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| Scott, The Cocinera | |
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09/24/05 - San Miguel de Allende, MX Thanks for the apron Jen! |
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| Makin' pancakes in my cocinera suit. |
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| Bulls are Running in San Miguel | |
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09/24/05 - San Miguel de Allende, MX (Photos) Another crazy weekend, as San Miguel hosts its own mad version of the Pamplonada |
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We had heard about the Sanmiguelada, the annual running of the bulls, and knew it was going to be a big event here. But it was crazier than we thought it was going to be, as twenty-somethings from around Mexico (mostly Mexico City) showed up to have what seemed like a mini-spring break, in the guise of watching/participating in this cultural event. They say that around 20,000 people come to town, all decked out in white shirts, red bandanas tied around their necks, and water bottles of beer in their hands. Workers spend the night lining the streets with metal barricades to keep the bulls from escaping into the non-participating part of the crowds.
Saturday, the day the bulls come into town, and down our street we can see that the main plaza has turned into a sea of white and red. Scott attempts to make the morning bagel run (yes, bagels in Mexico... I think the guy who owns The Bagel Cafe is from New York, so they're legitimate), but even after fighting the crowds, finds the Bagel Cafe barricaded off, seeing how it's on the 'route'. With the crowds of people who've planned further in advance, and with Caroline's not feeling too great right now, we decide our best vantage will be watching the local TV station's broadcast. This whole 'running' of the bulls turns out to be more chaotic than we imagined. In Pamplona, the apparently let the bulls run through the streets for the few minutes it takes for them to get to the bullring. Here, they've historically just let people run around taunting the bulls in the main plaza for up to 2 hours!
This year, it was only about 45 minutes or so of people waving red capes, bandanas, t-shirts at the bulls trying to get them to charge. There are 8 bulls running around, so just when someone is trying to play matador with the bull in front of them, another bull might come up and nail them from behind, sending them flying. There were way more people getting bucked by bullhorns and trampled than we thought there'd be. Any inclination Scott had to participate has been quashed. We simply can't believe this is a city sanctioned event, what with all of the injuries and potential for death! Again, it's that lack of lawsuits that makes it all possible - this wouldn't happen in the U.S. It was so incredible to watch on TV even, that we had to take photos of what we were watching on TV. |
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