“Pamplona is a swell town, on a plateau in the middle of the Mountains of Navarre. Greatest country you ever saw.” ~Ernest Hemingway, 1924
"I drink to make people more interesting." ~Ernest Hemingway, 1950
"In order to write about life, first you must live it." ~Ernest Hemingway
In 1923, Ernest Hemingway first came to Pamplona when he was a young man of just 24 years. He traveled to Pamplona as a reporter for the Toronto Star newspaper in search of colorful stories for his writing jobs. During this visit to Pamplona in 1923, Hemingway immediately fell in love with the Running of the Bulls fiesta in honor of San Fermin and the people, bulls and bullfighting traditions, spirit, music, and dancing throughout Pamplona’s festivities. In 1926 – three years after his first visit to Pamplona - Hemingway published his famous novel, The Sun Also Rises, translated into Spanish with the simpler title, Fiesta. This book put Pamplona onto the world stage, describing the Running of the Bulls fiestas and the indomitable spirit of its residents. Thanks to Hemingway’s writings and within just about 10 years after the publication of the The Sun Also Rises, tourists began to flood into Pamplona to run with wild bulls through the cobblestone streets of the old city. Finally, now more than a million foreigners descend upon Pamplona during the fiesta dates of July 5-14, every year.
When in Pamplona, be sure to visit the life-size stone bust of Ernest Hemingway, which can be found to the left of the main entrance of the bullring, also known as the Plaza de Toros. Hemingway gets the credit for helping to bring international fame to the San Fermin fiestas, and his statue was finally delivered in July, 1968, as a tribute to his love for Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls fiestas.