San Fermín 2009: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2009. The last death in the history of the Pamplona encierro. Jandilla on July 10. The morning everything changed, and the city it changed in.
What 2009 Was Really Like
2009 was the year I was present for the fiesta in a way that was more about observation than anything else. I was there on the course. The project that eventually became “Chasing Red” was, at that point, something we were calling the Pamplona Project, still figuring out what shape it would take, what it was meant to say.
I was in the street on July 10. I was running. What happened that morning with Jandilla’s bull on Telefoníca, the death of Daniel Jimeno Romero, was something that passed through every runner who was there that year. I was present for it. 2009 was the year of presence and observation more than production. But it was one of the years that made clear why this mattered.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
The Year the Encierro Turned Quiet
The 2009 San Fermín encierros ended with a silence that had not been heard in Pamplona since 1995. On July 10, Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27 years old, from Alcalá de Henares, was gored in the neck by the Jandilla bull ‘Capuchino’ on Telefoníca. He died at the Hospital of Navarra at 8:45 that morning. He had been running for seven years. He is the last person to die in the Pamplona running of the bulls.
The week had begun with Alcurrucén replacing Peñajara on July 7, Peñajara withdrew due to a disease outbreak in their livestock. Seven of the eight encierros ran without fatality; the fastest run of the fiesta was Fuente Ymbro’s clean morning on July 13 at 2:20. Núñez del Cuvillo closed the fiesta on July 14. But the week is remembered for the morning of July 10, and for Daniel Jimeno Romero. Every encierro since has been measured against that morning.
Daniel Jimeno Romero is the last person to die in the Pamplona encierro. He is remembered here.
Every 2009 Encierro, Day by Day
Each run with its ganadería, time, horn injuries, and the official video archive.
Alcurrucén Replaced Peñajara
Peñajara had been announced as the opening ganaderia but withdrew after a disease outbreak in their livestock. Alcurrucén stepped in as a late replacement. The opening run was compact and without serious incident. Alcurrucén’s bulls were unfamiliar to most runners, adding an element of uncertainty to the first morning.
Cebada Gago
Cebada Gago ran without serious horn gorings on July 8. Several runners were treated for contusions and trampling injuries, but no horn wounds were recorded. A relatively clean morning for a ganaderia with a history of producing divided herds and extended run times.
El Ventorrillo
El Ventorrillo’s run on July 9 lasted 2:21 and produced no horn gorings. A fast, clean morning. The day before Jandilla’s encierro. El Ventorrillo was not one of the traditional Pamplona fixtures, making this a relatively unfamiliar set of bulls for the most experienced runners on the course.
Jandilla
The bull ‘Capuchino’, colorado, number 106, 515 kg, fell in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento area, rose, and separated from the herd. At post 66 on Telefoníca, he gored Daniel Jimeno Romero in the neck. Daniel died at the Hospital of Navarra at 8:45 that morning. He was 27 years old. He is the last person to die in the Pamplona encierro. At least three other runners were gored during the same run.
Dolores Aguirre
The fiesta continued the day after Daniel Jimeno Romero’s death, as is the tradition in Pamplona. Dolores Aguirre’s bulls ran without a horn goring. The course was quiet by the standards of a fiesta Saturday. The city ran under the shadow of the previous morning.
Miura
Miura ran on July 12 in a tense morning that produced one horn goring. Miura’s bulls are the longest and most feared in the encierro tradition, with the longest horns and the most independent running behavior. One runner was treated for a horn wound. Several others received contusion injuries.
Fuente Ymbro
The fastest run of the 2009 fiesta. Fuente Ymbro’s bulls moved in a tight, fast pack and reached the ring in 2:20 without a horn goring. A clean, rapid morning that provided some relief after the weight of the week. One of the most admired runs of the fiesta.
Núñez del Cuvillo
Núñez del Cuvillo closed the 2009 fiesta on July 14 without a horn goring. The final encierro of a week that would not be forgotten. That evening, the Pobre de Mí ceremony ended San Fermín 2009 at midnight in the Plaza del Castillo. The encierro returned the following year with Jandilla in the closing slot once more.
The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
Daniel Jimeno Romero
Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27 years old, from Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, died on the morning of Friday, July 10, 2009, on the Calle Estafeta in Pamplona. He had been running in the San Fermín encierro since he was twenty years old, seven years of mornings at 8 a.m. on the same streets.
