When the bulls and horses’ silhouettes peer over the top of the hill. First silence and expectation, then impatience, and finally roaring shouts when the bulls grow visible, running in a made race down the El Terrero path. During the difficult task of steering the bulls through the constraints, the horseback riders drive the livestock at a dizzying speed down the hill, all while controlling that none of them stray, leading them to the city centre, where the horseman and his steed’s job ends. Now it’s time for the runners. They impatiently await the arrival of the bull run, so they can do their race through the city centre.
At the same time, in the town, people begin filling the side line constraints in search of a good spot to view the bull run, while the runners nervously await the bulls’ arrival. Men and women of all ages liven up the wait with the traditional Baile de la Rueda (Wheel Dance), to the tune of dulzaina and drum music for the amusement and entertainment of attendees. This Castilian folkloric display is reminiscent of love and work songs, with the notes of Habas Verdes, Agapito Marazuela, Cecilio de Benito and many other anonymous authors. This musical inheritance is performed with jotas, ruedas and seguidillas, while playing with the famous amaguillos, simulating the arrival of the bull run. This dance begins at El Embudo (The Funnel), with a rosquilla (pastry) and liqueur tasting, following the bull run’s entire city route. Residents and visitors all join, with high participation numbers.
This is the moment the runners have been waiting for all year. They practised how to fool the bull, they’re careful not to trip, to pull it off with flying colours, to step to the side and let other runners by, all with the adrenaline and excitement of being in front of the bulls… It all only lasts a few seconds, the bull run has swept by like a flash.
Both Cuéllar residents and visitors participate in the bull run, the main characters of the show, suffering and enjoying through each race. Once everything is over, groups are formed to comment on the races, mishaps, sensations and impressions. Everyone has something to contribute to the conversation, since each race is different, with a different experience. The bull run ends when the bulls reach the ring and are locked in the bullpen.
This is the sequence for each run, melding loyalty to tradition and purity in how the beasts are treated. The show is repeated five days in a row each year.
The city route begins at the end of the «El Embudo» descent, when the horseback riders leave the herd (on the Terrero path) and the first runners appear. It continues along a short section of the Avenida Camilo José Cela, then enters calle La Resina. It continues to ascent calle Las Parras, until reaching the «Paseos de San Francisco» area, Avenida de los Toros, and finally ends in the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring).
