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The Encierro archive · 1949

Running of the Bulls 1949: San Fermín in Pamplona

In 1949 the bull run (encierro) of San Fermín was at eight in the morning. The mayor’s bando set five runs, July 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Sunday, July 17. The first was run in the rain: “con las calles resbaladizas, no obstante la arena que se esparció en ellas, los toros y los mozos se cayeron repetidas veces”, the streets were slippery despite the sand spread on them, and bulls and runners fell again and again.1, 5, 4

By Encierro · Last reviewed

8:00start, a.m.
5runs in the bando
3, 2, 1how the bulls entered the ring, July 7 and 8

How the fiesta ran in 1949

The mayor, Miguel Gortari, with the civil governor, set “los encierros que han de celebrarse con motivo de las Fiestas de San Fermín los días 7, 8, 9, 10 y 17”. The Rochapea gate was closed to traffic on the nights before, until the bulls were penned at the ring, and runners had to leave the arena at once and take refuge in the passage.1

The hour was eight: “A las ocho se celebrará, según costumbre tradicional”, the programme said.2, 5 Ollaquindía noticed something odd in the printed programme: for July 9 it did not mention the encierro at all.16 The daily programme in the Diario de Navarra did: dianas and encierro, at the same hours as the days before.7

Every known encierro of 1949, by day and ranch

The encierros of San Fermín 1949, from the bando, the Diario de Navarra programmes and reports, and the poster.
DateRunRanch (ganadería)What the paper reported
July 71Marqués de VillamartaRain; bulls and runners fell; the doctors kept busy
July 82Sánchez Fabrés HermanosStill slippery; fewer runners, more sense
July 93Urquijo de FedericoA splendid dawn after a night storm
July 104Salvador GuardiolaCrowds poured into the ring
July 175, lastLamamié de ClairacOne of the finest and most exciting

The 1949 encierros, day by day

Run 1 of 5

· Marqués de Villamarta

Start8:00 a.m.
WeatherRain

Under the threatening sky the paper expected an encierro of many emotions, and so it was. On streets made slippery by the rain, despite the sand spread on them, bulls and runners fell again and again. The bulls became separated and spread panic among the runners. The steers entered the ring first, far ahead of the bulls, which arrived strung out and loose, the last one far behind and completely alone, hooking at the boys, but giving them nothing worse than a tremendous fright and a knock or two. The doctors and first-aid men, the paper wrote the next day, really had to work that morning.2, 4, 6

Run 2 of 5

· Sánchez Fabrés Hermanos

Start8:00 a.m.
RunnersFewer

All was normal in the second encierro, though the course was again slippery from the steady rain. “la sensatez y la prudencia se impusieron en los mozos corredores, que además fueron pocos”: good sense and prudence won among the runners, who were also few compared with the day before. The bulls entered the ring exactly as on the first day, “primero tres, luego dos y por último uno”, first three, then two and finally one. Only four or five runners needed treatment, unlike the first day.5, 6, 3, 15

Run 3 of 5

· Urquijo de Federico

Start8:00 a.m.

“Dianas, encierro de los toros”, at the same hour as the days before, the day’s programme said, with the bulls of don Antonio Urquijo y de Federico.7, 6 After a night storm the dawn was splendid, and the runners got ready to show off the agility of their legs in the encierro.8

Run 4 of 5

· Salvador Guardiola

Start8:00 a.m.
DaySunday

The programme set dianas at a quarter to seven, popular songs in the ring by the Pamplona band at half past seven, and the encierro at eight.9 “A riadas fué la gente a la plaza de toros para presenciar este cuarto encierro”: people poured into the ring in floods, and an hour before the run the stands were already packed beyond belief. The bulls were those of don Salvador Guardiola, of Seville; the poster had printed the widow of Juan Guardiola.9, 10, 15

Run 5 of 5, the last

· Lamamié de Clairac

Start8:00 a.m.
DaySunday

A week after the main run days, the programme set dianas from a quarter to seven and “a las ocho se correrá el último encierro de la Feria”: at eight, the last encierro of the fair, with the bulls of don Leopoldo Lamamié de Clairac, of Salamanca.1, 11, 12 It was “uno de los más bonitos y emocionantes que hemos visto”, one of the finest and most exciting the paper had seen, and its photograph showed the Clairac bulls in single file as they came out into the Plaza Consistorial.13, 14

