Food fighting festival where people throw tomatoes at each other
La Tomatina
|
---|
Official name
| La Tomatina
|
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Observed by
| Bunol
,
Valencia
, Spain
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Date
| Last Wednesday in August
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2023 date
| August 30
(
2023-08-30
)
|
---|
2024 date
| August 28
(
2024-08-28
)
|
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2025 date
| August 27
(
2025-08-27
)
|
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2026 date
| August 26
(
2026-08-26
)
|
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Frequency
| annual
|
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La Tomatina
is a Spanish festival in
Bunol
,
Spain
where participants throw
tomatoes
at each other. It is said to be the biggest
food fight
in the world.
[1]
[2]
From the festival's origin as a food fight between friends in the 1940s, it has become a famous
tourist attraction
. Prior to
2013
, the festival did not operate with an upper cap on the number of attendees which would cause a strain on Bunol's population of about 9,000 inhabitants. Since 2013, however, the festival has a ticketed event with a capacity of 20,000 participants.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
La Tomatina 25 August 2010
Tomato battle at Tomatina in 2006.
La Tomatina Festival started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. One participant's Big-head fell off, as a result of the festivities. The participant flew into a fit of rage, and began hitting everything in their path. There was a market stall of vegetables that fell victim to the fury of the crowd, as people started to pelt each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended the fruit battle.
[
citation needed
]
The following year, some young people engaged in a pre-planned quarrel and brought their own tomatoes from home. Although the local forces broke it up, this began the yearly tradition. In the following years, the boys' example was followed by thousands of people.
La Tomatina was banned in the early 1950s by
Francisco Franco
due to the festival's lack of religious importance, however, this did not stop the participants, who were arrested. The people protested the prohibition and the festival was again allowed with more participants. The festivity was again canceled until 1957 when, as a sign of protest, a tomato funeral was held: a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a huge tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band that played funeral marches. The protest was successful, and La Tomatina Festival was finally permitted and became an official festival.
[4]
As a result of the report of Javier Basilio, a broadcaster from the Spanish television program called
Informe Semanal
, the festival started to be known throughout the rest of Spain. Since then, the number of participants increased year after year as well as the excitement about La Tomatina Festival. In 2002, La Tomatina of Bunol was declared a
Fiesta of International Tourist Interest
by the Secretary Department of Tourism due to its popularity.
[5]
The 2020 event, which was to be its 75th anniversary, was cancelled in April 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
. It had only been cancelled once before, in 1957, for political reasons.
[6]
Due to COVID-19, the 2021 event was also cancelled.
[7]
Description
[
edit
]
Preparing the "Palo Jabon"
Events during the days before the fight include a paella contest near the town’s square, tomato fireworks, and different music bands and parades around the medieval city center. On Wednesday morning, the first event before the tomato battle is the “Palo Jabon”, centered on a long greased pole with a piece of ham at its top. The goal is for participants to climb the pole and make the ham drop, which requires them to climb on each other. During this effort, other celebrants sing and dance in circles, and all participants are doused with water from hoses. Once the ham falls, the tomato battle commences.
[8]
Usually, the fight lasts for about one hour, after which the town square is covered with tomato debris.
[9]
Fire trucks then hose down the streets and participants often use hoses that locals provide to remove the tomatoes from their bodies. Some participants go to the Los Penones pool to wash. The
citric acid
in the tomatoes leads to the washed surfaces in the town becoming very clean.
[10]
[11]
Since 2002 participation in the event has been restricted to the 20,000 holders of paid tickets. In 2015, it was estimated that almost 145,000 kg (320,000 lb) of tomatoes were thrown.
[10]
The city council prescribes a short list of instructions for the safety of the participants and the festival:
[12]
- Do not throw anything but tomatoes
- Do not tear clothes
- Squash tomatoes before throwing them to avoid hurting others
- Keep a safe distance from trucks
- Stop throwing tomatoes after the second starter pistol shot
- Follow the directions of security staff
- Only throw tomatoes at targets you can see, to avoid hurting others
- Do not throw tomatoes directly at buildings
- Have a great, fun time!
In other countries
[
edit
]
Throwing tomatoes from a truck
La Tomatina Bunol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of the world:
- Since 1982, the town of
Twin Lakes, Colorado
has held a tomato fight called the "
Colorado-Texas Tomato War
," in which
Texans
and
Coloradans
square off. The Coloradans also attempt to overtake the Texans' straw
Alamo
effigy, generally succeeding.
- Since 2004 the Colombian town of
Sutamarchan
holds a similar event on 15 June when a surplus of tomatoes is harvested.
[13]
- In Costa Rica the town of San Jose de Trojas in the
San Pedro
district of
Sarchi canton
(
Alajuela Province
) celebrates a Tomatina during the local Tomato Fair.
[14]
- In the town of
Dongguan
in southern
Guangdong
province in China, a tomato fight is held on October 19, during which they use up to 15 tons of tomatoes.
[14]
- The City of
Reno, Nevada
in the United States also has an annual hour-long tomato fight that started in 2009. The event seems to take place on the last Sunday of August and is organized by the
American Cancer Society
. Organizers named the festival La Tomatina, and give full credit for the idea to the Spanish festival.
[13]
- In the Indian state of
Karnataka
, the
Karnataka Government
banned the hosting of such a Tomatina event in
Bangalore
and
Mysore
, after private organizers tried to organize one. Chief Minister
D.V. Sadananda Gowda
is quoted as saying: "In the name of 'La Tomatina' festival, permission should not be granted to waste tomatoes". A similar plan in
Delhi
was cancelled after received negative response from the public.
