ARCHIVED PROJECTS: "San Fermin 2009" by Susana Vera

Revellers shout "Viva San Fermin!" (long live Saint Fermin) as the famed fiesta starts in the Spanish northern city of Pamplona every July 6. Hundreds of thousands of party-goers tie red scarves around their necks as a rocket is fired during the Chupinazo, officially beginning the centuries-old fiesta which was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway's book "The Sun Also Rises". The fiesta is best known for its "encierros", or bull runs. San Fermin, the co-patron saint of Pamplona, is believed to give guidance and protection to the thousands of revellers who take part in the running of the bulls. Each morning during the 9-day round the clock fiesta six fighting bulls are released on the old city streets as thousands of adventure-seeking runners try their skill and luck getting close to the bulls.