Urged on by the crowd, one rider crosses the bonfires with his arms spread wide in a cross, his horse's mane plaited, its tail rolled up in a type of topknot, to avoid catching fire.Īlthough the tradition is widely criticised by animal rights groups, Martín insists it doesn't harm the horse nor the rider. 'It's not a show to entertain people,' insists this 26-year-old who first witnessed the event when he was two years old. If you do a murder run and decide to spare Papyrus at the last minute, he says Wowie You did it You didn’t do a violence To be honest, I was a little afraid so even though Papyrus is actively frightened of you he still tries to get through to you anyway he’s so brave sob. It is only about blessing the animals and keeping them 'healthy all year round as the smoke from the green branches purifies them', he says. Many people suffer from the disease, and it was very brave of him to come forward like this, especially because of, like he said, the terrible stigma attached to it. 'Fire is always a purifying element and this festival asks the saint for his protection on animals' PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU AFPīut locals such as Emmanuel Martín insist the tradition has nothing to do with Covid.

In other Spanish villages, bonfires are lit at different times of the year to remember earlier plagues and epidemics, although the global pandemic has given the Luminarias festival a slightly new dimension. es valeroso He is brave because he skydived and wasn't afraid.Es valeroso porque hizo paracaidismo y no tena miedo. Es valiente porque salt a un tanque de tiburones para salvar a un nio. 'Fire is always a purifying element and this festival asks the saint for his protection on animals.' es valiente He is brave because he jumped into a tank of sharks to save a boy. 'These fires, which purify animals from all diseases, are lit on the eve of San Anton's day, which is celebrated on January 17,' said Anton Erkoreka of the Museum of the History of Medicine in Spain's Basque Country region.ĭuring the feast, masses are held across Spain to bless animals. 'So when the epidemic disappeared, people began to believe that the smoke protected the animals.' Purifying fire

'Before when animal died because of infection, they had to be burned,' said Leticia Martin, a 29-year-old physiotherapist riding a horse called Fiel. The tradition takes place every year on the eve of the feast of San Anton, Spain's patron saint of animals, and dates back to the 18th century when an epidemic devastated the horse population. The festival honours San Antonio Abad (Saint Anthony), patron saint of animals PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU AFP

He is so brave in spanish