The Spanish town of Bunol celebrated one of the world’s most popular food fights, La Tomatina festival in the town of Bunol on August 31.
The annual La Tomatina festival brings life to Bunol every August, despite the appearance of lack of things to do. During a parade in People’s Square on the last Wednesday of August in 1945, this popular festival accidentally started. In a parade with musicians, giants, and large heads, a few youngsters knocked down one of the participants, who hit everything that got in his way. Angry, the crowd began to throw tomatoes they found on a nearby vegetable stand. But today, La Tomatina is an unforgettable experience that provides a funny way to spend an afternoon in Bunol. Even though most people think that adults have all the fun, think again! Kids can have fun too! The Saturday before the main event, children between the ages of four and fourteen can take part in a child’s version of La Tomatina. Most likely, the children will also have to wear old clothes since it’s a mini-Tomatina. In a fenced area on the main street, parents often seem to be taking pictures of their kids and laughing along the fenceside. Some may not be appreciative of the town’s offerings outside of La Tomatina, but no one can ignore the exuberant fun and frivolity of its annual fiesta, in which people throw tomatoes at each other for an hour. It’s a crazy tradition, but it’s a lot of fun to be a part of with such a large group of people. If all the above information has piqued your interest in visiting Spain and Bunol in particular, you might want to research different travel (companies such as StressFreeCarRental.com might come in handy in such cases) and accommodation options available to you.
And until you can actually visit the place, here are a few interesting points about the festival for you to enjoy!
• >>Thousands of people have pelted each other with tons of ripe tomatoes, creating a red, mushy mess in the annual “Tomatina” street battle in eastern Spain.
• >>At the fiesta in Bunol August 31, 160 tons of tomatoes were offloaded from six trucks into the crowd packing the town’s streets for the hour-long battle that attracts many foreigners.
• >>The fight leaves the participants – many donning swimming goggles to protect their eyes – and the town’s streets drenched in red pulp. Organizers then hose the streets down within minutes of the event ending at noon, while participants can use public showers.
• >>The paid-entry event was inspired by a 1945 food fight between local children in the tomato-producing region.
• >>La Tomatina is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the small town of Bunol in Spain. Thousands of people make their way from all corners of the world to fight in the ‘World’s Biggest Food Fight’.
• >>The festival begins in the morning every year at around 11 when many trucks heave loads of tomatoes into the centre of the town, Plaza del Pueblo. The tomatoes usually come from a nearby town known as Extremadura, where they are available at cheaper price.
• >>The signal for the beginning of the great tomato fight is the firing of water cannons, and the madness then thrives on.
• >>However, according to traditional practice the festival should not begin until one brave enthusiast climb to the top of a two-story high, greased-up wooden pole and secures the ham kept at the top of it. As the process takes a long time and the elevation is quite difficult, the festival starts despite securing the meat.
• >>Though there is no certain evidence how this mega festival originated, the popular belief is that annoyed townspeople attacked the city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration during 1944-45.
• >>The festival is in honour of the town’s patron saints, Luis Bertran and the Mare de Deu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless), a title of the Virgin Mary.
