Fear Strangled Their Innards

A bull run occurred August 9 at Tijuana’s Bullring by the Sea. The bulls ran in an enclosed lane some 350 yards long to protect spectators and keep the bulls from running away. A few hundred runners donned white T-shirts and red bandannas and ran hard, sweatin’ it, fear strangling their innards, with big, slobbering cattle hot on their trail.

Billed as La Pamplonada, the event was part of a several-day-long bullfest (feria taurina) that featured a dozen fighting bulls of ancient Iberian bloodlines and an army of bullfighters.

Although it was billed as a running of the bulls, unlike the events in Spain, mainly milk cows and steers were used in the run. The fighting stock was used later in the afternoon; thus, much of the danger was eliminated.

Nonetheless, a huge cloud of dust was raised by the “bulls” and the runners as they attempted to get out of each other’s way and cover the distance. Official rules stated participants could not imbibe alcoholic beverages before or during one’s run with the bulls.

Sunday’s bullfighting featured killing on horseback and an 11-year-old bull-slayer named Michelito, a matador since age 5.