Our daughter flew out of Sydney last weekend to go for a European holiday. She is most looking forward to going to the La Tomatina Tomato Festival in Spain. She wants to throw tomatoes!
The origins of this mass tomato battle date back to a fight amongst children in 1945 and it has been celebrated every year since then.
The “Tomatina” is held on the last Wednesday in August in the town of Buñol. This unusual fiesta brings together crowds of people every year, ready to have a great time of laugher and fun, hurling tomatoes at each other. Participants at this joyful pitched battle have a wonderful time throwing tomatoes at anything that moves.
It gets underway at 9am, in the town square, with rolls and pastries provided for breakfast by the Town Hall. Little by little, the square fills with people. Before the battle, a huge pole is erected. It is covered with soap and has a leg of ham on the end. The most daring try to climb as high as possible to get their hands on the prize, to the general delight of onlookers. Meanwhile, buckets of water are launched from balconies, soaking the people as they prepare for battle. At 11 o’clock a shot is fired to announce the start of the fight, and from the end of the street, the first truckload of “ammunition” appears, sounding its horn. Those riding on board the truck throw the first tomatoes. Finally, the vehicle stops and unloads its cargo, and the crowd rushes forward to stock up on “bullets”. Within a few seconds, everything turns red. Trucks loaded with tomatoes arrive one after another, until a second shot is fired signalling the end of the battle. Now comes the difficult task of washing down the brave participants with hoses – they are already thinking of next years “Tomatina”
Rules? It is suggested that to keep the event a fun day, these rules are adhered to:-
- Do not bring bottles or hard objects as they can cause accidents and hurt other participants
- Do not rip other people’s T-shirts
- 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:-
Apart from the above rules, general advice is given to make the day enjoyable
- Wear closed shoes that you don’t mind throwing away afterwards. If you wear flip-flops, you may get hurt, or you could lose them easily during the battle
- Wear old clothes, or clothes that you aren’t planning to wear again. They will most likely end up damaged from being ripped or incredibly dirty
- You may find goggles useful. However, it is safer if you just ensure that you always have something clean to wipe your eyes with. The best thing is if you tuck your T-Shirt into your shorts to keep the bottom part of your T-shirt clean and dry
- If you are planning to take pictures, bring a waterproof camera!
- If you’re not from Buñol, and you want to stay overnight, don’t forget to look for and secure accommodation in advance
- Do not miss the Palojabón – a soap-covered pole with a Spanish ham at the top: whoever can climb the pole and get the ham can keep it!
- Stay safe and enjoy the festivities as much possible
Thanks to a nationwide news report by Javier Brasilio on Informe Semanl (Spanish State TV Channel) in 1983, the festivity became known throughout the rest of Spain. This made it become more popular across the whole country. Since then, word has spread throughout the world, and the number of participants in The Tomatina has continued to grow each year. The enthusiasm for The Tomatina continues to become more and more widespread as participants come to Buñol from all corners of the globe, including our daughter from Australia, to celebrate the festivities on the last Wednesday of August ever year.
The La Tomatina Tomato Festival will be held on 31 August 2011 at Buñol (Valencia) in Spain.
For more information see the web site: http://www.latomatina.es/en/
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