While growing up, we were all told not to waste our food. If you had grown up with this prudent culture, then you might just cringe at the sight of this Spanish festival which requires participants to actually waste tomatoes.
For thousands of people in a town located in the east of Spain, this tomato food fight is a yearly occurrence, thanks to the tradition of La Tomatina food festival.
La Tomatina is even widely regarded as being one of the world’s greatest food fights. It is an annual, globally-renowned Spanish festival.
As the name suggests, tomatoes feature heavily during this day-long celebration, as thousands take part in a mass tomato-fuelled food fight.
There is really no solid reason for this festival other than the people simply having some pure, unadulterated enjoyment. Crowds at the festival always have a wild time as people are seen swimming in, wading through and throwing tomatoes.
La Tomatina is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, which is situated in the east of Spain. Buñol is located approximately 30km away from the Mediterranean sea. Approximately 9,000 people live in the town, which is surrounded by mountain ranges.
La Tomatina can trace its roots back to the mid-1940s when the first public tomato food fight accidentally took place in Buñol.
According to the official website for the festival, a parade was taking place in the town square on the last Wednesday of August in 1945, which featured individuals dressed as giants with big heads (gigantes y cabezudos).
A group of young people apparently caused the big head of one of the parade’s participant’s to fall off, a mishap which led the costumed individual to become irate.
The unfortunate individual began to cause havoc along the parade route, colliding with a market stall selling tomatoes. This series of events resulted in spectators picking up the tomatoes and throwing them at one another, sparking the origin of La Tomatina.
The following year, a group of people in the town orchestrated an organised tomato fight, bringing their own tomatoes from home for the occasion.
This singular organised tomato fight has spiralled into what is today a gathering of thousands of people to hurl tomatoes at each other just for fun. You can share your thoughts about this festival below.
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