San Fermín 1955 had six bull runs (encierros), at seven in the morning on July 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and a last one on July 18. The bulls now came to Pamplona “cual corresponde a la edad de la motorización”, as befits the age of motoring, in a big lorry, shut in crates. In the streets the authorities thinned out the runners, and the mayor fined those who called the bulls on during the run.1, 2, 7, 10, 13
By Encierro · Last reviewed
The first bulls of the fiesta reached the Gas corrals “cual corresponde a la edad de la motorización, en un camión grande, encerrados en seis cambretas”: as befits the age of motoring, in a big lorry, shut in six crates, after a journey through La Mancha and Castile in the summer heat.1
The mayor’s bando, agreed 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, 11 y 17”, and closed the Rochapea gate on the nights before until the bulls were penned.2 The last run was in fact held on July 18, the holiday of the “Exaltación del Trabajo”.10, 11, 12
Order on the course became a theme. On July 9 the authorities limited the number of runners, “separando los malos de los buenos”, separating the bad from the good;7 on July 11 a youth who tried to distract a bull was beaten by the young men themselves, which the paper approved as a lesson for the spoilers of the encierro;10 and after the fiesta the mayor, Javier Pueyo, published fines of 500 pesetas each “por citar al toro en el encierro”, for calling the bull during the run.13
| Date | Run | Ranch (ganadería) | What the paper reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | 1 | Fermín Bohórquez | A lone bull master of the street |
| July 8 | 2 | Juan Pedro Domecq | Fewer runners; bulls in four and two |
| July 9 | 3 | Pablo Romero | Fewer, better runners |
| July 10 | 4 | Guardiola | A packed ring; straight to the pens |
| July 11 | 5 | Sánchez Cobaleda | Rain; falls; a spoiler beaten |
| July 18 | 6, last | Molero Hermanos | The last run, on a holiday |
Run 1 of 6
The programme announced dianas at a quarter to six and the encierro “en la forma tradicional, a las siete”, with the bulls of don Fermín Bohórquez, of Jerez.3 A huge crowd ran. One bull stopped at the top of Santo Domingo, “haciéndose el amo de la calle”, making itself master of the street, and the ring was invaded by runners.4
Run 2 of 6
Fewer young men ran than on the first day, and the “hermanitos de la ganadería de Domecq”, the bulls of Juan Pedro Domecq, came in two groups, four and two.5
Run 3 of 6
“A las siete en punto se celebrará el tercer encierro de los seis toros de Pablo Romero”, the programme said.6 The clouds cleared and the sun came out. Thanks to an effective sweep by the authorities, the number of runners could be limited, “separando los malos de los buenos”, so that the good runners had room to move ahead of the heavy Pablo Romero bulls.7
Run 4 of 6
If the ring did not collapse on Sunday, the paper wrote, not even the strongest atomic bomb would bring it down, so packed was every seat. Even the bulls behaved well with the avalanche of young men running ahead of them and among them, and the six Guardiola bulls went straight to the pens.8
Run 5 of 6
The programme announced the young bulls of don Manuel Sánchez Cobaleda, of Salamanca; the paper’s report named their owner as Manuel González, of Madrid.9, 10 The run had some disorder because rain had left the ground in bad shape. The animals took longer than usual to cover the course, falling several times, and when they tried to charge a runner they slipped and fell again. Four arrived at the ring together and stood there like lambs until the steers came out. A youth who tried to distract one was given “una paliza por insensato”, a beating for his folly, by the young men themselves, which the paper approved as the way to teach the spoilers of the encierro.10
Run 6 of 6, the last
“No decimos el último porque el último será, Dios mediante, el próximo día 18, fiesta de la Exaltación del Trabajo”, the paper wrote after July 11: the last run would be on July 18, the holiday of the Exaltation of Work.10 The programme set it at seven with the bulls of Molero Hermanos, and the next day the paper mentioned the visitors who had watched it.11, 12
A red bull and black bulls round the corner of a wooden fence in a cloud of dust, and a runner’s beret flies through the air. The poster promises “emocionantes encierros” from July 7 to 10, and festivals of theatre and Spanish ballet from July 11 to 18.14
Ollaquindía’s 1955 chapter is about one of the fiesta’s characters who never appeared in the programme, the street seller León Salvador, whose patter José María Iribarren wrote down.15
By lorry
In 1955 the paper noted that the bulls now came “en un camión grande, encerrados en seis cambretas”, in a big lorry, shut in six crates.1
Words of 1955
Those who spoiled the run by provoking the bulls were “reventadores” or “malapatas”; to call the bull on was “citar al toro”.10, 13
Photographs
The city’s photo archive, the Fototeca de Pamplona, holds historic photographs of the encierro, free to view online.16
San Fermín 1955 had six bull runs, at seven in the morning on July 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1955, and a last one on July 18, the holiday of the “Exaltación del Trabajo”. The mayor’s bando had set the sixth for July 17.3, 2, 10, 11
The bulls reached Pamplona by lorry in 1955: “cual corresponde a la edad de la motorización”, as befits the age of motoring, the first bulls of the fiesta came to the Gas corrals in a big lorry, shut in six crates, after a journey through La Mancha and Castile in the summer heat.1
After the 1955 running of the bulls the mayor of Pamplona, Javier Pueyo, published fines of 500 pesetas each “por citar al toro en el encierro”, for calling the bull on during the run. The Diario de Navarra called such spoilers “reventadores” or “malapatas”.13, 10
On July 9, 1955 the authorities limited the number of runners, “separando los malos de los buenos”, separating the bad from the good, so the good runners had room ahead of the Pablo Romero bulls. On July 11 a youth who tried to distract a bull was beaten by the young men themselves, and the paper approved.7, 10
The bulls of the 1955 running of the bulls came from Fermín Bohórquez of Jerez, Juan Pedro Domecq, Pablo Romero, Guardiola, Manuel Sánchez Cobaleda of Salamanca as the programme announced them, and Molero Hermanos on the last run, July 18.3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11
Muñoz Sola and M. Balda made the San Fermín 1955 poster: a red bull and black bulls round the corner of a wooden fence in a cloud of dust while a runner’s beret flies through the air. It promises “emocionantes encierros” from July 7 to 10.14
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 1955: San Fermín in Pamplona.” Encierro.com, November 9, 2026. https://encierro.com/san-fermin-1955/