Fourteen injured in the first three Encierros of the Sanfermines 2024

USPA NEWS - Fourteen injured in three days of celebration during the 2024 Sanfermines in Pamplona is the provisional balance of the three Encierros held so far in the Navarrese capital. About to reach the middle of the festivities, which will conclude on Sunday with the song of ‘Pobre de mí (Poor me)' with which the people of Pamplona conspire to celebrate next year's festivities together again, the Sanfermines of 2024 are being configured as one one of the most eventful in history.

The Sanfermines are a mix of fervor for the city's patron saint, San Fermín; joy in the Chupinazo with which the festivities begin; tension in the Encierros that, from July 7 to 14, are held at dawn; enjoy food and drink; and music that invades the streets of the Navarrese capital. They are the most international festivals in Spain and attract many tourists, especially Americans, who celebrate the festival and, on many occasions, dare to run in front of the bulls.

The first Encierros (Running of the Bulls) of the Sanfermines 2024 resulted in six injuries, one from a bull's horn. The second, with six others. And the third, on Tuesday, with two injured people, bruised by blows against the bulls or by falls during the race.

But the Sanfermines are not just Encierros. The city is filled with music, with concerts in all neighborhoods. After the Encierros, every day, Estafeta Street - the most iconic of the Sanfermines - is filled with people ready to have breakfast and continue the party. The central Plaza del Castillo is also filled with people looking for a place in the numerous bars in the area, where they can rest and have a snack.

Because food is another of the Sanfermines traditions. Navarra is a Spanish region with an excellent garden, where asparagus, peppers and, in general, all kinds of vegetables are typical, which, later, cooked, give rise to exquisite dishes of Navarrese gastronomy. The region also boasts excellent rosé wines, which delight wine lovers.

However, not everything is joy and fun in Pamplona. The city wakes up every morning covered in garbage, after a night of celebrations. The City Hall's cleaning services work at full speed and so do the emergency services because, contrary to what one might expect, it is not only bulls that can take a person to the hospital; also excess alcohol. It is the negative image of the Sanfermines, against which the Pamplona City Council fights.