Page 161 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

p a mpl ona  159

The procession of St Fermín includes clergy,
town officials and crowds of local people.
Dressed in traditional costumes, the men carry
pennants displaying the coat of arms of
Pamplona and the emblem of Navarra.

Gigantes – huge
figures dressed in
vivid and often
elaborate cos-
tumes, participate
in the procession in
honour of St
The scarlet and yellow cape is used in the
second stage of the bullfight. The bull is Fermín. They add
attracted by the move ment of the cape, colour to the cele-
not by its colour! brations and are
especially popular
with children.
The matador
wears a traje de
luces (suit of
lights) – a
colourful silk
outfit embroi-
dered with
gold sequins.

The bull’s horns The traditional orchestras
are deadly. Only
true masters that take part in the processions
of the art of and parades are composed of
bullfighting dare musi cians playing txistu flutes,
to get this close clar inets, bagpipes and drums.
to an angry bull. The parades often have
orchestras made up of young
boys, who take their role much
more seriously than their
older counterparts.
Ernest Hemingway
It is thanks to Hemingway and his novel The Sun
Also Rises that the previously obscure festival
of Los Sanfermines was transformed into a
riotous international event.
In the 1920s and 1950s,
Hemingway visited
Pamplona on several
occasions, not only to
witness the fiesta but also
to participate in it. Several
of the places he frequented
still exist: the Txoko bar,
the La Perla hotel, the
Iruña café. In 1968, a
monument in honour
of the Nobel prize-
Fun and dancing are an integral part of the fiesta. winning author was Hemingway – an admirer
The jota is danced in honour of St Fermín, and erected near the arena. of the corrida
people sing for a blessing before the bull run.

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