What is the Chupinazo on July 6th?
At 12:00 midday every July 6th, the square in front of the Town Hall witnesses the chaos when the San Fermín Fiesta literally takes off with a bang! This moment is marked by a rocket (the “Chupinazo”), which announces the start of the Fiesta. All morning, crowds pack in like sardines at the Plaza Ayuntamiento. The passion and intensity grows every minute until it reaches a the culmination at noon. At that point the Mayor and members of the Council step out onto the balconies of the Town Hall to greet the crowds. A nominated person shouts the announcement: “Pamploneses, Pamplonesas, Viva San Fermín! Gora San Fermín!” (people of Pamplona, long live San Fermín!). The crowd responds with cries of “Viva!” and “Gora!” and the rocket is launched into the sky. At this moment the square erupts as hundreds of bottles of champagne are uncorked and sprayed all over the crowd. Please note that this is kind of an intense event. There is a lot of pushing back and forth and it’s quite uncomfortable in
