San Fermín 1990: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 1990. Eight encierros at 8:00am, the start time in place since 1974.
Curated by Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro.com · Veteran bull runner
8
Encierros
0
Deaths
Looking Back at 1990
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
Looking back at 1990, the encierro ran at 8:00am, as it had since 1974. The rocket and the route from Santo Domingo to the arena were the same as in the years before.
Eight ganaderías ran in 1990, from Marqués de Domecq on July 7 to Conde de la Corte on July 14. El País reported serious gorings on the first two mornings, and Conde de la Corte closed the week with 42 people hurt.
Dennis Clancey, Founder
1990 in contextThe Encierro in 1990
The San Fermín encierro started at 8:00am in 1990, the hour fixed in 1974. From 1924 until 1974 it had started at 7:00am, and before 1924 at 6:00am.
Eight ganaderías ran that week: Marqués de Domecq, Celestino Cuadri, Guardiola, Cebada Gago, Atanasio Fernández, Miura, Sepúlveda and Conde de la Corte. El País timed Guardiola at 3 minutes 48 seconds on July 9 and Sepúlveda at 2 minutes 30 seconds on July 13.
Morning by morningEvery 1990 Encierro, Day by Day
Eight mornings, eight ganaderías. The full encierro record for San Fermín 1990.
July 7, 1990 / First Run
First Run
Marqués de Domecq opened the first encierro of 1990. El País reported Aitor Ríos Álvarez, 24, gored very seriously by a bull left behind on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo.
July 8, 1990 / Second Run
Second Run
Celestino Cuadri bulls ran the second morning. El País reported three runners seriously gored.
July 9, 1990 / Third Run
Third Run
Guardiola bulls ran the third morning. El País gave the run 3 minutes 48 seconds, with 17 people hurt and none by horn.
July 10, 1990 / Fourth Run
Fourth Run
Cebada Gago bulls ran the fourth encierro. El País reported 27 runners treated after the bulls broke away from the steers in the first moments of the run.
July 11, 1990 / Fifth Run
Fifth Run
Atanasio Fernández bulls ran the fifth morning, Wednesday, July 11. El País reported the fastest run of 1990, 2 minutes 35 seconds, with two people seriously hurt.
July 12, 1990 / Sixth Run
Sixth Run
Miura bulls were fought in the corrida that afternoon, El País reported.
July 13, 1990 / Seventh Run
Seventh Run
Sepúlveda bulls from Salamanca ran the seventh encierro on Friday, July 13: a fast run of 2 minutes 30 seconds with no serious injuries, according to El País.
July 14, 1990 / Eighth Run
Eighth Run
Conde de la Corte from Badajoz closed the 1990 fiesta on Saturday, July 14. El País reported 42 people hurt, six of them taken to hospital.
What the Record Remembers
Milestone
Eight in the Morning, Since 1974
The encierro started at 8:00am in 1990, as it had since the hour was fixed in 1974. From 1924 until 1974 the run started at 7:00am, and before that at 6:00am.
The Official CartelThe Official San Fermín 1990 Poster
Cartel 1990 by Mikel Urmeneta.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive
Beyond the runThe City in 1990
Pamplona in July 1990 held eight encierros, from July 7 to July 14.
Questions and answersSan Fermín 1990, Answered
What time did the San Fermín encierro start in 1990?
The encierro started at 8:00am in 1990. The start time was fixed at 8:00am in 1974; from 1924 until then the encierro started at 7:00am, and before 1924 at 6:00am.
Which ganadería closed the 1990 fiesta?
Conde de la Corte, from Badajoz in Extremadura, ran the eighth and final encierro on July 14, closing the 1990 fiesta.
Did Miura close the 1990 encierro?
No. The final encierro of 1990 was run by Conde de la Corte. Miura bulls were fought in the corrida of July 12, 1990, according to El País, but we have not found a report of that morning's encierro.
How many gorings were there in 1990 and were there any deaths?
El País reported serious gorings on July 7 and July 8, 1990, but gives no total for the week. There were no deaths in 1990, nor in any of the years from 1990 to 1994.
Sources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- El País, "Un herido grave en el primer encierro", 1990-07-08. elpais.com
- El País, "Heridos graves en el segundo encierro", 1990-07-09. elpais.com
- El País, "17 contusionados en el tercer encierro", 1990-07-10. elpais.com
- El País, "27 corredores atendidos tras el cuarto encierro", 1990-07-11. elpais.com
- El País, "Dos heridos graves en el encierro más rápido de este año", 1990-07-12. elpais.com
- El País, "Un encierro tranquilo", 1990-07-14. elpais.com
- El País, "42 heridos en el último encierro", 1990-07-15. elpais.com
- 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, "Carteles de San Fermin". pamplona.es
Explore the full encierro record
If you want to understand how the 1990 encierro fits into the broader history of the run, the year-by-year archive covers every fiesta from 1960 forward.