November 5th - Toro Fuegos!!!

Tonight I witnessed something I’ve never seen before (besides an event starting on time) – TORO FUEGOS!!! Fireworks are a big tradition with the fairs in Honduras and since the fair lasts the whole month, there is a need to get creative with how to use the fireworks, thus we have Toro Fuegos... a combination of bull and fire…a wooden structure built to look like a bull, complete with head, tail, and horns…that is small enough for a person to carry but big enough to fit a person on the underside. Fastened to the cow are about 50 fireworks set to go off like a timer over a period of 20 minutes. Somehow they find volunteers to run through the streets and the park with this man made cow on top of him, setting off the fireworks. It is the job of the people to run and get out of the way of the bull…kind of like the running of the bulls but with fireworks instead of horns. Its a pretty interesting, or shall I say scary, sight – something security would never allow to happen in the United States. As the length of the fair continues the number of toro fuegos increases at each celebration (2-3 times per week) – up to 6 during the final week of the fair. There were definitely a few times when I could be found ducking out of the way beneath a telephone booth to stay away from the flames of the fireworks…yes they come that close. I tried to stay clear of the charging bull, but close enough to get some pictures…enjoy!