Ciudad Rodrigo celebrates a centenary festival with bull runs, capeas and bullfights

The story goes that the night the Jewish people left Egypt, known as the Exodus, there was a full moon and that allowed them to do without lamps so that they would not be discovered by the Pharaoh's soldiers. This event is celebrated on the Jewish Passover, which always coincides with a full moon night and the Catholic Church adopted the same criteria and the dates of Holy Week are set when the first full moon after the northern spring equinox coincides. A bit of a mess, but accepted in all corners of the planet.

The five official days of Carnival are filled with color, joy, revelry, costumes, masks and in many cases open display of beautiful bodies of women and men. There is the sensuality, music and dance of Rio de Janeiro, the most spectacular, largest, most joyful and colorful in the world; the elegance, mystery and exotic masks of Venice; the monumentality of the floats, the murgas, comparsas, rondallas and a certain debauchery of Tenerife and Gran Canaria; the relative seriousness in which there is no shortage of liters of good beer of the Cologne in Germany; the jazz music and the colorful costumes in the Mardi Gras of New Orleans all the party concentrated in a single day; the singularities of the carnivals of Barranquilla in Colombia, Notting Hill in London, that of Nice in France, that of Oruro in Bolivia, declared Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO... and, naturally, the satire, irony, criticism and witty chirigotas of the one in Cadiz, which has been recognized as a Festival of International Tourist Interest.

The bull is the star

Also of National Tourist Interest and aspiring to become International and one of the most unique is the so-called Carnival of the Bull, in Ciudad Rodrigo, halfway between Salamanca and Portugal, in which, as its name indicates, the costumes and masks, without disappearing, give way to the bull runs, capeas, de-bull runs, picadors, bullfights and bullfights in which the king is the bull. Although the central axis of the Carnival this year goes from the last Friday of February to the first Tuesday of March, the party begins much earlier. As they say there: "From San Sebastian (January 20) it is Carnival" and its origins date back to the 15th century.

During the days of the Bull Carnival, the festivities take place, beginning with the traditional “Campanazo” (ringing of the bell) at 6:14 pm on Friday from the Plaza Mayor, when hundreds of orange handkerchiefs, confetti and balloons are thrown into the air and the city, the clubs, residents and visitors go crazy. This colour, which is a symbol of Ciudad Rodrigo at this time, is also called farinato here, like a typical orange-coloured sausage, which is made from a mixture of lard, paprika, onion, garlic, anise, bread and salt.

Just as the masks and costumes of the carnivals usually show different facets, so do the protagonists of Ciudad Real. For example, one of the most brilliant and vibrant moments of the festival takes place on Carnival Sunday when the Running of the Bulls on Horseback takes place, when the bulls are led from the pasture to the city, guided by the wise reins of the horsemen and the occasional spontaneous person who follows them on foot. The route is very colourful and exciting, especially when a disobedient bull turns and wants to go its own way without following the horses and the tame ones. Without horses participating, every day there are runs of more than a kilometre through the streets that end at the bullring. Sometimes the running of the bulls becomes very exciting, as dances are held along the way that are interrupted when the bull appears.

Bullfights, festivals and bullfighting competitions are also not lacking in this carnival. Specifically, the bullfights are held in the artisanal square located in the Plaza Mayor, built in wood as centuries ago by the locals themselves and where the bulls are released for the enjoyment of fans and the general public. Bullfighting festivals are also held every day in the afternoon, with or without picadors and with bullfighters and young aspirants who want to enter the Bolsín Taurino, whose mission is to search among the "maletillas" for future figures of bullfighting, and there are also bullfighting competitions, when the youngest and most agile ones face the bulls and young bulls with only the protection of their bodies, dodging the attack at the last moment.

Bullfights and bulls with a surname

A unique feature of the Ciudad Rodrigo Bull Carnival is the so-called Bullfights, a kind of bullfight back and forth, as the animals are returned from the bullring to the corrals, so that the bulls leave the ring to pass through the streets again to the San Pelayo neighbourhood. Other highlights include the Toro del Aguardiente, this year run by the López Gibaja cattle ranch, which is held on Carnival Tuesday, the last day of the festivities, at 9am, where both early risers and night owls gather. It is named this way because before the bull is released, aguardiente and perronillas are distributed to all attendees, undoubtedly to warm up and encourage the runners in this street run that runs through the Plaza Mayor, Calle Madrid and El Registro. Another special event is the Toro del Antruejo, in which fans choose a bull to take part in an old-fashioned route during Carnival Saturday. For the little ones and not so little ones, after the Antruejo, the running of the bulls is held with carts with wheels and bull heads, guided by some men, to enjoy emulating the older ones running the bulls, cutting, bullfighting and feeling those emotions from a young age.

As in every carnival, in Ciudad Rodrigo there is no shortage of costumes, each one more curious than the last, from the common ones such as Romans, medieval, firemen, priests and various policemen to the more elaborate ones such as animals, fairground attractions, animated characters, superheroes... Groups of people dressed up appear at any point in the city at any time. The star moments occur on Carnival Saturday in the bullring after the running of the bulls with a popular costume parade, and on Monday with the parade of floats and comedy groups that takes place after the bullfighting festival in the bullring, with floats made by groups that provide a magical moment full of imagination and colour. And although this is not Cadiz, there is also no shortage of chirigotas and charangas with good humour and criticism that do not have a set schedule and can be found on any street at any time. In recent years the groups have also formed a parade with a band that follows a set route that passes by the headquarters of the participating groups.

Enjoy the city

And between bull runs, bullfights and capeas, there is time to enjoy Ciudad Rodrigo, located on a rocky hill on the banks of the Águeda River, chosen as one of the most beautiful towns in Spain and declared a Historic-Artistic Site. Its medieval walls, with a perimeter of two kilometres and seven gates, enclose a rich heritage of civil and religious buildings, headed by its Cathedral, built between 1165 and 1550, which shows an attractive mix of artistic styles, and its Castle, built by Enrique II, and presided over by the square-shaped keep. Today, it houses the Enrique II de Trastámara Parador de Turismo.

And to replenish your energy, there is nothing like its unique gastronomy, which has managed to preserve from times past the taste for humble and spoon dishes, in which the aforementioned farinato stands out, the most typical speciality of the gastronomy of Ciudad Rodrigo and all of Salamanca, better if accompanied by fried eggs. Other hearty dishes in the area are chanfaina, made with rice and pork, hornazo, a type of pie, and roasts, especially suckling pig. For dessert, you must try bollo maimón, a cake with sugar, eggs and yeast, and repelao, a sweet with a flavour similar to marzipan that is made throughout the region.

INFO: Carnaval del Toro and Ciudad Rodrigo.es