San Fermín 1949 poster (cartel)

San Fermín 1949 poster (cartel) by Acha y Ameiro: a young woman in a white lace mantilla with red and yellow flowers in her hair holds open a fan painted with runners and bulls, beside red and blue paper lanterns and the crowned shield of Pamplona
Cartel de San Fermín 1949. Poster of the Ferias y Fiestas de San Fermín 1949, signed Acha y Ameiro. Tap the poster to see it full size. See every San Fermín poster.15, 16
San Fermín 1949 poster (cartel) by Acha y Ameiro: a young woman in a white lace mantilla with red and yellow flowers in her hair holds open a fan painted with runners and bulls, beside red and blue paper lanterns and the crowned shield of Pamplona
Artist
Acha y Ameiro (signature)
Fiesta on the poster
Del 6 al 20 de julio
Printed by
Ortega, Valencia

Ollaquindía reads the 1949 poster as a fan opened by a young woman: to open the fan of San Fermín, he writes, is to show the endless possibilities of the fiesta. The fan itself is painted with runners and bulls in the street.16, 15

The poster promises “Emocionantes Encierros” and lists the bulls of each day, from Villamarta on July 7 to Lamamié de Clairac on July 17.15

Pamplona in 1949

Sand on the streets

A wet first run

In 1949 sand was spread on the streets of the course against the rain, and still bulls and runners fell again and again on the first morning.4

Words of 1949

Sensatez y prudencia

“Sensatez y prudencia”, good sense and prudence, were what the paper praised in the runners of July 8. People went to the ring “a riadas”, in floods.6, 10

Photographs

Where to see old photographs

The Diario de Navarra printed four photographs by Galle of the first encierro of 1949 and one of the last.14 The city’s photo archive, the Fototeca de Pamplona, holds historic photographs of the encierro, free to view online.4, 17

San Fermín 1949: questions and answers

When were the bull runs of San Fermín 1949?

San Fermín 1949 had five bull runs, at eight in the morning, on July 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Sunday, July 17, 1949. The mayor’s bando set the days and the programme the hour: “A las ocho se celebrará, según costumbre tradicional”, at eight by traditional custom.1, 2, 5

What happened in the first running of the bulls of 1949?

The first running of the bulls of 1949, on July 7, was run in the rain: despite sand spread on the streets, bulls and runners fell again and again. The bulls became separated and the last one reached the ring far behind and alone, and the doctors and first-aid men really had to work that morning, the Diario de Navarra wrote.4, 6

What rules did the 1949 bando set for the encierro?

The 1949 bando of Pamplona’s mayor, Miguel Gortari, agreed with the civil governor, set the encierros for July 7, 8, 9, 10 and 17. The Rochapea gate was closed to traffic on the nights before, and runners had to leave the arena at once and take refuge in the passage.1

Which ranches ran in the 1949 running of the bulls?

The bulls of the 1949 running of the bulls came from the Marqués de Villamarta on July 7, the Sánchez Fabrés brothers on July 8, Antonio Urquijo y de Federico on July 9, Salvador Guardiola of Seville on July 10, and Leopoldo Lamamié de Clairac of Salamanca on July 17.2, 5, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12

What was the last running of the bulls of San Fermín 1949 like?

The last running of the bulls of San Fermín 1949, at eight on Sunday, July 17, with the bulls of Lamamié de Clairac, was “uno de los más bonitos y emocionantes que hemos visto”, one of the finest and most exciting the Diario de Navarra had seen.11, 12, 13

How many runners were treated on July 8, 1949?

Only four or five runners needed treatment after the running of the bulls of July 8, 1949, unlike the first day. The course was slippery from the rain again, but good sense and prudence won among the runners, who were few, and the Sánchez Fabrés bulls entered the ring three, then two, then one.6

Who made the San Fermín 1949 poster?

