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Every year the streets of Buñol, a picturesque Spanish municipality, get covered in red… Nothing to be alarmed about, it’s just harmless tomato. All the “fault” of the Tomatina, the traditional Spanish festival that makes adults and children lose their heads.
What is it about? The Tomatina Festival, which derives from the Spanish word “tomate” (“tomato”, in English), is the most bizarre and fun tomato fight in the world. Visitors and onlookers from all over the world travel specifically to Buñol to participate in a “peaceful fight” which consists of throwing ripe tomatoes at each other.
How does this festival take place, and what are its origins? Answering these questions may be interesting, as the next highly anticipated edition of Tomatina on August 28th approaches.
The tomato Festival
Tomatina is celebrated annually, on the last Wednesday of August. The battle begins in the narrow streets of Buñol, the beautiful town in the province of Valencia, but the “attacks” are more intense in Plaza del Pueblo, where a thick rain of tomatoes covers everything.
Participants of the festival go wild in a frantic throwing of tomatoes, previously crushed with their hands, as they hit each other just for fun. It is not so difficult to imagine why Tomatina is one of Spain’s most iconic traditions, and why it attracts a growing flow of young people looking for new experiences.
This year the festival will start at 12:00 in the morning on Wednesday 28th of August and will last around 60 minutes. For the occasion, it is recommended to come properly equipped. Better, therefore, to wear old clothes, because they will get dirty, closed sneakers, preferably non-slip ones, and swimming goggles to protect your eyes from splashes.
The Tomatina Festival is all about fun. However, some rules must be respected: it is forbidden to bring bottles or heavy objects to the event; it is only allowed to throw tomatoes, which must first be crushed with the hands because they could cause harm; finally, it is prohibited to touch or tear other people’s clothes. These few, but fundamental, rules serve to ensure correct functioning and safety during the event.
From brawl to Festival
What is the story of Tomatina? This Festival was made official in 1957, but firstly let’s go over its origins. The tradition of throwing tomatoes probably began on the last Wednesday of August 1945 in Buñol, on a local festive parade. A group of boys, trying to make their way through the crowd, ran over a participant. Seized with anger, the man began to throw them what he had at hand.
Thus, a fight broke out, and fate would have it that, due to the presence of a nearby fruit and vegetable stall, it was tomatoes that were thrown. The brawl was then arrested by the police, but the following year the tomato battle was voluntarily rekindled by some boys who brought the fruits from home. The new tradition was repeated the following years, but it was thwarted again by the police.
In the 1950s, during Franco’s dictatorship, Tomatina was even banned, and some people got arrested for celebrating it, until 1957, when, after the umpteenth cancellation of the festival, it was finally formalized. Tomatina was born, therefore, from a series of random circumstances caused by a juvenile scuffle, an improvised battle recognized as a festival of national tourist interest by the general secretary of tourism since 2002.
Due to the ever-increasing turnout at the festival, Tomatina has recently become a paid event (since 2013). To participate, it is necessary a ticket, purchasable on ticketstomatina.com, which covers the costs for safety and street cleaning at the end of the festival.
A waste of food?
Not everyone supports this Festival. The reason? Many argue that it causes an excessive and intolerable food waste. It is estimated that the quantity of tomatoes thrown on the festival is around 150,000 kg. As many as 6 trucks will be prepared for the transport and supply of tomatoes for the next event.
What types tomatoes are used? It is the “pear” variety, which is rather cheap. Fruits that do not meet the requirements of the national market are destined for the Tomatina. Therefore, the smallest and ripest tomatoes are carefully selected for the festival. It should be remembered, in fact, that these must not be too firm and must be hand crushed before being thrown.
However, a shadow over the festival could fall if a law on the prevention of food losses and waste, still in draft form, were to pass. There is still a lot of disapproval around the festival.
The success of Tomatina
Despite the criticisms, Tomatina remains a festival of enormous notoriety, which also meets the needs of a public of children. In fact, alongside the classic Tomatina, there is also a special one called Tomatina Infantil: a “softer” and more supervised version of the first one, open to children aged between 4 and 14. This year, the event dedicated to kids was scheduled in August 24th.
In addition to the tomato battle itself, the festival offers other recreational activities: music and good food are never lacking. The Tomatina Festival is just one of the numerous traditions celebrated in Spain and, regardless of the critics, it is worth discovering and getting to know its story.
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