"Fifteen years ago, bullfighting wasn't in vogue, but young people are getting closer"

For the past four years, he has been the expert voice of this unmissable event from July 6 to 14 on TVE. A financial advisor by profession and a bull runner in his spare time, Donostian Teo Lázaro says he approaches the broadcast of the Sanfermines on the public channel with responsibility. He is joined in the early mornings by Ana Prada and Julián Iantzi, who present 'Vive San Fermín' each morning, the program that accompanies the traditional Pamplona bull run, which exceeds 50% viewership early in the day.

With four years behind the San Fermín bull runs on TVE, how do you experience it?

Well, with perhaps a bit more responsibility, because you become increasingly aware of the number of people watching, following, and paying attention to what we comment on through the small screen. This makes the commitment acquired more significant. It was a great pride for me when they counted on me to tell viewers what is happening down there, especially in the bull run. That we continue this work four years later is at least significant that things are being done reasonably well.

Is it difficult to find the words in the narration of a bull run?

It's important to note that TVE broadcasts are not narrated live but are done afterwards. In this, I praise the work of my colleagues at Radio Nacional, because they have to tell the listener who is not watching to imagine what is happening. Personally, I try to process everything I see in those two minutes to describe or detail even the smallest details that the viewer might not have seen at first glance. I believe this is key for the broadcasts. Words, well, sometimes yes, sometimes it's hard to change a term because it's really repetitive, but every day six new bulls come out, and the excitement is guaranteed.

Your predecessor Javier Solano recommended you to replace him as the bull run narrator. What advice did he give you?

In fact, he gave me several pieces of advice. Javier was one of the people I spoke to when Spanish Television proposed that I take over, but it was his then colleague, Elena Sánchez, who said she would give my phone number to the TV because she trusted me a lot. When they proposed it to me, I spoke with both Elena and Javier, who told me he was quite clear about it. In fact, he made a prediction during a broadcast in 2018 when I was a guest. He said on air that I had a good chance of taking over because he knew me personally, I have knowledge of the bull run world, and I already had previous experience on a local television. Also, every year I usually talk to him because we coincidentally meet at some point in Pamplona.

Officially, you stopped running in the San Fermín bull runs two years ago. Would you return?

It was a very complex decision at the time. Broadcasting the bull run on TVE prevented you from running it. At the time, I decided to stop running precisely to take over the broadcasts, but I was left with the regret that since there had been two years of pandemic and I had retired unknowingly, I asked in 2023 to be given the opportunity to run at least one last bull run. But this year, I have asked my bosses at TVE to kindly let me decide if I would like to satisfy the urge this last July 14 and be able to run. They haven't said no, so I leave that door half-open to see if I'm lucky and have the chance to experience what it's like on the street again.

You mentioned that the San Fermín bull run has been rejuvenating in recent years. What do you attribute this to?

It's true that there was a time when the generational handover seemed to have faded, but now there are many young people who have probably inherited the tradition from their parents and want to participate. Regarding female participation, it is increasing, but the proportion is still very small. Our TVE program struggles to get a girl to come. As for why the festival has rejuvenated, I wouldn't know how to explain it, but it is true that this tends to be cyclical. There are times when the audience ages. We have seen, for example, in the sales at San Isidro, that there is an impressive increase in very young people who are once again approaching bullfighting. Ten to fifteen years ago, it seemed like something that was no longer in fashion, that it wasn't popular. And now there's this resurgence. Hopefully, it will be like this for a long time because it will guarantee the future of our passion.