The bull run has a particularly emotional prelude. It is when the runners, just a few metres up the slope from the corral where the bulls are waiting, raise their rolled newspapers and chant to an image of San Fermin placed in a small recess in the wall in the Cuesta de Santo Domingo. Against the strongest of silences, the following words can be heard: "A San Fermin pedimos, por ser nuestro patron, nos guie en el encierro dandonos su bendicion." (We ask San Fermin, being our patron saint, to guide us in the bull run and give us his blessing). When they finish they shout "Viva San Fermin!, Gora San Fermin." This chant is sung three times before 8am first, then when there are five minutes to go before 8am, then three minutes and one minute before the gate of the corral is opened.