San Fermín 2027: July 6 to 14. Tours filling fast. Book your spot  | 
ToursRunning with Bulls
How to RunThe BullsBull Run Map
About Fiesta
San Fermín by YearWhat to WearDocumentariesTestimonialsBlog
About UsShop
Shirts by YearStreet StonesGifts for RunnersWhat to Wear
Book Now
The Encierro archive · 1912

Running of the Bulls 1912: San Fermín in Pamplona

San Fermín 1912 lasted almost to the end of July, the year Pamplona also marked the seven hundredth anniversary of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. The known bull run (encierro) days were July 7, 8, 9 and 14 and Sunday, July 21, and a Pamplona cinema showed films of the encierro.6, 2, 4, 7, 10, 3

By Encierro · Last reviewed

5known run days, July 7 to 21
6:00start, a.m.
80,000+visitors, by the paper’s count

How the fiesta ran in 1912

The poster announced the Ferias y Fiestas “del 6 al 18 de Julio”, with an aviation week, a horse show, a national wine growers’ congress and “festejos extraordinarios para conmemorar el VII centenario de la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa”.13 In the event, “este año las fiestas duran hasta casi fin de mes”: this year the fiestas lasted almost to the end of the month.6

The known run days were Sunday, July 7, Monday, July 8, and Tuesday, July 9; Sunday, July 14, the octava of San Fermín; and Sunday, July 21, with the Parladé bulls.2, 4, 7, 10, 12 The programme printed in the paper of July 20 announced the Parladé encierro as for that day; the report of July 23 places it on Sunday, the 21st, and this page follows the report.8, 10

By general opinion more people came to the encierros than in earlier years, and nothing happened in them: “En los encierros no ha ocurrido novedad”.6 The paper’s summary counted more than 80,000 visitors over the fiestas, along with the King’s visit, motor caravans, aviation flights and a million rockets.11

Every known encierro of 1912, by day and ranch

The known encierros of San Fermín 1912, from the Diario de Navarra programmes and reports.
DateRunRanch (ganadería)What the paper reported
July 7Known run 1Gamero CívicoA bull stayed in the ring; two men reported for calling to it
July 8Known run 2MurubeOne bull stayed, little work for the herdsmen
July 9Known run 3, programmed(programme: encierro at six)Programme: encierro at six
July 14Known run 4Marqués de Guadalest (programmed)The octava of San Fermín
July 21Known run 5, lastFernando ParladéA young man tumbled before dawn; another hurt in the ring after the run

The 1912 encierros, day by day

Known run 1

· Gamero Cívico

Start6:00 a.m.
Bull left in the ring1

Dianas at five, the encierro at six.2 Pamplona went to the ring en masse and packed it. One bull stayed in the arena “sin que hubiera poder humano” to move it into the pens; a steer flew like an aeroplane and landed behind it, the paper joked, and in the end it went in amid the noise of the crowd.4 Two men were reported to the mayor for calling to the Gamero Cívico bull while it stood in the ring.5 That same day the Actualidades cinema was showing a film of the encierro.3

Known run 2

· Murube

Bull left in the ring1

Again the ring was packed. A Murube bull also stayed behind in the ring, but gave the herdsmen little work. Then everyone went off to the churro stands of the Ensanche.4

Known run 3, programmed

· Encierro at six

Start6:00 a.m.

The programme set an encierro at six, with no young bulls let into the ring afterwards, because the ring had to be got ready.4

Known run 4, programmed

· Marqués de Guadalest

Start6:00 a.m.
DayThe octava

On the octava of San Fermín, the programme set dianas at five and the encierro at six, with the six bulls of the Marqués de Guadalest.7

Known run 5, the last

· Fernando Parladé

Start6:00 a.m.
Hurt2

The programme set the encierro of the Fernando Parladé bulls of Seville for six sharp, “en la forma acostumbrada”.8 In the early hours of Sunday, as the bulls were being moved from the gas works to the small corral of Rochapea, “uno de ellos, el colorado, alcanzó á un joven”: the red bull caught a young man and tumbled him, leaving him with a fright and a swollen leg. Later, in the ring after the run, one of the young bulls with capped horns let loose for amateurs caught a 21-year-old from Huarte and threw him against the barrier; he was taken to the civil hospital with concussion, in a satisfactory state.10

San Fermín 1912 poster (cartel)

San Fermín 1912 poster (cartel): two women in mantillas and shawls lean on a balcony hung with flowers and a fringed green shawl while a third hangs a garland behind them, with a man holding a lantern and a figure with a flag in the sky
Cartel de San Fermín 1912. Poster of the Ferias y Fiestas de San Fermín 1912. Tap the poster to see it full size. See every San Fermín poster.13, 12
San Fermín 1912 poster (cartel): two women in mantillas and shawls lean on a balcony hung with flowers and a fringed green shawl while a third hangs a garland behind them, with a man holding a lantern and a figure with a flag in the sky
Fiesta on the poster
Del 6 al 18 de julio
Dated
Pamplona, June 20, 1912
Signed by
Joaquín Viñas y Larrondo, mayor; Miguel San Julián, secretary
Printed by
Imp. Lit. J. Ortega, Valencia

Two women in mantillas and shawls lean on a balcony hung with flowers while a third, behind them, hangs a garland; a man with a lantern stands at the side and, in the sky, a figure with a banner.13 Ollaquindía describes the cover of the 1912 programme, which in the copy he saw was printed in French: a mixed group with garlands, two ladies at the ring, King Sancho the Strong sword in hand, the angel of victory with laurel, a mace bearer with a lit lantern and the chains of Navarra around a shield.12

