The running of the bull, known as El Toro de Aleluya, happens every year in Arcos on Easter Sunday. This event marks the end of the Holy Week festivities.
Two fighting bulls are let loose on the street, one at 12pm and the other at 3pm. Up until a couple of years ago a bull would be seen careering around here in the Old Town, but for reasons mostly political, bull runs are now confined to the main street in town.
Yesterday we were fortunate to witness the spectacle from the roof terrace of Hotel La Fonda, giving us an excellent overview of the big crowds of people, some of whom were hanging precariously from window ledges and the like. Anything to get a good view of the bull’s arrival!
The first bull passed below without incident. But the second one picked out a would-be matador from the group of macho ‘runners’ (some the worse for wear with drink) and three times sent him flying with its horns. If you like this kind of thing click here to see a sequence of images and video clips showing exactly what happened.
The man was taken to hospital but his injuries were not serious. He’ll probably be back to do it all again next year.