This year, the fiestas held in Cangrejal of Samara from Thursday, March 29 to Monday, April 2 to support the EBAIS clinic were full of action. Aside from the normal excitement of nightly bull-riding, with one seriously injured rider, this year there was the added excitement of a fire. On the first day of the fiesta under a blazing sun, one of the shells from a firecracker started a fire in the field, according to Dr. Fulvio Paniagua Acuña, one of the organizers of the fiesta.

A large area was burned by a fire accidentally set off on the first day of the fiesta.

The grass was so dry that the fire spread quickly, burning three or four hectares of land.

By coincidence, the Nicoya firefighters were in the area, having received a call for another fire nearby, so within just 5 minutes they were on the scene.  If they hadn’t been nearby, Paniagua expressed, “who knows what might have happened.” He also credited the willing assistance of the town and Intercultura. 

On Saturday night the bulls were lively and so was the crowd. One guy asked the “vaquetero” (the professional hired to distract the bull) for the cape to taunt the bull, but the vaquetero can’t give the capote to anyone, Paniagua explained. The disturbance halted the event briefly. 

That same evening, Saturday, one of the riders, Carlos Mendoza of Liberia, hit his head hard against the ground when he was thrown from one of the bulls. He was transferred to Hospital Mexico in San Jose, where he is unconscious. Dr. Paniagua reported that they are waiting to see how he reacts to treatment.  

Overall, Paniagua said the fiestas went well, better than last year, although the financial report is not yet tallied. Paniagua noted that people were having such a good time that one evening the dance had to be stopped at midnight (the official limit given for the fiesta) although the hall was full of people who wanted to continue celebrating.