Photos: Saint Anthony Bonfire Festival in Spain

Posted Jan 17, 2013

On the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day, Saint Anthony being the patron saint of animals, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the ‘Luminarias’ a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come.

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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the 'Luminarias' a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the 'Luminarias' a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the 'Luminarias' a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the 'Luminarias' a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the 'Luminarias' a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A woman rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man drinks wine near a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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Children sitting in a heap of wood, watch riders and horses pass trough bonfires in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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Revelers ride horses while holding crosses near bonfires in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man rides a horse trough the smoke in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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A man smokes while another rides a horse near a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias", a traditional festival that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires, and protect them for the year to come. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)