By John Rueda
You may plan on going out every night during San Fermin, and that’s great, but if there if one morning not to miss it is the morning of July 6th, known as the Chupinazo. This is the event that marks the opening of San Fermin and it is so memorable that it was even chosen as the poster design for this year’s festival. In the poster you can see an explosion of reds and whites as the clock strikes 12 which really does capture the emotions you will feel if you make it out this day.

The tradition is that at 12noon on July 6th a rocket is shot off from the balcony of town hall (Ayuntamiento) to initiate the beginning of San Fermin. To continue with tradition, the entire town and all of its guests meet in front of town hall for a ceremony full of day-drinking and other forms of celebration. You won’t leave this plaza clean and you’ll know who was there and who was not by the color of their previously white clothing.

If you plan on joining in this event the following may be valuable advice:

* Don’t wear sandals (There will lots of broken glass and other sharp things on the floor not to mention the thousands of people around you that could step on you.)
* Don’t bring your little sister, the claustrophobic, or the faint-hearted (Grandparents, children, small dogs) There is a period of about 5 minutes where if you are anywhere within the plaza you will be crushed from all sides and unable to leave even if you want to. Each year I’ve looked around me in these moments to see girlfriends crying and their boyfriends desperately trying to hoist their lady friend on their shoulders in hopes of alleviate some of the hysteria. Unless she was a substitute for the men’s rugby team I’d make her sit this one out.
* Don’t bring a camera, cell phone, or anything that you don’t want to get wet.
* If you must bring your cell phone or camera, put them inside a plastic bag if you wish to use them again.
* If you want a great spot try and get there by 10:30, but bring something to drink; you may be waiting for a while. You can also try right before but be prepared to push.

When it’s all over make sure to go to the near by streets and scream up to the windows. If you are lucky someone will dump a bucket of water on you to help you clean up.