La Tomatina

The World’s

Biggest Food-

Fight!

Every year around 30,00 people descend on the Spanish town of Buñol (in the Valencia region of Spain) to throw more than 240,000 pounds of tomatoes at each other.

Buñol (Bunyol) is a small town located in the eastern part of Spain in the

province of Valencia

The festival is started with a ham-on-a-stick contest where competitors race up a greased

pole to retrieve a smoked leg of ham.

La Tomatina does not actually begin until the ham has been cut down. This sometimes takes several hours because the pole is so slippery.

Once the ham is cut down, the tomato fight begins. Tomatoes are brought in by the truck-full from Extremadura, another region of Spain. They are grown specifically for la Tomatina and do not taste very good. The battle is generally every man for himself. Those who partake in this event are strongly encouraged to wear protective safety goggles and gloves. In addition, they must squish the tomatoes before throwing for safety precautions.

After exactly one hour, the fighting ends when the water cannons are fired to signal the end. The cleaning process involves the use of fire trucks to spray down the streets. The tomato pulp is flushed down the street drains. Some people who were in the fight find water at the Buñol River to wash themselves. There are also water spouts set up for people to wash the tomato off.

La Tomatina is always held on the last Wednesday of every August. There are many theories as to how it began but it is generally agreed upon that the first

Tomatina was around 1945. One theory is that a fight erupted among two young members of a carnival crowd. A vegetable stall was nearby in the town plaza and

every started throwing tomatoes at each other. Other theories include a local food fight among friends, a volley of tomatoes from bystanders at a parade, a

practical joke on a bad musician, and the aftermath of a truck that accidentally spilled tomatoes. One of the most popular theories is that disgruntled

townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. Whatever happened to begin the tradition, it was enjoyed so much that it was

repeated the next year, and the year after that, and so on. The holiday was banned during the rule of Franco for having no religious significance, but

returned in the 1970s after his death.

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