Surprise opera in Pamplona at Cafe Iruña
Here are three vignettes from Pamplona. Two have to do with culture and the final deals with the Running of the Bulls that made the city famous throughout the world. This is a complex city with a population that works hard and parties hard. It manages to balance the Spanish way of life with the Basque culture. It has blended its old town with the modern highrise neighborhoods.
I was there once again for San Fermin and once again it was a great fiesta. Pamplona is now in the running for culture capital of Europe in 2016. More coming soon on that theme.
Bizet’s opera, Carmen
Here’s Les Voici! Voici La Quadrille! from Act 4 of Carmen. This is the tune that opera goers were humming as they walked out the door. This always reminds me of Spain. A secret, I am told, is that Bizet never visited Spain. He sure captures the culture.
Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls
Every morning during the fiesta, the bulls that will be fought in the bullring in the afternoon are “run” from the corrals into the bullpens where they spend their last hours. This tradition goes back at least a hundred years, perhaps more.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
