Holidays Around the World: La Tomatina
Author: Sailea Nerid
If you type La Tomatina in Goggle, you will come across pictures that look like scenes from a low budget horror movie. Relax, this is not blood but tomato juice, an essential part of one of the funniest and most eccentric holidays in Spain.
The small town of Bunol, located approximately 24 miles (38 km) west from Valencia, is usually a quiet and peaceful place where people know each other, and enjoy each other’s company under the hot Spanish sun. There is one exception, however. On the last Wednesday of August every year this peaceful town turns into a huge arena of the biggest tomato fight in the world.
How did it begin? There is a lot of discussion what the reason that provoked such a unique event was. Some people believe that everything started with a group of friends throwing vegetables at each other. Others say a truck spilled a generous amount of tomatoes and people decided to have fun. What seems like the most detailed and therefore the most plausible story, however, directs us to the year 1946, and involves a group of young people who attended the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. This kind of parades is typical for Spain, and the name originates from the tall figures with big papier maché heads. The said group of young people decided to have fun, and joined the parading figures, causing one of them to fall. The person who was inside the figure was quite unhappy, and expressed his dissatisfaction by grabbing tomatoes from the nearest vegetable stand and throwing them at the young people. The crowd around him followed his example, and apparently they had a lot of fun. Next year the same group of young people brought their own tomatoes, and started a fight at the central square of the city. The local authorities tried to ban the event for several years without any success. Eventually they gave up and allowed the tradition to continue setting some rules for the citizen’s own safety. La Tomatina was banned during Francisco Franco’s regime, but in the 1970s tomatoes started flying again. Nowadays 20,000 lucky people enjoy this unique event every year. The limitation was set by the local authorities due to security reasons.
Now, let’s say something about the festival itself. Local people prepare in advance by putting plastic covers over the shops and the buildings in order to keep them relatively clean. You don’t need to buy your own tomatoes, they will be provided to you. The 150,000 tomatoes that are usually used are traditionally bought from an autonomous community in western Spain called Extremadura. There isn’t any special historical reason behind this, tomatoes are just less expensive there.
Around 10am trucks deliver tomatoes at the central square, Plaza del Pueblo. During the event trucks drive slowly around the center of the city, and more tomatoes are provided to the excited crowd.
The fight starts officially after one brave soul manages to climb a two-story high, greased-up wooden pole, and reaches the ham that’s on the top of it. Yes, the first one to do it indeed keeps the ham. Once it’s done, a water cannon proclaims the beginning of the tomato fight that lasts exactly one hour, and the second firing of the water cannon indicates the end of it.
I already mentioned there were some rules you needed to follow during the fight. First, you are not allowed to bring any hard objects with you like bottles, so serious injuries can be avoided. You are also not allowed to rip other people’s clothes. I don’t know why you would like to do it, but still it’s forbidden. Before throwing a tomato you need to squash it first, so it would not hurt when hitting another person. Last but not least, you need to be careful when the trucks pass, but that’s quite obvious, isn’t it?
People who participated in this tomato war and survived advise to wear goggles, closed-toe shoes, and clothes you don’t mind throwing away after the fight. If you wear laces, be extra careful. If your kid is with you, check if it’s your kid indeed before leaving for they do look alike covered with tomato pulp (true story). If you want to take pictures, do remember to use waterproof camera.
After the fun is over, cleaning is inevitable. Fire trucks are in charge of making the streets spotless once again. The good news is that the acid contained in the tomatoes facilitates this process, and once all the pulp is gone everything is nice and shiny. Well, you would need to take care of your own hygiene of course. You can either use the local river, or try to find a friendly local resident who would allow you to use their hose.
In conclusion, if you are trying to decide what holiday you can have in August, pack your case and attend La Tomatina. However, if trivial things like money, family, and/or work interfere with your plans, you can always organize a little festival of your own in your back yard. Have fun!
