Spanish tradition that began in 1945
If you like clean clothes and using proper table manners, this festival is not for you! The La Tomatina is an annual festival held in the Valencian town of Brunol in Spain. On the last Wednesday in August, during the week of festivities of Brunol, people flood the streets for the sole purpose of throwing tomatoes at one another!Known as the biggest food fight in the world, La Tomatina is a chance for people of all ages and maturity levels to go back in time and take part in the pure organic fun of being completely covered in food! It is a childhood dream come true to be able to completely let o of all inhibitions and embrace tomatoes to the face.
The tradition that began in 1945 has had a long and sometimes bumpy journey to its modern form. Over the years the festival has been banned and opposed because of complaints from locals and tomato farmers about the noise and chaos. In 1959, the town finally aprroved the Tomatina due to local pressure, but imposed a strict rule that people could only throw tamatoes after a horn sounded and should end immediately when it sounds a second time. Since 1980 the City Council provides participants with tomatoes, each year a greater amount is needed!
The Festival begis around 10am with the first event known as the “palo jabònâ€, similar to the greasy pole. The goal is to climb a greased pole with ham on top. While this is happening, the onlookers work into a frenzy of singing and dancing while being showered with water. Once someone is able to drop the ham off the pole, the start signal for the tomato fight is given and the chaos begins!
