So
now, let’s continue with the second top festival in Spain which is La Tomatino
which is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year
in the town of Bunol near to Valencia in Spain. Thousands upon thousands of
people make their way from all corners of the world to fight in this 'World's
Biggest Food Fight' where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe
tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
Valencia, on the east coast of Spain, is a sunny
Mediterranean city famous for its long sandy beaches and delicious
oranges. Buñol, another city nearby
located just 30 miles away in the same province is also very famous for its
produce, particularly for its tomatoes.
The curious thing, however, is that the small town’s notoriety does not
stem from the quality of its tomatoes but rather their interesting custom of
“bathing” in it.
Buñol is famous around the globe for its “La
Tomatina” festival which is essentially the world’s largest tomato fight. The
famous tomato throwing battle is held once a year on the last Wednesday of
August during the town’s one week festival.
The picture of La Tomatino festival in Spain. Taken from:
The Tomatina festival stared in the 1940s when a
group of the town’s residents started a tomato fight in the town square. The
tomato battle erupted and soon random pedestrians and other town people were
drawn into the battle which culminated in a large food fight. When everything was said and done, the
villagers had had such a fun time that they decided to celebrate the tomato
fight the next year. From this day
forward, the Tomatina festival has been an annual event, growing in size and
popularity into the major tourist attraction of national interest that it is
today in Spain.
The town of Buñol in Valencia celebrates their
patron saint for a full week with a variety of events including parades,
fireworks, food stands and street parties.
Paella cooking contests, wine and food are abundant as the town prepares
for its famous tomato fight.
As the Tomatina tomato fight approaches, the
town’s Medieval bell tower is filled with tomatoes. The tomatoes are specially grown for the
festival and are said to not be of food grade quality. When the last Wednesday
of August arrives, shopkeepers and other business owners with establishments
near the main square cover their windows and doors in preparation for the messy
tomato event.
The next step in La Tomatina festival is the
arrival of the large trucks that slowly make their way up the cobblestone
streets of Buñol filled with squishy ripe tomatoes on route to the town square
where masses of people are awaiting the official start of the festival.
However, before they can enter the main square, someone must overcome the test
of the “palo jabón” or greasy pole. The
goal is for someone to climb a large greased pole to knock the ham that is
hanging on top to the ground. Meanwhile,
the crowd below sings, dances and is sprayed with water from hoses. When
someone achieves the feat, a fire is shot into the air and the tomato trucks
enter the town square.
A final shot rings out and the world’s largest
tomato battle begins as the trucks offload their tomatoes into the Plaza del
Pueblo. The Buñol tomato fight lasts about one hour with about 20,000
participants who generally use approximately 150,000 tomatoes, covering the
whole city center and everyone nearby in red tomato sauce.
After the event, fire trucks, participants and
villagers work to clean the town center with hoses and abundant water. The result is actually a pristine shine to
the cobblestone streets which are disinfected and thoroughly cleansed due to
the acidity of the tomato sauce.
The Buñol Tomatina festival is an event worth
witnessing and participating in at least once in your lifetime. However, we
recommend that you plan ahead, the small town only offers so much accommodation
and the hotels in all the surrounding areas quickly fill up as the event draws near.
The
Rules of La Tomatina
- Do not rip other people's T-shirts
- Do not bring bottles or hard objects as they can cause accidents and hurt other participants
- You must squash the tomatoes before throwing them as this reduces the impact
- Ensure you keep a safe distance from the lorries
- As soon as you hear the second shot, you must stop throwing tomatoes
This is the video of celebrating La Tomatino in Spain. Taken from: www.youtube.com
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