San Fermín 2012: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2012. Eight encierros, and the year Dennis Clancey shot the documentary Chasing Red on the route.
Curated by Dennis Clancey
· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner
8
Encierros
2:20
Fastest run
0
Deaths
The Year We Shot Chasing Red
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
San Fermín 2012 was the primary production year for Chasing Red, my documentary about the running of the bulls. The full production crew was working the route during those eight mornings, on the street, at the fence, in the ring. We were there to capture the encierro as it actually is, not as it’s mythologized.
The Cebada Gago run on July 9 was the most serious morning, with the lagging bull ‘Fugado’ and three runners gored. But the overall character of 2012 on the route was speed and cohesion. It was not a quiet fiesta; it was a fast one, and for a documentary production, that speed set the visual rhythm of what we were trying to show.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
2012 in contextEight Runs in 2012
San Fermín 2012 produced two runs of 2:20, El Pilar on July 10 and Victoriano del Río on July 12, the fastest of the fiesta. The Cebada Gago run on July 9 was the longest, at 3 minutes 37 seconds, and three runners were gored.
The longest morning was the Cebada Gago run on July 9, when the bull ‘Fugado’ lagged behind the herd and three runners were gored. The debut ranch Torrehandilla-Torreherberos closed the fiesta on July 14. Read the full decade in the year archive, or compare with 2011 and 2013.
A documentary crew running the route alongside the bulls every morning.Morning by morning
Every 2012 Encierro, Day by Day
Each run with its ganadería, time, horn injuries, and the video record. The route runs 848.6 meters from Santo Domingo to the ring; see the route map.
Sat July 7 · First run
Dolores Aguirre
2:53
A runner was caught by a bull in the callejón leading to the ring.
Sun July 8 · Second run
Miura
2:27
Gored: 0
A clean Miura run. The bull ‘Navajito’ ran ahead of the herd. One runner was taken to hospital with a contusion. No horn gorings.
Mon July 9 · Third run
Cebada Gago
3:37
Gored: 3
The bull ‘Fugado’ lagged behind the herd, and three runners were gored. The run lasted 3 minutes 37 seconds, the longest of the fiesta.
Tue July 10 · Fourth run
El Pilar
2:20
Gored: 0
A fast run from El Pilar, completing the course in 2 minutes 20 seconds, the fastest of the fiesta to that day and 9 seconds above their 2:11 of 2011. No horn gorings; four runners were taken to hospital with contusions.
Wed July 11 · Fifth run
Fuente Ymbro
Gored: 0
A clean Fuente Ymbro run with no horn gorings; three runners were treated for contusions. The bull ‘Infundio’ was hurt in the run and left out of that afternoon’s corrida.
Thu July 12 · Sixth run
Victoriano del Río
2:20
Gored: 0
Joint fastest run of the fiesta with El Pilar, completed in 2 minutes 20 seconds. No horn injuries; six runners were taken to hospital.
Fri July 13 · Seventh run
Juan Pedro Domecq
2:23
Gored: 0
A fast, clean morning, the second fastest of the fiesta to that day. No horn injuries.
Sat July 14 · Eighth run
Torrehandilla-Torreherberos Debut
2:33
The debutant Torrehandilla-Torreherberos ranch closed the fiesta in 2:33.
The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
The film
Chasing Red Takes Shape on the Route
San Fermín 2012 was the primary production year for Dennis Clancey’s documentary Chasing Red, which followed the running of the bulls and the culture of the encierro. The production team worked the full eight days, filming from the street, the fence, and the ring. The fast, cohesive mornings of 2012 gave the film its visual language.
The loose bull
‘Fugado’ and the Longest Morning
The Cebada Gago morning on July 9 was the longest of the fiesta. The bull ‘Fugado’ lagged behind the herd, and three runners were gored.
Speed
Two Runs at 2:20
El Pilar on July 10 and Victoriano del Río on July 12 both ran in 2 minutes 20 seconds. El Pilar’s time was 9 seconds above the 2:11 they had run in 2011.
Official Sanfermines Poster, 2012
Cartel by David Alegría.
The 2012 San Fermín poster was designed by David Alegría.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive
Pamplona's annual concurso de carteles selected this as the official Sanfermines poster for 2012.
Beyond the runThe City in 2012
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon on Friday, July 6, 2012, fired from the balcony of the Pamplona town hall. In 2012 Miura ran the second encierro, on July 8, while the debut of Torrehandilla-Torreherberos closed the fiesta on July 14 and brought a new name to the Pamplona record.
The Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales continued its annual presence in the Ciudadela, with each night’s fireworks display drawing crowds across Navarra to the old fortress. On the last night of the fiesta, the candlelit Pobre de Mí at midnight on July 14 closed the fiesta.
PhotographsFind Your 2012 Run
The Pamplona photographers and the Navarra press shoot every morning. These links go to the 2012 galleries.
EITBSan Fermín 2012: Los encierros, photo gallery
The recordHow 2012 Came Together
The planning and key dates, kept on the record.
Spring 2012
The poster competition selected David Alegría’s design as the winner. The eight ganaderías were confirmed: Dolores Aguirre, Miura, Cebada Gago, El Pilar, Fuente Ymbro, Victoriano del Río, Juan Pedro Domecq, and the debuting Torrehandilla-Torreherberos.
6 July 2012
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon. The full production crew for Chasing Red took positions across the route in preparation for eight mornings of filming.
9 July 2012
The Cebada Gago run was the longest of the fiesta. ‘Fugado’ lagged behind the herd, three runners were gored, and the run lasted 3 minutes 37 seconds.
14 July 2012
Torrehandilla-Torreherberos completed their debut in the final run. At midnight, Pobre de Mí closed the fiesta.
San Fermín 2012, Answered
How many runners were gored in San Fermín 2012?
Three runners were gored in the Cebada Gago run on July 9, when the bull ‘Fugado’ lagged behind the herd. The Miura, El Pilar, Fuente Ymbro, Victoriano del Río and Juan Pedro Domecq runs produced no horn gorings.
Which ganadería ran in each encierro in 2012?
Dolores Aguirre on July 7, Miura on July 8, Cebada Gago on July 9, El Pilar on July 10, Fuente Ymbro on July 11, Victoriano del Río on July 12, Juan Pedro Domecq on July 13, and Torrehandilla-Torreherberos on July 14.
What was the fastest encierro of San Fermín 2012?
El Pilar on July 10 and Victoriano del Río on July 12, both at 2 minutes 20 seconds.
Was anyone killed in San Fermín 2012?
No. The last death in the Pamplona encierro was Daniel Jimeno Romero on July 10, 2009. No runners died in 2012. Three runners received horn wounds in the July 9 Cebada Gago run.
Sources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- Aplausos, "Botero, de Dolores Aguirre, abre la feria de San Fermin", 2012-07-07. aplausos.es
- Aplausos, "Sorteados los de Miura para esta tarde en Pamplona", 2012-07-08. aplausos.es
- EFE via Periodico de Ibiza, "Un miura en cabeza pone la emocion en un limpio segundo encierro", 2012-07-08. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "La de Cebada, enchiquerada", 2012-07-09. aplausos.es
- EFE via Periodico de Ibiza, "Un toro rezagado crea peligro en un tercer largo encierro con tres corneados", 2012-07-09. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "Cuatro de El Pilar y dos de Moises Fraile en Pamplona", 2012-07-10. aplausos.es
- EFE via Periodico de Ibiza, "Cuatro mozos trasladados a los hospitales con contusiones tras el encierro", 2012-07-10. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "Infundio", fuera de la corrida de hoy en Pamplona", 2012-07-11. aplausos.es
- EFE via Periodico de Ibiza, "Los toros de Fuente Ymbro protagonizan una carrera limpia y sin heridos por asta", 2012-07-11. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "El Juli arranca en Pamplona con "Vazqueño", de 645 kilos", 2012-07-12. aplausos.es
- Agencias via Periodico de Ibiza, "Unos veloces toros de Victoriano del Rio protagonizan el sexto encierro de los Sanfermines", 2012-07-12. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "Sorteados los juampedro para esta tarde en Pamplona", 2012-07-13. aplausos.es
- EFE via Periodico de Ibiza, "Veloz encierro de los juampedros, sin heridos por asta de toro", 2012-07-13. periodicodeibiza.es
- Aplausos, "Camarero", de Torrehandilla, pondra el broche a los Sanfermines 2012", 2012-07-14. aplausos.es
- Onda Vasca, "16 fallecidos en el encierro desde 1900", 2022-07-11. ondavasca.com
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Carteles de San Fermin (cartel archive)". pamplona.es
- Periodico de Ibiza (EFE and Reuters captions, tag page), "Etiqueta chupinazo, pagina 3". periodicodeibiza.es
Planning your own run?
2012 is in the record. For the years on either side, see San Fermín 2011 and San Fermín 2013, or learn the route with the runners who have studied it longest.