San Fermín 1929 had bull runs (encierros) at seven in the morning; the known run days were July 7 to 10 and Sunday, July 14, the last. The steers of the Navarre ranch of Alaiza guided the herds, and on July 10 a Pablo Romero bull named Dormido, Sleepy, lived up to its name and stayed in the corral, so that there were “dos encierros”, two encierros, that morning.2, 7, 6, 8, 10, 5, 14, 15
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The Alaiza bulls came to Pamplona, “la única de Navarra”, the paper said, the only Navarre ranch still keeping the brave breed of the land: with the cows and steers, thirty-seven head in all, eight herdsmen and their mayoral.1 Those Alaiza steers wrapped the herds in the encierros; after the fiesta the paper called the encierros the strong point of the fiesta, handled so admirably by “los pastores y cabestraje de la ganadería de Alaiza”.6, 15
The programme set the encierro at seven, with free entry to the ring except the stands and boxes.2 Before the fiesta an essay reminded readers that the encierros “suponen una costumbre tradicional de muchos siglos”, a tradition of many centuries, with generations of young men behind today’s runners.3
| Date | Run | Ranch (ganadería) | What the paper reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | Known run 1 | José Luis Encinas | Music from 5:30; crowds to the ring |
| July 8 | Known run 2 | Moreno Ardanuy | No incident; Alaiza steers |
| July 9 | Known run 3 | Alaiza | Bulls broke loose |
| July 10 | Known run 4 | Pablo Romero | Two encierros: Dormido stayed behind |
| July 14 | Known run 5, the last | Manuel Blanco | Ring full by 6:30; no incident |
Known run 1
The bulls of José Luis Encinas, of Salamanca, were photographed for the paper before the day.4 At half past five the dulzainas played the dawn music, soon after the garrison bands and La Pamplonesa, and rivers of people from the town and outside streamed to the ring for “El primer encierro”, the first encierro.7
Known run 2
With the ring full, “se verificó el segundo encierro con los toros andaluces de Moreno Ardanuy” without the slightest incident. The bulls ran the course and entered the corrals “arropados por los cabestros de Alaiza”, wrapped by the Alaiza steers, which showed in two encierros that not even the bulls could outlast them.6
Known run 3
The ring filled for the Navarre herd of Alaiza. Against those who think a herd runs better with its own steers, it was “el único encierro de los tres hasta ahora celebrados en que los toros se salieron sueltos”, the only one of the three so far in which the bulls broke loose, driving the runners headlong. One bull far ahead entered the ring loose and nervous, hooking at the air; a boy fell and it put its head down to him several times without touching a thread of his clothes.8
Known run 4
“A las siete, en punto, encierro del ganado”, the programme said.9 The crowd was huge, with as many runners as on other days or more. Bull number 62, a berrendo named Dormido, Sleepy, “quiso hacer honor a su nombre”, lived up to its name and did not wake up when the rocket went off at the corral of the Rochapea gate: five bulls left with the steers, it started, thought better of it and went back to the corral, where it was held until the rest were penned. “Hubo, pues, dos encierros”: a few minutes later it made its triumphal entry into the ring, preceded by many runners, and went straight to the corral.5, 10 The paper printed a photograph of this second encierro.11
Known run 5, the last
“A las siete en punto de la mañana tendrá lugar el último encierro de toros”, the Sunday programme said, with the bulls of Manuel Blanco, formerly Parladé.12, 13 By half past six the ring was full, and with the crowd that came in before and after the bulls through the gate there were people enough for another ring; many could not get in and watched the bulls rush past from the fences of the streets.14
The giants of Pamplona dance across the cobbled square in front of the ornate town hall, a crowned king in armour and queens in long dresses, with two pipers and a drummer in berets in front of them.16
Ollaquindía’s copy of the 1929 programme was a French edition, probably for visitors from Lower Navarre, with the cover printed in Tolosa. Some words passed into the French untouched; one photo caption read “ENCIERRO. Les taureaux traversant les rues”, the bulls crossing the streets. Its cover showed the giants dancing before the town hall on their way to the vespers of July 6.17
The end of the 1920s
Ollaquindía closes the decade with Antonio Ayestarán’s memories: public cinema in front of the old Gayarre theatre, not yet pulled down, with the silent films of Chaplin and Valentino; carousels in the Ensanche among the smell of churro oil; a bock at the Ros beer hall for 20 céntimos; petrol at 60 céntimos and a Ford for 4,800 pesetas.17
Words of 1929
Bulls running inside the steers went “arropados”, wrapped up. Bulls that broke away “se salieron sueltos”. The steers as a group were the cabestraje.6, 8, 15
Photographs
The Diario de Navarra printed a photograph of the second encierro of July 10, 1929, with bull 62. The city’s photo archive, the Fototeca de Pamplona, holds historic photographs of the encierro, free to view online.11, 18
The known run days of San Fermín 1929 were Sunday, July 7, to Wednesday, July 10, and Sunday, July 14, 1929, the last, each at seven in the morning.2, 4, 7, 6, 8, 9, 12
A Pablo Romero bull, number 62, named Dormido, Sleepy, lived up to its name on July 10, 1929: it did not wake when the rocket went up and stayed in the Rochapea corral while the other five ran, then came in a few minutes later, preceded by many runners, so that morning had two encierros.10, 5
The steers of the Alaiza ranch of Tudela, the only Navarre ranch still keeping the brave breed of the land, guided the herds of San Fermín 1929, and the Diario de Navarra praised how the Alaiza herdsmen and steers handled the encierros.1, 6, 15
The Alaiza bulls ran the only encierro of the first three in 1929 in which the bulls broke loose, on July 9, the Diario de Navarra noted, against those who think a herd runs better with its own steers.8
Basiano made the San Fermín 1929 poster, signed on the poster itself: the giants of Pamplona dancing across the cobbled square in front of the town hall, with two pipers and a drummer in berets.16
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.
Encierro. “Running of the Bulls 1929: San Fermín in Pamplona.” Encierro.com, November 9, 2026. https://encierro.com/san-fermin-1929/