San Fermín 1940 had bull runs (encierros), set for seven in the morning, in two series: July 7, 8, 9 and 10, then July 13 and 14. On the first morning everything came down to “dos puntazos, bien repartidos”, two minor horn wounds; on July 8 the Pablo Romero bulls went into the corral “rectos como flechas”, straight as arrows.3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 12
By Encierro · Last reviewed
Before dawn on July 5, about a dozen and a half enthusiasts watched what the paper called “el primer encierro de la serie”, the first encierro of the series: at three in the morning the steers, cows, spare bulls and young bulls for the fiesta were driven from the soto del Sario through the streets to the bullring, among the herdsmen’s shouts and the clang of cowbells.2
The fiesta ran in two parts. The bulls ran on July 7, 8, 9 and 10, then “el segundo y último periodo de las fiestas” began on July 13, with runs on the 13th and 14th.1, 9, 11 For the last Sunday a special train on the Plazaola line left Leitza at 4:45 in the morning.10
Ollaquindía’s chapter quotes José María Iribarren on Estafeta, the street through which the encierro flows, he wrote, seven times a year: the balconies packed, the guards at the crossing with the bajada de Javier unable to hold back the first group, the rocket, the long cry from the balconies as the horns appear at the corner of the square, and, when the last rocket goes, the street opening again to the town at a quarter past seven.14
| Date | Run | Ranch (ganadería) | What the paper reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | 1 | Carmen de Federico | Two minor horn wounds |
| July 8 | 2 | Pablo Romero | Straight as arrows |
| July 9 | 3 | Villamarta | Guards and herdsmen applauded |
| July 10 | 4 | Sánchez Cobaleda | No accidents; two bulls loose ahead |
| July 13 | 5 | Ortega | The weakest crowd of the fiesta |
| July 14 | 6, last | Buendía | Bulls and steers in a tight bunch |
Run 1 of 6
The programme set the encierro at seven.3 The bulls were the heavy ones of doña Carmen de Federico, and the Sunday run came close to misfortune when fools in the ring cut two bulls off from the herd: “Todo se redujo a dos puntazos, bien repartidos”, it all came down to two minor horn wounds, well shared out, and the fright when the Chico de Olite, gathering the stray bulls, was caught in serious danger among them.4
Run 2 of 6
The Pablo Romero encierro passed without incident: wrapped by the steers, the bulls went into the corral “rectos como flechas”, straight as arrows.4 The paper printed a photograph of a runner who would not give up his shoe, with Olympian scorn for his own life.5
Run 3 of 6
After dianas from a quarter to six, “a las siete, el encierro de los toros de Villamarta”, the programme said.5 Rascals in the ring cut off three loose bulls, and guards cleared the arena and arrested two men; the crowd cheered the guards for their firm stand, the herdsmen and above all Moncayola for their hard work, and two helpers, Mann and the Chico de Olite, for the risks they ran. The Chico de Olite was seen in and out of danger three times, and the young men carried him shoulder-high round the ring.7
Run 4 of 6
“el cuarto encierro de los toros de feria”, with the bulls of Arturo Sánchez Cobaleda, “se verificó sin accidentes”: two bulls ran loose far ahead and were turned in the ring without consequences.6 A notice later asked the young woman who picked up a wallet “en el encierro del día 10” to hand it in.8
Run 5 of 6
The second part of the fiesta opened with the encierro at seven; the young bulls of the day were those of Ortega.9 “el espectáculo matutino del encierro fué el más flojo de las fiestas”, the morning encierro was the weakest of the fiesta in crowd and runners; the runners were mixed in with the herd all the way, part of it far ahead, the last a lost young bull that seemed to be thinking what a mess it had got into.11
Run 6 of 6, the last
The programme set the encierro at seven sharp.11 The last encierro passed without incident. On the course two of the Buendía bulls, of Santa Coloma blood, went ahead driving the runners, but at the ring they all came together, bulls and steers, “en apretado haz”, in a tight bunch, crossed the arena and went straight in.12
The black silhouette of a charging bull rises out of a golden glow on a dark ground, and a runner in white with a red sash and neckerchief flees ahead of it; the crowned shield of Pamplona hangs above. The poster promises “Emocionantes encierros”.13
Estafeta
In the passage Ollaquindía quotes, Iribarren writes of the waiters lining up in their white jackets outside the café, a herdsman from Valtierra straightening his stick against his knee, and a young gentleman astride the fence unfolding his Kodak.14
Words of 1940
A puntazo is a minor horn wound, a jab with the tip of the horn. Bulls running inside the steers went “arropados”.4
Photographs
The Diario de Navarra printed a photograph of a runner keeping hold of his shoe in the encierro of July 8, 1940. The city’s photo archive, the Fototeca de Pamplona, holds historic photographs of the encierro, free to view online.5, 15
San Fermín 1940 had bull runs set for seven in the morning in two series: July 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1940, and then July 13 and 14, the last.3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 11, 12
The first encierro of 1940, on July 7, came down to “dos puntazos, bien repartidos”, two minor horn wounds, the Diario de Navarra wrote, and the helper known as the Chico de Olite was in serious danger gathering bulls cut off in the ring.4
The Chico de Olite was a helper in the ring during the encierros of 1940: on July 9 he was seen in and out of danger three times gathering loose bulls, and the young men carried him shoulder-high round the ring.7
The Diario de Navarra called “el primer encierro de la serie” the drive at three in the morning of July 5, 1940, when the steers, cows, spare bulls and young bulls for the fiesta were brought from the soto del Sario through the streets to the bullring.2
Crispín made the San Fermín 1940 poster, signed on the poster itself: the black silhouette of a charging bull rising out of a golden glow, with a runner in white and red fleeing ahead of it.13
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 1940: San Fermín in Pamplona.” Encierro.com, November 9, 2026. https://encierro.com/san-fermin-1940/