The Jandilla bull ‘Capuchino’, colorado, number 106, weighing 515 kilograms, fell in the area of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, rose, and separated from the herd. He ran toward Telefoníca. At post 66, he gored Daniel in the neck. Daniel was running in front of the bulls when the animal separated and charged. He was taken to the Hospital of Navarra, where he died at 8:45 in the morning.
Daniel Jimeno Romero is the last person to die in the Pamplona running of the bulls. Every encierro run since July 10, 2009, has been run in the knowledge of what happened that morning. He is remembered here.
Official Poster of San Fermín 2009
Cartel by Ángel Blanco Egoskozabal.
The 2009 winning poster was designed by Ángel Blanco Egoskozabal. The image centered on the Plaza Consistorial, the same square where the chupinazo opens the fiesta each year, with the celebration and light of San Fermín rendered in a style that emphasized color and movement over traditional portraiture.
The poster was selected through the Ayuntamiento de Pamplona’s public competition. Egoskozabal’s entry received 3,175 votes in the public ballot.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive
Winner of the annual cartel contest and the official San Fermín 2009 poster for Sanfermines.
The City in 2009
The chupinazo opened San Fermín 2009 at noon on Tuesday, July 6. The fiesta ran through Tuesday, July 14, when the Pobre de Mí closed the celebrations at midnight.
The 2009 Feria del Toro corridas matched the encierro ganaderías each afternoon, as is tradition. The afternoon following the Jandilla encierro on July 10 was attended by crowds that knew what had happened that morning. The rest of the fiesta’s cultural program, the giants and big-heads, the fuegos artificiales from the Ciudadela, the diana bands, the evening concerts in the Plaza del Castillo, continued as they always do. In Pamplona, San Fermín does not stop. It has not stopped since the encierros were first formalized. The 2009 fiesta was no exception.
How 2009 Came Together
The planning and key dates, kept on the record.
The cartel by Ángel Blanco Egoskozabal was selected by public vote, receiving 3,175 ballots. The ganaderia lineup was confirmed, with Peñajara announced as the opening ranch for July 7.
Peñajara withdrew due to a disease outbreak in their livestock. Alcurrucén was confirmed as a late replacement for the July 7 opening encierro. The substitution required runners to adjust their preparation for an unfamiliar ganaderia on opening morning.
The chupinazo opened San Fermín 2009 in the Plaza Consistorial at noon. Alcurrucén ran the following morning, July 7, in a compact and incident-free opening encierro.
Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27, from Alcalá de Henares, was gored in the neck by Jandilla’s bull ‘Capuchino’ at post 66 on Telefoníca. He died at the Hospital of Navarra at 8:45 a.m. He is the last person to die in the Pamplona encierro. At least three other runners were gored during the same run.
Fuente Ymbro produced the fastest encierro of the fiesta at 2:20 and no horn gorings. Three days after the death of Daniel Jimeno Romero, the encierro ran as it always has.
Núñez del Cuvillo closed the 2009 fiesta on July 14 without a horn goring. That evening, the Pobre de Mí concluded San Fermín 2009 at midnight in the Plaza del Castillo.
San Fermín 2009, Answered
Which ganaderia ran in each encierro in 2009?
Alcurrucen (replacing Penajara) on July 7, Cebada Gago on July 8, El Ventorrillo on July 9, Jandilla on July 10, Dolores Aguirre on July 11, Miura on July 12, Fuente Ymbro on July 13, and Nunez del Cuvillo on July 14.
Who died in the San Fermín 2009 encierro?
Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27 years old, from Alcalá de Henares near Madrid. He was gored in the neck by the Jandilla bull ‘Capuchino’ at post 66 on Telefoníca on July 10, 2009. He died at the Hospital of Navarra at 8:45 a.m. He is the last person to die in the Pamplona running of the bulls.
Which bull killed Daniel Jimeno Romero in 2009?
The Jandilla bull ‘Capuchino’, a colorado bull, number 106, weighing 515 kilograms. The bull had fallen in the area of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, rose, separated from the herd, and ran to Telefoníca where the goring occurred.
What was the fastest encierro in San Fermín 2009?
Fuente Ymbro on July 13, at 2 minutes 20 seconds. A clean, fast run with no horn gorings. The second and third fastest times of the fiesta were El Ventorrillo on July 9 at 2:21 and Nunez del Cuvillo on July 14 at approximately 2:25.
Planning your own run?
2009 is part of the record. For what came after, see San Fermín 2010, or learn how the encierro has changed in the years since at the Pamplona running guide.