Bullfighting Festivals and Children's Bull Runs
The Fiestas de los Toros are held from Thursday through Monday, coinciding with the last Sunday in August. During this time, the children’s bull runs—the oldest in Spain—take place.
Designated as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Sepúlveda since 2011, the bullfighting festivals are held in this town in the province of Segovia every year on the last weekend of August, from Thursday through Monday.
The Bullfights
Designated as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Sepúlveda since 2011, the bullfighting festivals are held in this town in the province of Segovia every year on the last weekend of August, from Thursday through Monday. For the residents of Sepúlveda and many visitors, these are the five days of the year they look forward to most.
The first day, Thursday, is known as “the day of the procession.” At 10 a.m., the queen and her ladies-in-waiting are welcomed in the Plaza de España by the “Virgen de la Peña” dance troupe, which performs in their honor. From there, they proceed in a joyful procession to the Virgen de la Peña, the gathering place for Sepúlveda’s numerous social clubs. After the clubs’ prayer to the Virgin, the parade of clubs takes place, ending at the Plaza de España, where, from the balcony of the castle, the rocket launch, which, at 12 noon, marks the start of five long days of festivities, the proclamation of the queen and her ladies-in-waiting, and the opening address. Following these official ceremonies, the famous and traditional tour of the town’s social clubs (which have their meeting places in natural caves) begins, where visitors can sample their lemonade. Every year, the social club tour draws hundreds of Sepulvedans and visitors who never miss this event.
The tour lasts well into the afternoon, and many people follow it up with the nighttime festivities and the orchestra’s music. Orchestras provide entertainment during the evening hours from Thursday through Sunday.
As the name suggests, the highlights of the festivities are the traditional and well-known bull runs featuring the fighting bulls that will be fought in the afternoon—which take place every morning through the town’s streets—as well as the afternoon bullfighting events. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are the days on which both the bull runs and the afternoon bullfighting events take place. The first three days typically feature a practical training session for students from bullfighting schools, a novillada (bullfight with young bulls) without picadors, and a full bullfight; on Monday, there is a becerrada (bullfight with young bulls) for the town’s peñas.
The Sepúlveda Fan Clubs Association plays a fundamental role in organizing these festivities. In addition to contributing their joy and color, they cover the costs of the brass bands that accompany the festival’s daily vermouth gatherings and the bullfighting events, as well as the children’s activities in the mornings and other performances.
Monday is traditionally the day of the clubs. After the bull run—which takes place a little later that day—each club has lunch with its members before everyone heads down to the calf bullfight, in which three local clubs will compete. In the evening, the Association of Peñas organizes the awards gala at the “La Violeta” nightclub to honor the winners of the inter-peña championships held throughout August and the young bullfight. This event brings the Sepúlveda bullfighting festivities to a close.
A defining feature of these festivities is that they are entirely grassroots.
Children’s Bull Runs
Another highlight of these festivities is the Children’s Bull Runs, which date back to 1992. These are traditional-style bull runs for children, but they are harmless, as they are carried out using wheelbarrows mounted with highly realistic figures of bulls and heifers.
These bull runs are currently organized by the “Arco de la Villa” Cultural Association, although they were originally created by the “Las Cadenas” social club. Over the years, together they have succeeded in making these runs one of the hallmarks of the Sepúlveda festivities, as people of all ages take part in them.
These bull runs began with a single black bull, made of papier-mâché, which completed the course; however, that first bull did not survive the festivities. The following year, the figure had to be remade using the same technique, with the same result: by the end of the festivities, the bull was in tatters. In light of these previous results, they proceeded to make a bull made of m