07/06/2007
Tens of thousands of revelers packed the central streets and plaza of the Navarran capital on Friday to kick off one of the most famous fiestas in the world, the San Fermin bull-running festival.
People from across Europe and as far away as Australia and the U.S started to arrive on Thursday ahead of Friday's traditional "chupinazo" firecracker in the city's main square.
The "chupinazo" officially starts the San Fermin festival, popularized internationally by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises." "Los San Fermines," held since 1591, attracts tens of thousands of foreign visitors each year for nine days of revelry, morning bull-runs and afternoon bullfights.
The first bull run takes place Saturday and the spectacle, repeated each day until July 14, is broadcast live on many televisions. Injuries are common as the crowds strive to keep ahead of the bulls and overcrowding has made the runs extremely dangerous.
Since records began in 1924, 13 people have been killed. The last fatality, a 22-year-old American, was gored to death in 1995.
A day before the start, hundreds of members of the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a U.S-based international animal rights group, ran nearly naked through the streets of Pamplona/Iruña on Thursday with their bodies painted with slogans like "Torture isn't culture," and "Bulls yes! Bullfighters no!", calling for an end to bullfighting.
The mostly young activists from various European countries and the United States said they wanted to draw attention to the suffering of the bulls during the so-called 'encierro', the near three-minute charge through the old city for which the San Fermin festival is famous.
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