Re: Dancing with Bulls
It's way too much fun. I always wear safety goggles while I shoot with the camera. The burning of the bulls lasts at least five hours. The day time parade that leads up to the burn is as joyful as any major carnival. We are talking up to 160 handcrafted colorful bulls.
The tradition of bulls of fire is part of many religious festivities in many towns in Mexico and Spain. What makes the tradition different in the town of Tultepec is their large number and the scale of the bulls (most are megabulls), the artistry involved in their design, and the amount of free-roaming rockets (up to 1,000) and other types of fireworks that are loaded on them.
In my book, it's certainly more fun and wholesome than the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona where real animals get hurt and even people have died. Tultepec and its bulls of fire might look on the surface dangerous but in the last five years I have gone I have yet to see a serious injury. There is nothing else in the world that compares to it. You really have to be there to understand it and experience it.
It's a tradition that everybody supports and gets involved with (every neighbourhood in town, government, pyros, firefighters, and paramedics). You decide how close you want to get to the burning bulls and if you suffer some burns they have first aid stations to take care of you. Nobody complains.
After all, they are celebrating Saint John of God who is the patron saint of Tultepec's pyrotechnicians, somebody who was known for his fearless attitude towards fire (according to to 16th century story). For more details behind the history of this celebration go to the
Mexico section of The Fireworks Channel.
I have been going for the last five years and the Burning of the Bulls and the Tower Fireworks Competition are my favorite events of the Tultepec National Pyrotechnics Fair. Like my friend John says, "you can't see anything like it in the rest of the world."
Manuel Rivas
Producer of Dancing with Bulls, Extreme Fireworks
*By the way, this celebration always takes place on March 8th.
