Every year, thousands of people gather in the town of Buñol in Valencia to spend an hour pelting each other with rotten tomatoes. The tomato fight has become famous the world over, but is actually just one event in a week of festivities that attracts visitors from around the world. This year, La Tomatina will be held on 25 August at 11am.
Bunol, near Valencia.
Over 100,000 kilos of tomatos will flood the village square in the worlds biggest tomato fight!
Each year, on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people plunge themselves into the tradition that has lasted for over 60 years. They come to Bunol from all over the world to feel and live throught one of the best, and more unusual fiestsa in Spain: La Tomatina.
It all started on the last Wednesday of August 1945, when some young people were getting fresh air in the town square. The evening did not promise much, so they decided to form part of a parade that was taking place with musicians and carnival figures of giants and enormous headed individuals. The impetus of their entry caused the fall of a participant who full of rage, began to hit everyone in his way. By a quirk of fate, there just happened to be a stand of vegetables beside them. The angry crowd started throwing tomatoes at each other until the public law put an end to the vegetable battle.
The following year, the young people repeated the tomato fight on a voluntary basis and brought tomatoes from home. Although the celebration was dissolved by the police during the following years, the boys, without knowing it, had made history. La Tomatina was banned in the early fifties, although this fact did not dissuade participants, eventhough some were arrested. But the will of the locals was heard and the celebration returned, more people took part in it and it became increasingly wild.
Again the event was canceled until 1955, when, in protest, the Burial of the Tomato was held: an event in which residents carried a coffin with a big tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band playing funeral marches, and it obtained a complete success. Finally, in 1957 official permision was granted and La Tomatina festival was formaly established. After that it has been the City Councils of the municipality themselves that have organized and promoted this curious battle, that has made Buñol world famous.
The festival became popular in the rest of Spain thanks to Javier Basilio who, showed the event in a television program Informe Semanal “Week report” on Spanish TV. Since 1980, it has been the different City Councils that have supplied the tomatoes to the participants, which year after year, increase in number and enthusiasm. The success has led to have La Tomatina, of Buñol, be considered, as of August 2002, International Fiesta of Tourist Interest by the General Secretariat of Tourism of Spain.
At La Tomatina you can always have fun, but if you want it to be memorable, follow the tips we give you:
Choose running shoes you don’t have mush esteem for, and tie them to your ancles. Other types of shoes can be easily lost
Wear old clothes you don’t intend to use again, they will most likely end up broken.
Diving goggles are quite convenient. The acid contained in the tomatoes can sting your eyes a lot, but leaves your skin clean and soft.
If you want to take pictures, use a waterproof camera.
If you want to see better, never go up railings, windows, pillars, etc., you will become a perfect target for all the tomatoes
If you're an outsider and you want to spend the night in Buñol, make sure you look for accommodation in advance.
Do not miss the soap stick: a soap smeared pole with a ham hanging on the top. Whoever gets to the ham, keeps it.
And, of course, enjoy the most of it. It’s marvellous to do something as absurd as throwing tomatoes to everyone for an hour.
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