Acha y Ameiro made the San Fermín 1949 poster: a young woman opens a fan painted with runners and bulls in the street. Ollaquindía reads it as opening the fan of San Fermín, showing the endless possibilities of the fiesta.16, 15

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, 1949, page 3: bando of the mayor, Miguel Gortari, with the civil governor, on “los encierros que han de celebrarse con motivo de las Fiestas de San Fermín los días 7, 8, 9, 10 y 17”; the Rochapea gate closed at night until the herd is penned; runners to leave the arena at once for the passage. Diario de Navarra archive
  2. Diario de Navarra, July 7, 1949, page 8: programme for July 7, “A las ocho se celebrará, según costumbre tradicional”, the encierro; the bulls of the Marqués de Villamarta. Diario de Navarra archive
  3. Diario de Navarra, July 7, 1949, page 3: the bulls of the Hermanos Sánchez Fabrés, for July 8. Diario de Navarra archive
  4. Diario de Navarra, July 8, 1949, page 1: “El primer encierro”, July 7: “con las calles resbaladizas, no obstante la arena que se esparció en ellas, los toros y los mozos se cayeron repetidas veces”; four photographs (Fotos Galle). Diario de Navarra archive
  5. Diario de Navarra, July 8, 1949, page 6: programme for July 8, “a las ocho, encierro de los toros”. Diario de Navarra archive
  6. Diario de Navarra, July 9, 1949, page 1: “El segundo encierro”, July 8: “la sensatez y la prudencia se impusieron en los mozos corredores, que además fueron pocos”; the bulls entered “primero tres, luego dos y por último uno”; only four or five runners treated, “Al revés del primer día, en que los médicos y practicantes tuvieron que moverse de veras”; the bulls of don Antonio Urquijo y de Federico for July 9. Diario de Navarra archive
  7. Diario de Navarra, July 9, 1949, page 6: programme for July 9, “Dianas, encierro de los toros” at the same hour as the days before. Diario de Navarra archive
  8. Diario de Navarra, July 10, 1949, page 1: the morning of July 9 after the night storm, with “los mozos corredores que más templados se disponían a lucir la agilidad de sus piernas en el encierro”. Diario de Navarra archive
  9. Diario de Navarra, July 10, 1949, page 10: programme for Sunday, July 10, “a las ocho tendrá lugar el encierro de los toros”; the bulls of don Salvador Guardiola. Diario de Navarra archive
  10. Diario de Navarra, July 12, 1949, page 4: “El cuarto encierro”, July 10: “A riadas fué la gente a la plaza de toros para presenciar este cuarto encierro”; the stands packed an hour before; the bulls of don Salvador Guardiola, of Seville. Diario de Navarra archive
  11. Diario de Navarra, July 17, 1949, page 8: programme for Sunday, July 17, “a las ocho se correrá el último encierro de la Feria”; the bulls of don Leopoldo Lamamié de Clairac. Diario de Navarra archive
  12. Diario de Navarra, July 17, 1949, page 4: the bulls of don Leopoldo Lamamié de Clairac, of Salamanca. Diario de Navarra archive
  13. Diario de Navarra, July 19, 1949, page 2: the Sunday encierro of July 17, “uno de los más bonitos y emocionantes que hemos visto”. Diario de Navarra archive
  14. Diario de Navarra, July 19, 1949, page 3: photograph, “El último encierro de las fiestas. Los toros de Clairac en «fila india» al desembocar en la Plaza Consistorial” (Foto Galle). Diario de Navarra archive
  15. The poster of the Ferias y Fiestas de San Fermín 1949 itself, “del 6 al 20 de julio”, “Emocionantes Encierros”, with the bulls of each day: July 7 Villamarta, July 8 Sánchez Fabrés Hermanos, July 9 Antonio Urquijo de Federico, July 10 Vda. de Juan Guardiola, July 17 Leopoldo Lamamié de Clairac; signed Acha y Ameiro ’49; printed by Ortega, Valencia.
  16. Ricardo Ollaquindía, 100 años de carteles de las fiestas y ferias de San Fermín (1882 to 1981), Pamplona, 1981, chapter “1949”. Free copy in the Biblioteca Navarra Digital (BiNaDi). binadi.navarra.es
  17. 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 1949: San Fermín in Pamplona.” Encierro.com, November 9, 2026. https://encierro.com/san-fermin-1949/

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.

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