La Tomatina (August)
‘La Tomatina’ tomato fight in Buñol, near Valencia, is an annual event which takes place on the last Wednesday in August. The tomato fight itself takes place between 11am and 1pm.
There are several theories as to the origin of this popular festival. According to some historians, it began as a “practical joke”. In this version, a man was crossing the town square playing a musical instrument and singing, rather badly it would seem. A group of people grabbed some tomatoes from a nearby fruit and veg stall and began pelting the man. Pretty soon everyone in the square joined in and it became a battle.
Another version says that everything started in 1945. The town square (where the “tomatina” is traditionally held ) was crowded with young people watching a “Gigantes y Cabezudos” parade (giant carnival figures with grotesque heads). Some of them decided to join the music band leading the parade and to do so they pushed the ones who were wearing the giant disguises. One of the participants fell down and when he stood up he started beating up everyone around him and, very soon, everybody got caught up in a huge fight.
There just happened to be a vegetable stall nearby and the people involved in the fight took the tomatoes from the crates and started throwing them at each other until the police broke up “the battle”. Those responsible for the riot paid for the damages.
This riot, however, was not forgotten and the next year on the same Wednesday of August, the youths of the town met again at the square, but this time with their own tomatoes. Another battle started and once again it was stopped by the local police. During the following years the authorities banned the celebration of what was already popularly known as the “day of the tomatina”. Nevertheless, this celebration has been held every year since.
The Rules
You must not bring in any bottles or any objects which could provoke an accident.
You must not tear t-shirts.
Tomatoes must be crushed before being thrown so they can’t hurt anybody.
You must be careful with the lorries which carry the tomatoes.
As soon as the second rocket is fired, you must stop throwing tomatoes.
Enjoy yourself as much as possible but respect the rules and the people. In the “tomatina” festival there has never been a mishap and the authorities would like to keep it that way so everybody around the world can have a good time.
Water cannon will appear at the end of the fight and hose everyone down.