Horses leap through flames, beer and wine flow at ancient annual ‘Las Luminarias’ bash in Spain

A small village in Spain is turning up the heat.

San Bartolome de Pinares, a tiny community of about 500 residents about 60 miles outside of Madrid, hosted its annual Las Luminarias celebration over the weekend — a centuries-old tradition highlighted by horses galloping through a wall of flames.

The fiery spectacle has ticked off animal rights activists for years but locals live for it.

A rider gallops his horse through a wall of flames at the annual Los Luminarias celebration in Spain. AP

“In the old days, it was held because it was believed that the branches and the smoke blessed the horses and donkeys, which were used for farming, as a form of healing to prevent them from getting sick and