held in October to coincide with Saint's festival (10th Oct.) but at some time during the 15th century the fiesta was moved to July because of the unpredictable weather in October. According to historians the Sanfermines arose out of the conjunction of three separate fiestas: those of a religious nature in honour of San Fermín and which have taken place since time immemorial, the commercial fiestas organised since the 14th century and the bullfighting festivals which also began in the 14th century.
With the combination of the three fiestas and with the change of date, in 1591 the Sanfermines were born, which initially lasted for two days and included a procession, musicians, a tournament, theatre and bull fight. In following years other means of celebrating were incorporated such as fireworks and dances and the fiestas were prolonged up to the 10th. Writings of the 17th and 18th centuries speak of religious acts taking part right next to musicians, dancers, tournaments, acrobats, bull runs and bulls; they talk of the clergy's concern over the abuse of drink, the permissiveness of young men and women and the presence of people from other lands who, with their shows, "made the city more amusing." (Nothing ever changes !)
During the 19th century the Comparsa de Gigantes (Company of Giants) made their debut with cabezudos' (big-headed figures), kilikis and zaldikos. It is also worth noting that, the fact that there was no double wall on the bull run meant that the bulls escaped into the city's streets on numerous occasions. In the 20th century the fiestas reached the height of their popularity. The novel "The Sun Also Rises" (also known as "Fiesta"), written by Ernest Hemingway in 1926, encouraged people from all over the world to come and take part in the San Fermin Fiesta.
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