Pamplona On a Bender

Just like Spain, the Mexicans have a "running of the bulls" deal. It's just longer, more chaotic, laced with booze, and you have a better chance of getting gored.

Events like these always make me wonder who the first guy was to say, "Hey, Diego. I've got a great idea. Let's get hammered, release all the bulls in town, then run through the streets and try not to get tossed through a window."

TLACOTALPAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Ten half-tonne bulls charged down the winding colonial streets of the small Mexican town of Tlacotalpan Sunday, kicking at screaming spectators in a chaotic version of Spain's famous "Running of the Bulls."

The tradition, enacted in a handful of Mexican towns, traces its roots back to the centuries-old Pamplona bull-run in Mexico's former colonial power.

But unlike Pamplona, where a pack of bulls chases people for a few minutes down a carefully cordoned-off path, in Tlacotalpan the beasts are let loose to rampage through the streets for hours as crowds taunt them.