The Tomatina
Can you imagine 40,000 people throwing 130
tons of tomatoes at one another in the middle
of town square? That’s exactly what happens
on the last Wednesday of August in Bunol, a
small town near Valencia, Spain.
It all started when some dissatisfied citizens
threw tomatoes of council members during
some local festivities. They got away with it,
and the fun caught on. Today it is actually the
city council that sponsors this messy battle.
People of all ages, and now from different
parts of the world, take part in this festival.
At midday exactly, at the sound of a cannon
shot, trucks filled with ripe tomatoes unload
their cargo in the center of town. This is the
moment people have been waiting for !
Excited crowds grab the tomatoes, and the
world’s biggest tomato fight begins. Neighbors
also participate in the battle by throwing
buckets of water from their balconies and
windows to refresh the warriors in the battle
of the tomatoes. Soon all the walls of houses
are covered in red, and participants are knee-
deep in tomato juice.
The fight lasts for one hour, after which
people head for the river or to public showers,
to remove the mess from their hair and
bodies.