San Fermín 1996: Miura opened the festival on day one, the most feared name in the encierro's history running before the crowds had fully arrived.

· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner

Looking Back at 1996

Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro

Looking back at 1996, the scheduling decision that stands out immediately is Miura on July 7. The ranch from Sevilla, carrying more historical weight than any other name in the encierro, was placed at the front of the calendar rather than in the traditional late-week position of maximum drama. The opening morning draws the thinnest international crowd; many visitors arrive mid-week, and the veterans who plan their entire trip around a specific run often target July 8 onward. Putting Miura first was a statement, or at minimum an unusual calculation.

Looking back at the wider 1996 picture, the year also showed a diversifying roster, with Alcurrucén, El Sierro and La Ermita in the lineup. One year removed from the death of Matthew Tassio, the 1996 fiesta ran without fatality. The international spotlight that 1995 had trained on Pamplona had not faded.

Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro

The Year After Tassio, and the Opening-Morning Miura

One year after the Torrestrella bull “Castellano” killed Matthew Tassio, the 1996 encierro ran eight mornings without a death. Alcurrucén, El Sierro and La Ermita ran the middle three mornings, July 9 to 11, and El País reported 38 people hurt, two seriously, in the very fast El Sierro run of July 10.

Miura ran the first encierro of 1996, at 8:00 AM on July 7. El País reported that the Miura bull Hacinador, 680 kilos, gored a South African runner very seriously.

Every 1996 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

Scheduling

Miura Runs First

Miura ran the first encierro of 1996, and El País reported that the run came close to tragedy: the Miura bull Hacinador gored a South African runner very seriously. That goring also shows that the claim that Miura ran from 1982 to 2000 without goring anyone is wrong.

Ganadería

Alcurrucén, El Sierro and La Ermita

Alcurrucén, El Sierro and La Ermita ran the third, fourth and fifth encierros of 1996.

Aftermath

The Year After Tassio

One year after Matthew Tassio's death, the 1996 encierro ran without fatality. El País reported serious gorings on July 7, July 10, July 12 and July 13.

San Fermín 1996: Official Cartel

Cartel 1996 by Fernando García Ezpeleta.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive

The City in 1996

The old city was as packed as ever in the second week of July, the red and white of the runners' costumes filling every bar and street from before dawn until well after midnight. The 1996 fiesta completed without a death, and Pamplona absorbed that fact with the quiet relief of a city that had been through something difficult and come out the other side. The Pobre de Mí at midnight on July 14 marked the close with the same ceremony it always does.

How 1996 Came Together

Key facts in the 1996 fiesta, kept on the record.

San Fermín 1996, Answered

Why did Miura run first in 1996 instead of in a later position?

The sources we have found do not explain why Miura opened the 1996 encierros.

Did Miura gore anyone in 1996?

Yes. On July 7, 1996, the Miura bull Hacinador, 680 kilos, gored a South African runner, 25, very seriously, according to El País. That goring disproves the often repeated claim that Miura ran from 1982 to 2000 without goring anyone.

What new ganaderías appeared on the 1996 card?

Alcurrucén, El Sierro and La Ermita ran on July 9, 10 and 11, in the middle of the festival.

How did the 1996 fiesta compare to 1995 in terms of safety?

El País reported serious gorings on July 7, July 10, July 12 and July 13, 1996, but gives no total for the week. There were no deaths in 1996; in 1995 Matthew Tassio was killed on July 13.

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 muy grave y otro grave en el primer encierro", 1996-07-08. elpais.com
• El País, "Los miuras abren los encierros de San Fermín con un herido muy grave (portada)", 1996-07-08. elpais.com
• El País, "Encierro con patinzos (as printed)", 1996-07-09. elpais.com
• El País, "Los 'patas' entorpecen un encierro limpio, rápido y con sol", 1996-07-10. elpais.com
• El País, "Dos heridos graves entre los 38 lesionados del encierro", 1996-07-11. elpais.com
• El País, "Los toros de La Ermita causan un herido grave en el quinto encierro", 1996-07-12. elpais.com
• El País, "Dos cornadas graves en el encierro de los Torrestrella", 1996-07-13. elpais.com
• El País, "Heridos por asta de toro el novillero Edu Gracia y un corredor pamplonés", 1996-07-14. elpais.com
• El País, "El último encierro, masivo y muy peligroso, sólo produjo tres heridos leves", 1996-07-15. 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
• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Encierro (turismo, French version)". pamplona.es
• Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Carteles de San Fermin". pamplona.es

Planning your own run?

For 1995, the year Matthew Tassio was killed in the encierro, see the 1995 page. For 1997, the year the Miura encierro of July 13 was suspended, see the 1997 page.

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