San Fermín 1969: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 1969. One death. The bull “Reprobado” gores Hilario Pardo Simón on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo on July 12.
Curated by Dennis Clancey
· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner
1
Encierro Death
July 12
Fatal Goring
S. Guardiola
Ganadería (Run 6)
7 a.m.
Run Time
Looking Back at 1969
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
Looking back at 1969, the record is hard: Hilario Pardo was gored on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo and died.
The bull was called “Reprobado,” number 113. It was from the Salvador Guardiola Fantoni ganadería, a ranch that would go on to kill two more men in a single run in 1980. The 1969 death was the second encierro fatality of the 1960s, after Vicente Urrizola in 1961. Both died on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo. The first climb of the course is where the bulls are fastest and most unpredictable.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
1969 in contextOne Death on Santo Domingo
The 1969 fiesta opened on July 6 and ran through July 14, with the encierros at 7 a.m. On July 12, the sixth run, bulls from Salvador Guardiola Fantoni ran the encierro. The bull “Reprobado”, number 113, gored Hilario Pardo Simón (45, wine merchant, from Murchante, Navarra) on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, in front of the door of the Hospital Militar.
It was the second encierro death of the 1960s, after Vicente Urrizola in 1961.
Morning by morningEvery 1969 Encierro, Day by Day
One death, on July 12. The route runs 848.6 metres from Santo Domingo to the bullring. See the route map.
Mon July 7 · First run
Run 1, Martínez Elizondo
July 7
1969
The opening run of the 1969 fiesta, with bulls from Martínez Elizondo. One of them, Tesonero, refused to leave the corral by the city wall to run the encierro and was taken back to the corrals it had come from. The footage above is an archival San Fermín 1969 compilation (los videos de Mayka Ramos channel).
Tue July 8 · Second run
Run 2, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 8
Wed July 9 · Third run
Run 3, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 9
Thu July 10 · Fourth run
Run 4, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 10
Fri July 11 · Fifth run
Run 5, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 11
Sat July 12 · Sixth run
Run 6, Salvador Guardiola Fantoni
July 12
Salvador Guardiola Fantoni
1 Fatal Goring
Bulls from Salvador Guardiola Fantoni. The bull “Reprobado”, number 113, gored Hilario Pardo Simón (45, wine merchant, Murchante) on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, in front of the door of the Hospital Militar. He died of the goring.
Sun July 13 · Seventh run
Run 7, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 13
Mon July 14 · Eighth run
Run 8, Ganadería Not Recorded
July 14
The people of 1969The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
Hilario Pardo Simón
Gored in Front of the Hospital Militar
Hilario Pardo Simón was 45 years old, a wine merchant from Murchante in Navarra. He was gored by the bull “Reprobado”, number 113, of Salvador Guardiola, in front of the door of the Hospital Militar on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo on July 12, and died.
The Guardiola ganadería
A Ranch That Would Kill Again
The Salvador Guardiola Fantoni ganadería, the ranch whose bull “Reprobado” killed Hilario Pardo in 1969, also ran the encierro of July 13, 1980, in which two runners died. Two men had also died on the same morning on July 10, 1947.
The Official San Fermín 1969 Poster
Cartel: J. M. Goñi Irisarri.
The 1969 San Fermín poster was the work of J. M. Goñi Irisarri. The poster was produced for the Ayuntamiento de Pamplona ahead of the July fiesta.
The full archive of San Fermín official posters is maintained by the Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive.
Beyond the runThe City in 1969
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon on Sunday, July 6. Encierros followed at 7 a.m. through July 14.
The fiesta closed at midnight on July 14 with the Pobre de Mí.
The recordHow 1969 Came Together
1969
The cartel by J. M. Goñi Irisarri confirmed.
6 July 1969
The chupinazo opened the 1969 fiesta at noon in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
12 July 1969
The sixth encierro. Bulls from Salvador Guardiola Fantoni. The bull “Reprobado” gored Hilario Pardo Simón on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo. Pardo died.
14 July 1969
The final encierro completed the 1969 fiesta. At midnight, the Pobre de Mí closed the celebration.
San Fermín 1969, Answered
Who died in the 1969 San Fermín encierro?
Hilario Pardo Simón, 45, a wine merchant from Murchante, Navarra. He was gored on July 12 by the bull “Reprobado”, number 113, from the Salvador Guardiola Fantoni ganadería on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo.
What ganadería was responsible for the 1969 death?
Salvador Guardiola Fantoni. The specific bull was called “Reprobado,” number 113. The Guardiola ganadería would go on to produce two deaths in a single encierro on July 13, 1980.
What time did the encierros run in 1969?
7 a.m., as they had since 1924. The start time was moved to 8 a.m. in 1974.
Sources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- Público, "La víctima número 15 en la historia de los Sanfermines", 2009-07-10. publico.es
- El Encierro (magazine) n56, via Dialnet, "Arquitecturas alrededor del encierro (Javier Torrens Alzu)", 2020-06. dialnet.unirioja.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Pamplona recordará a los 16 fallecidos en la historia del encierro con adoquines", 2023-12-27. pamplona.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "The Encierro (Bullrun)". pamplona.es
- Dialnet (Ricardo Ollaquindia), "Toros célebres en Navarra". dialnet.unirioja.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Carteles de San Fermín (cartel archive)". pamplona.es
What came next
For what followed, see San Fermín 1970, or explore the full 1970s archive.