In 1981 I was on holiday in San Sebastian, Spain, when my visit was cut short by the annual demonstrations/violence of the radical Basque faction in that region. I say “annual” because almost every summer since then I have read with great interest of the activities of the separatists which usually peak in August and may or may not involve serious acts of violence. I had arrived at this beautiful resort town in the late afternoon and we had reservations in a lovely, old hotel that was on the ocean and located at the edge of the town. That evening, I headed to the old city part of town with my companions and as we walked we began to hear sounds of what we thought might be firecrackers. As we continued on we saw people running towards us and scattering all over. It took a minute or two before we realized that these people were running from some kind of riot and that the “firecrackers” were gun shots. We instinctively fled for cover and I slipped into a doorway in an alley.
Jennefer Mazza (Wed,) studied this question.