Spain: Fiestas Patronales

Every Spanish town, village, and city, has a fiesta patronales. Some of these are famous worldwide like la tomatina ,where in Buñol residents throw massive amounts of tomato at each other, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona. These traditions are originally a result of Spain's strong religious beliefs. Every town, village, and city has a patron saint. This includes everywhere from the tiniest villages in Spain to the capital of Madrid. However, in larger cities the different barrios (neighborhoods) usually celebrate different saints. On the day of this saint, the town will hold a fiesta (party). These have strong religious undertones with processions, masses and other pious activities, but they also have unique and questionably pious activities attached to them. All the activities are free and paid for by a combination of the government and local businesses. They can vary in length from one day in small villages to nearly two weeks in larger areas.

The running of the bulls in Pamplona is probably the most famous of these fiestas worldwide. Every July 7th the bulls run the streets of Pamplona, along with several hundred who are brave enough (or drunk enough) to run side by side. Every year there is a gruesome injury and sometimes even death. The news show replays of the carnage relentlessly and covers it as well as any world event. There are interviews with the friends of someone who nearly got mauled, multiple angles of a poor guy getting trampled, all with in depth analysis. Although people debate the sensibility of those running with the bulls, it's obvious that people enjoy it.

There is a strong bull motif in fiestas around Spain, several that make Pamplona's tradition pale in comparison. The 'running of the bulls' is emulated in several places, some with slight variations like in Peñiscula where villagers form a wall and take part in an activity called 'no pasa' where the objective is to prevent the bulls from passing. There is a town that mounts burning torches onto the bulls horns, let him go on the street, and run like hell. As you can see, people get very creative.

Bulls aren't the only animal to suffer during fiestas. One town has a tradition of throwing a live goat off the top of a church with the hopes of having a crowd of people holding a sheet catch it. As you can imagine, animal rights activists have fought against some of these activities. Catalonia even banned bulls from any events, though many say the decision was more an act of political protest since bulls are the national symbol of Spain with a large contingency in Catalonia requesting independence.

The events aren't limited to bulls and goats though. Live music and dances are a part of many fiestas and communal food can also be a huge part. There are villages that make bocatas (sandwiches) big enough for the whole town and other villages that cook a paella the size of a kiddie pool.

Many of the big cities get the publicity but the small towns traditions are equally entertaining. Unfortunately, many of these fiestas are dying in smaller areas, especially as many lose their population to larger urban areas. Because each town has their own unique customs and traditions, I dream of one day writing a book about all the different fiestas patronales that exist in Spain, that is, if I'm not gored by a bull during the process!