A rider goes through flames during the annual “Luminarias” celebration on the eve of Saint Anthony’s day, Spain’s patron saint of animals, in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares, northwest of Madrid, Spain. The objective of the ritual is supposedly to purify and protect each horse involved. The residents build bonfires in the streets, then riders take turns riding their horses, many of them prized animals, through the fires. What do you think? An ancient ritual to be preserved, or cruelty to horses?
