San Fermín 1995: The year an American runner died in Pamplona, and the world finally paid attention.

· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner

Looking Back at 1995

Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro

Looking back at 1995, it is clear this was the year the encierro crossed a threshold in international consciousness. Matthew Peter Tassio, a 22-year-old from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was gored and killed on July 13 by a Torrestrella bull named "Castellano" at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Looking back at the arc of the fiesta in that era, 1995 sits as a turning point. Hemingway had introduced the encierro to English-language readers decades earlier, and travel journalism had been building North American curiosity through the 1980s and early 1990s. But nothing spread awareness faster than a news cycle. After July 13, 1995, every American backpacker in Europe knew the name Pamplona.

Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro

The Year the Encierro Entered the American Conversation

The 1995 week opened with Celestino Cuadri on July 7, a run of 2 minutes 15 seconds in which El País reported no one gored, and on July 8 a Miura bull left the bullring and ran 100 meters back along the street.

The death of Matthew Tassio at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento on July 13 was not a freak accident in the sensational sense; the encierro had killed runners before, and the risks were well understood by anyone who studied the record. For a generation of American travelers who associated San Fermín vaguely with Hemingway and adventure, 1995 made the danger concrete and undeniable.

Every 1995 Encierro, Day by Day

Each run with its ganadería. The route runs 848.6 meters from Santo Domingo to the ring.

What the Record Remembers

Death

Matthew Peter Tassio

Matthew Peter Tassio was 22 years old and traveling Europe on the kind of post-college backpacker journey that had been drawing young Americans to the continent for decades. On the morning of July 13, he was in the stretch near the Plaza del Ayuntamiento when he fell. As he was getting up, Torrestrella's bull "Castellano" came through. The horn caught him in the abdomen and severed the aorta. He did not survive.

Ganadería

Miura Runs Second

Miura ran second, on July 8, when one Miura bull left the bullring and ran 100 meters back along the street. The claim that Miura ran from 1982 to 2000 without goring anyone is wrong: the Miura bull Hacinador gored a runner on July 7, 1996.

History

The Encierro Enters the American Conversation

Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" had put San Fermín on the map for English-language readers since 1926, but nothing hit with the force of a network news death story. After July 13, 1995, the encierro was no longer an exotic footnote to a literary pilgrimage.

Official Poster of San Fermín 1995

Cartel 1995 by Faustino Aizkorbe.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive

The City in 1995

The shadow of July 13 fell across the final two days, but the fiesta continued. The chupinazo had opened the festival at noon on July 6 from the balcony of the Pamplona town hall, and the Pobre de Mí at midnight on July 14 brought it to its close as it had done every year before.

How 1995 Came Together

Key facts in the 1995 fiesta, kept on the record.

San Fermín 1995, Answered

Who was Matthew Tassio and why does his death matter historically?

Matthew Peter Tassio was a 22-year-old from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on a trip to Europe that was a graduation present. On July 13 he was gored in the abdomen by Torrestrella bull "Castellano" at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento while rising after a fall, and the horn severed the aorta. He died, the first death in the encierro in 15 years.

Which ganadería ran in 1995 and which was considered most dangerous?

The ganaderías confirmed for 1995 are: Celestino Cuadri (Jul 7), Miura (Jul 8), Dolores Aguirre (Jul 9), Cebada Gago (Jul 10), Torrestrella (Jul 13) and El Torreón (Jul 14). The sources we have found do not confirm the herds of July 11 and July 12.

How many gorings were there in 1995?

El País gives no total for the week. It reported the first goring on July 9, two on July 10, and the fatal goring of Matthew Tassio on July 13. The New York Times counted 30 people injured that week up to July 13.

Was the 1995 fiesta cancelled or shortened after Tassio's death?

No. The encierro ran as scheduled through July 14, closing with El Torreón, making its debut, on the final morning. A death in the encierro, while deeply serious, does not trigger cancellation. The July 14 closing ceremonies proceeded, and the city mourned while the festival continued.

Sources

Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.

• El País, "¿Por qué no habré corrido el encierro?; Arranca San Fermín con dos heridos graves", 1995-07-08. elpais.com
• El País, "Un australiano, primer corneado los encierros", 1995-07-10. elpais.com
• El País, "Encierro sangriento", 1995-07-11. elpais.com
• El País, "Un corredor estadounidense de 22 años muere desangrado en el séptimo encierro", 1995-07-14. elpais.com
• The New York Times (reprinted by The Spokesman-Review), "U.S. tourist killed at running of the bulls", 1995-07-14. spokesman.com
• Associated Press (Deseret News), "Pamplona victim's trip was a graduation present", 1995-07-14. deseret.com
• El País, "Los toros se cebaron con los corredores extranjeros", 1995-07-15. elpais.com
• Público, "La víctima número 15 en la historia de los Sanfermines", 2009-07-10. publico.es
• Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), "Running with bulls annual reminder of suburban tragedy", 2014-07-09. dailyherald.com
• Onda Vasca, "Encierros con historia", 2022-07-15. ondavasca.com
• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Encierro (turismo, French version)". pamplona.es
• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Carteles de San Fermin". pamplona.es
• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "The Chupinazo and the Pobre de Mi". pamplona.es

Planning your own run?

For the 1994 encierros, the year before, see the 1994 page. For 1996, the year Miura ran first on opening morning, see the 1996 page.

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