(Image source from: Daily Express)
A popular festival of tomatoes ‘La Tomatina’ has begun in the Valencian city of Buñol in Spain on August 28 and festivities last for a week. Every year, the fun food festival will get down on the last Wednesday of the month of August.
The festival will witness a large number of Participants throwing tomatoes at each other in an affable fight during the event, which receives tourists from around the world.
The festival receives thousands of tourists from around the world who throw tomatoes at each other during the event.
Located around 30km away from the Mediterranean sea, Buñol has a population of 9,000. The first La Tomatina event dates back to 1940s and was happened by chance.
According to La Tomatina's official website: “A parade was taking place in the town square with people dressed as big heads on the last Wednesday of August in 1945. This incident caused the big head of one of the participants to fall off making the person angry. it resulted in havoc along the parade route colliding with a market stall selling tomatoes. It ended up in spectators throwing tomatoes at one another and thus La Tomatina was born.”
(Image source from: Thrillophilia)
According to a La Tomatina travel website, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco announced a ban on the festival for having no religious significance. However, a tomato burial was held in 1957 in protest of the decision.
Consequently, Spanish Secretary of the Department of Tourism in 2002 declared La Tomatina a Festivity of International Tourist Interest.
According to the official website of La Tomatina, “the food fight starts with water cannons being fired at least for one hour. Following the celebrations, the trucks carrying water drive along the streets of the city spraying water to clean the place.”
Until the year 2013, no restrictions were into effect regarding who could walk into the festivities but for the past six years, only those who have valid tickets are given entry to the festival.
By Sowmya Sangam
