If Spain is known for anything its for the “fiestas”.
Religious holidays celebrated in rather pagan ways all over the Iberian Peninsula attract millions of tourists every year. In the northern town of Pamplona fighting bulls are run through the streets every morning for a week in July accompanied by thousands of people who generally run in the same direction within inches of the sharp horns.  The firefighters of the Mediterranean city of Valencia are kept busy at least one night a year when hundreds of papier-mâché sculptures, some over two stories tall, are set on fire and reduced to ashes.  The solemnity of the Holy Week processions in the southern city of Seville is as chilling as the cone shaped hats of the penitents. BACK