For an event that typically lasts less than four minutes, the annual Running of the Bulls at the famous San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain, causes some serious damage to human life and limb. So it only makes sense for the San Jose fair in Peru to copy the yearly tradition of carnage with its own version of the insane event.
Now, the OG Running of the Bulls takes place annually from July 7–14 in Spain. The so-called “Pamplonada” in the Las Delicias resort area of Moche, Trujillo, held their version the mayhem on Monday.
Peruvian broadcaster Latina Noticias reports that, as is also tradition, a bull injured two men after hitting them during the fracas. One man named César del Río Ganoza sustained the worst injuries when one of the bulls knocked him unconscious. Medical personnel had to give Gianluca Monterosso Encomenderos, the other injured man, 20 stitches.
Video shared by local media shows several men rushing out into the street to help Ganoza and carry him to safety. Luckily for him, despite a bull turning his lights completely out, he later shared a photo of his bandaged face and nose while recuperating in a hospital after seemingly escaping unharmed, according to the New York Post.
Running of the Bulls stats
The annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona is typically anywhere from 848.6 to 875 meters long. The bulls race along the route at an average speed of around 15 miles per hour.
Anywhere from 2,000 people on weekdays and almost 3,500 on weekends participate in the event. Participation in the event injures 200 to 300 people each year. “Only” about 3% of the injuries are usually serious. Interestingly, the bulls do not directly cause more than 90% of injuries; rather, falls or trampling by other runners cause them.
However, since records first began being kept in 1924, 16 people have died from their injuries. The most recent death occurred in 2009. The last person to be gored to death, a 22-year-old from Illinois, was reportedly in 1995.