Spain’s running of the bulls: Firecracker kicks off fiesta
PAMPLONA, Spain — The launch of the traditional firework rocket known as the “Chupinazo” kicked off Pamplona’s famed San Fermin running of the bulls festival on Thursday.
The firework was launched from Pamplona’s town hall balcony at noon to the delight of thousands of people packed into the square below.
The throng — most dressed in festival’s typical white clothes and red neck scarves — immediately erupted ecstatically, screaming “Viva San Fermin!” and spraying each other with wine.
The nine-day, street-partying fiesta was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises.”