• Album.Images of the historical stopper in Pamplona
  • That July 12, 2004, the most dangerous confinement of all San Fermin
  • That July 11, 2015, the first bull that refused to run the running of the bulls

July 13, 2013

  • Duration: 4:45
  • Livestock: Fuente Ymbro
  • Injured: 2 from bull horn and 23 from crushing and contusions

Many expert runners who come to Pamplona say it and everyone thinks it: the biggest problem of the Sanfermines is not the bulls, but the other runners. The saturation of the streets, the excess capacity. And within that fear, the montoneras have historically been its maximum expression. After the tragic experiences of the 1970s, the last and tragic in 1977, the inclusion of cat flaps (loopholes at ground level) in the alley in the 1980s seemed to have alleviated the situation, but it was not completely resolved.

That July 13, 2013, none of the most feared livestock ran through the streets of Pamplona, ​​but another circumstance would be decisive: it was Saturday, a bridge for the French, who saw their national holiday of July 14 moved to Monday. Excess of participants, many beginners, in some sanfermines already well saturated.

The result was very visible: at the entrance to the plaza, just before the hostel, dozens of waiters fell and formed a monumental mound, over two meters high. The montonera did not stop growing until the arrival of the running of the bulls, when a dramatic, anguishing and gruesome picture was created. Panic faces mingled with the antlers of the Fuente Ymbro bulls . The eyes of humans and cattle looking for an exit from the mousetrap that seemed to never come. Eternal seconds in which the animals tried to overcome the impassable wall of fallen youth.

But why did it happen? What made this confinement different from many others at the weekend with an extraordinary influx?

The key was in the opening of the access doors to the arena, two leaves that the Foral Police officers are responsible for opening in two groups of eight. But one of them failed. The entrance to the plaza of hundreds of people was concentrated in a funnel of about three meters, which soon caused the first falls of waiters. When the bulls were still rounding the corner of the Estafeta , you could already speak of a montonera at the entrance to the ring. That did not stop growing.

The last animal to reach the end of the funnel was an absent-minded soapmaker with little force who suffered several falls in the section of Telefónica. Thus, he reached the alley at the pass, looking at the unsuspecting ones who were walking around and wondering whether or not to attack the fallen in the trap of the gigantic stopper. But he decided to do nothing. Neither ramming nor running over anyone. Simply wait patiently for your turn.

Those already on the sand tried to help the trapped. They threw their hands over their heads in despair, stretched out their arms, and tried to rescue someone. They did not succeed and returned to throw their hands at the head. They saw the same faces of the Heysel tragedy and could do nothing to prevent it.

In the middle of the noise a hero arose. A sandpit in the Plaza de Pamplona. A hero in the sense that he did what he had to do at the right time, without considering the consequences. The sandbox opened the access door to the alley. The animals saw the light and all the brothers looked for the exit. And they found her. Within seconds, the plug disappeared without further consequences.

The extensive number of wounded does not reflect, by far, the anguish experienced by those who were there.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Bulls

SAN FERMÍNA that July 7, 2015: when the gangs feel like war

San Fermín That July 12, 2004: the most dangerous confinement of all San Fermin

San FermínThat July 8, 2016: Two bulls of Barley Gago take over the Estafeta

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