La Tomatina

La Tomatina
La Tomatina in 2014
Official name La Tomatina
Observed by Buñol, Valencia, Spain
Date Last Wednesday in August
2017 date August 30  (2017-08-30)
2018 date August 29  (2018-08-29)
2019 date August 28  (2019-08-28)
2020 date August 26  (2020-08-26)
Frequency annual

La Tomatina (Spanish pronunciation: [la tomaˈtina]) is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the East of Spain 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol.

History

La Tomatina 2010-08-25

It started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent the time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. The young boys decided to take part in a parade with musicians, Giants and Big-Heads figures. The energy of jovialities caused one participant's big head to fall off. The participant flew into a fit of rage, began hitting everything in his path. There was a market stall of vegetable that fell victim to the fury of the crowd. People started to pelt each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended that fruit battle.

The following year, some young people engaged in a pre-planned quarrel and brought their own tomatoes from home. Although the police broke it up, this began the early tradition. In the following years, the young boys' example had unwittingly made history.

La Tomatina was banned in the early 50s, however this did not stop the participants who were arrested. But the people protested the prohibition and the festivity was again allowed with more participants and increased passions. The festivity was again cancelled till 1957 when, as a sign of protest, the tomato burial was held. It was a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a huge tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band which played funeral marches. The protest was successful. La Tomatina Festival was finally permitted and became an official festival.

As a result of the report of Javier Basilio, a broadcaster from the Spanish television program called Informe Semanal, the festivity started to be known throughout the rest of Spain. Since then, the number of participants increased year after year as well as the excitement about La Tomatina Festival. In 2002, La Tomatina of Buñol was declared Festivity of International Tourist Interest by the Secretary Department of Tourism due to its success.[1]

Description

Preparing the "palo jabón".
Throwing tomatoes from a truck.

Usually the fight lasts for about two hours, after which the town square is literally covered with tomato debris.[2] Fire trucks then hose down the streets and participants often use hoses that locals provide to remove the tomatoes from their bodies. Some participants go to the “Los Peñones” pool to wash. The citric acid in the tomatoes leads to the washed surfaces in the town becoming very clean.[3][4]

Since 2013 participation in the event has been restricted to the holders of paid tickets. In 2015, it was estimated that almost 145000 kg of tomatoes were thrown.[3]

Rules of the festival

The city council follows a short list of instructions for the safety of the participants and the festival:[5]

  1. Do not throw bottles or hard objects
  2. Do not tear or throw t-shirts
  3. Squash tomatoes before throwing them to avoid hurting others
  4. Keep a safe distance from trucks
  5. Stop throwing tomatoes after the second starter pistol shot
  6. Follow the directions of security staff

In other countries

La Tomatina Buñol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of the world:

  • Since 1982, the town of Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado has held a tomato fight called the "Colorado Texas Tomato War," in which Texans and Coloradans square off. The Coloradans also attempt to overtake the Texans' straw Alamo effigy, generally succeeding.
  • Since 2004 the Colombian town of Sutamarchán holds a similar event on 15 June when a surplus of tomatoes is harvested.[6]
  • In Costa Rica the town of San José de Trojas (Valverde Vega Canton) celebrates a Tomatina during the local Tomato Fair.[7]
  • In the town of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province in China, a tomato fight is held on October 19, during which they use up to 15 tons of tomatoes.[7]
  • The City of Reno, Nevada in the United States also has an annual hour-long tomato fight that started in 2009. The event seems to take place on the last Sunday of August and is organized by the American Cancer Society. Organizers named the festival La Tomatina, and give full credit for the idea to the Spanish festival.[6]
  • In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Karnataka Government banned the hosting of such a Tomatina event in Bangalore and Mysore, after private organizers tried to organize one. Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is quoted as saying: "In the name of 'La Tomatina' festival, permission should not be granted to waste tomatoes". A similar event planned in Delhi was cancelled after it received negative response from the public.[8]
  • Milwaukee's East Side Association holds an annual Tomato Romp during September in coordination with a Bloody Mary drink contest. Held since at least 2009 it is limited to 250 people in a caged-in area.[9]
  • Funtasia Island, Patna hosted a similar La tomatina Holi event on March 26, 2013 at Funtasia Water Park in Patna, India.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Studio, Socarrat. "La Tomatina – Página oficial". latomatina.info (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  2. ↑ Mullins, Deirdre. "La Tomatina". RTE.
  3. 1 2 Harris, Jenn (August 28, 2013). "La Tomatina festival: 20,000 people, 130 tons of tomatoes, 1 big mess". The Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ "La Tomatina". The Taste of Spain. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Rules of Tomatina Festival". Tomatina.
  6. 1 2 Galván, Javier A. (June 19, 2014). They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World. ABC-CLIO. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-1-61069-342-4.
  7. 1 2 "La Tomatina Tomato Festival Inspires Tomato Battle In USA". Odd Culture.
  8. ↑ "Bangalore's Tomatina festival cancelled". NDTV 24x7. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Tomato Romp". The East Side.
  10. ↑ "Splash of La Tomatina adds to park revelry - Funmakers get drenched in tomatoes instead of gulal ahead of festival". Calcutta Telegraph.
  11. ↑ "Abhay Deol goes topless!". Hindustan Times. 2011-05-31. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  12. ↑ "Check out: Hrithik, Katrina, Farhan & Abhay shooting for Tomatina fest in Spain". Bollywoodhungama.com. 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  13. ↑ On location: ‘Walking on Sunshine’, Joanne O’Connor, 27 June 2014, Financial Times

Coordinates: 39°25′10″N 0°47′26″W / 39.41944°N 0.79056°W / 39.41944; -0.79056

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