The poster names the ranches whose bulls came: Gamero Cívico, Murube, Villagodio, Concha y Sierra, Guadalest and Parladé.13

Pamplona in 1912

On film

The encierro at the cinema

On July 7 the Actualidades cinema was already showing a film of the encierro, and on July 21 the same cinema was showing films of the aviation trial, the King’s stay in Pamplona and the encierro, which the paper said deserved to be seen.3, 9

In verse

Off to Estafeta

A comic verse to be sung to the dianas: churros and aguardiente, then, in smock or jacket, “vámonos corriendo hacia la Estafeta”; once in the ring keep clear of a fatal blow, since nobody likes the hospital, and after the encierro, breakfast and chacolí.1

Photographs

Where to see old photographs

The city’s photo archive, the Fototeca de Pamplona, holds historic photographs of the encierro, free to view online.14

San Fermín 1912: questions and answers

When were the bull runs of San Fermín 1912?

The known run days of San Fermín 1912 were July 7, 8 and 9, July 14, the octava of San Fermín, and Sunday, July 21, 1912, with the Parladé bulls.2, 4, 7, 10

Why was San Fermín 1912 so long?

San Fermín 1912 lasted almost to the end of July, the year Pamplona also marked the seven hundredth anniversary of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa; the poster announced an aviation week, a horse show and a wine growers’ congress, and the King visited. The paper counted more than 80,000 visitors.13, 6, 11

Was the running of the bulls filmed in 1912?

A film of the encierro was showing at the Actualidades cinema in Pamplona on July 7, 1912, and on July 21 the same cinema showed films of the encierro, the aviation trial and the King’s stay in Pamplona.3, 9

Was anyone hurt in the 1912 running of the bulls?

The Diario de Navarra wrote on July 10, 1912 that nothing had happened in the encierros. Before dawn on July 21 a Parladé bull tumbled a young man as the bulls were moved to the small corral of Rochapea, leaving him with a fright and a swollen leg.6, 10

What did a runner do on the morning of the encierro in 1912?

A comic verse of 1912, to be sung to the dianas, set out the morning: churros and aguardiente, then off running toward Estafeta in smock or jacket, keeping clear of a fatal blow in the ring, and after the encierro, breakfast and chacolí.1

Sources

Numbers on the page refer to this list. Diario de Navarra pages are cited from its archive (hemeroteca); quotations in Spanish are given as printed, in the spelling of the day.

Full source list
  1. Diario de Navarra, July 6, 1912, page 4: comic verse sung to the dianas, “vámonos corriendo hacia la Estafeta”. Diario de Navarra archive
  2. Diario de Navarra, July 7, 1912, page 2: programme for July 7, dianas at five and the encierro at six. Diario de Navarra archive
  3. Diario de Navarra, July 7, 1912, page 4: the Actualidades cinema shows a film of the encierro. Diario de Navarra archive
  4. Diario de Navarra, July 9, 1912, page 2: the encierros of July 7 and 8, “quedó un toro ... en la arena sin que hubiera poder humano”; programme for July 9, encierro at six. Diario de Navarra archive
  5. Diario de Navarra, July 9, 1912, page 4: two men reported to the mayor for calling to the Gamero Cívico bull left in the ring on July 7. Diario de Navarra archive
  6. Diario de Navarra, July 10, 1912, page 1: “este año las fiestas duran hasta casi fin de mes”; “En los encierros no ha ocurrido novedad”. Diario de Navarra archive
  7. Diario de Navarra, July 14, 1912, page 1: programme for July 14, the octava of San Fermín, encierro at six of the Guadalest bulls. Diario de Navarra archive
  8. Diario de Navarra, July 20, 1912, page 3: programme, the encierro of the Fernando Parladé bulls at six. Diario de Navarra archive
  9. Diario de Navarra, July 21, 1912, page 3: a cinema shows films of the aviation week, the King’s stay and the encierro. Diario de Navarra archive
  10. Diario de Navarra, July 23, 1912, page 4: the Parladé bulls moved from the Gas to the small corral of Rochapea in the early hours of Sunday, July 21. Diario de Navarra archive
  11. Diario de Navarra, July 25, 1912, page 1: summary of the 1912 fiestas, “y más de 80.000 forasteros”. Diario de Navarra archive
  12. Ricardo Ollaquindía, 100 años de carteles de las fiestas y ferias de San Fermín (1882 to 1981), Pamplona, 1981, chapter “1912”. Free copy in the Biblioteca Navarra Digital (BiNaDi). binadi.navarra.es
  13. The poster of the Ferias y Fiestas de San Fermín 1912 itself, “del 6 al 18 de Julio”, dated Pamplona, June 20, 1912, signed by the mayor Joaquín Viñas y Larrondo and the secretary Miguel San Julián; printed by Imp. Lit. J. Ortega, Valencia.
  14. Fototeca de Pamplona, Archivo Municipal de Pamplona (photographs of the encierro, free to view online; publication needs the archive’s permission). archivo.pamplona.es
How to cite this page

Encierro. “Running of the Bulls 1912: San Fermín in Pamplona.” Encierro.com, November 9, 2026. https://encierro.com/san-fermin-1912/

Corrections and updates
  • : questions and answers rewritten around what people search, each answer with its sources; the poster labelled with its Spanish name, cartel.
  • : page published.

Walk the route with people who run it

Book your walk