[15]
- Funtasia Island
,
Patna
hosted a similar
La tomatina
Holi
event on March 26, 2013 at
Funtasia Water Park
in
Patna
,
India
.
[16]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Similar festivals
Events in Spain
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Magazine, Smithsonian; Geiling, Natasha.
"Photos from La Tomatina, the World's Biggest Food Fight"
.
Smithsonian Magazine
. Retrieved
7 April
2024
.
- ^
Fine, Camille.
"
'World's largest food fight': Best photos from 'Tomatina' tomato street fight in Spain"
.
USA TODAY
. Retrieved
7 April
2024
.
- ^
"La Tomatina - The World's biggest and most famous food fight"
.
www.latomatinatours.com
. Retrieved
7 April
2024
.
- ^
Barr, Sabrina (28 August 2019).
"What is La Tomatina, how did it begin and where does it take place?"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
23 August
2021
.
- ^
Studio, Socarrat.
"La Tomatina ? Pagina oficial"
.
latomatina.info
(in Spanish). Archived from
the original
on 20 August 2017
. Retrieved
20 August
2017
.
- ^
Donaldson, Emma (13 July 2020).
"La Tomatina Festival 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19"
.
idealista
. Retrieved
5 July
2021
.
- ^
"Bunol suspende La Tomatina 2021 (Bunol suspends La Tomatina 2021)"
.
buol.es
(in Spanish). Ayuntamiento de Bunyol (Bunyol Town Hall). 11 March 2021. Archived from
the original
on 16 June 2021
. Retrieved
5 July
2021
.
- ^
SpanishFiesta.org (14 September 2022).
"La Tomatina"
.
Spanish Fiesta
. SpanishFiesta.org.
- ^
Mullins, Deirdre (26 June 2009).
"La Tomatina"
.
RTE News
. RTE.
- ^
a
b
Harris, Jenn (28 August 2013).
"La Tomatina festival: 20,000 people, 130 tons of tomatoes, 1 big mess"
.
The Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
"La Tomatina"
. The Taste of Spain
. Retrieved
24 August
2017
.
- ^
"The Rules of Tomatina Festival"
. Tomatina. Archived from
the original
on 12 June 2018
. Retrieved
9 June
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Galvan, Javier A. (19 June 2014).
They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World
. ABC-CLIO. pp. 309?.
ISBN
978-1-61069-342-4
.
- ^
a
b
"La Tomatina Tomato Festival Inspires Tomato Battle In USA"
. Odd Culture. 10 August 2011. Archived from
the original
on 23 July 2016
. Retrieved
28 July
2016
.
- ^
"Bangalore's Tomatina festival cancelled"
.
NDTV 24x7
. Retrieved
17 September
2011
.
- ^
"Splash of La Tomatina adds to park revelry - Funmakers get drenched in tomatoes instead of gulal ahead of festival"
. Calcutta Telegraph. Archived from
the original
on 3 April 2013.
- ^
"Abhay Deol goes topless!"
.
Hindustan Times
. 31 May 2011. Archived from
the original
on 25 January 2013
. Retrieved
29 June
2011
.
- ^
"Check out: Hrithik, Katrina, Farhan & Abhay shooting for Tomatina fest in Spain"
.
Bollywood Hungama
. 19 March 2011. Archived from
the original
on 28 August 2015
. Retrieved
25 August
2015
.
- ^
On location: ‘Walking on Sunshine’
,
Joanne O'Connor
, 27 June 2014,
Financial Times
- ^
"Al Rojo Vivo | A Mickey Mouse Cartoon | Disney Shorts"
.
Youtube
. Retrieved
18 June
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Andalusia
| |
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Aragon
|
- Holy Week in Saragossa (2014)
- Ruta del tambor y el bombo
including the Holy Weeks in Albalate del Arzobispo, Alcaniz, Alcorisa, Andorra, Calanda, Hijar, la Puebla de Hijar, Samper de Calanda and Urrea de Gaen (2014)
- Fiestas del Pilar
(2019)
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Asturias
| |
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Canary Islands
| |
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Cantabria
|
- Cantabrian Wars Fest (2019)
|
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Castile?La Mancha
|
- Corpus Christi in Toledo (1980)
- Holy Week in Cuenca
and its Religious Music Week (1980)
- Holy Week in Hellin (2007)
- Albacete Fair
(2008)
- Holy Week in Toledo (2014)
- Fiestas Mayores of Almansa (2019)
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Castile and Leon
| |
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Extremadura
|
- Holy Week in Caceres (2011)
- Holy Week in Merida (2018)
- Carnival of Badajoz (2022)
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Galicia
| |
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Community of Madrid
|
- Fiestas of the Mutiny of Aranjuez (2014)
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Region of Murcia
|
- Fiesta de la Santisima y Vera Cruz de Caravaca (2004)
- Holy Week in Cartagena (2005)
- Festival del Cante de las Minas (2006)
- The Burial of the Sardine in Murcia
(2006)
- Holy Week in Lorca (2007)
- Holy Week in Murcia (2011)
- Bando de la Huerta de Murcia (2012)
- Carnival of Aguilas (2015)
- Carthaginians and Romans of Cartagena (2017)
- Holy Week in Jumilla (2019)
- The Night of the Drums of Mula (2022)
- Holy Week in Cieza (2023)
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Navarre
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Valencian Community
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Note: Within parentheses, the year when honored
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History
| | G-clef
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Languages
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Sports
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Cuisine
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Musical instruments
and
typical music
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Traditions and feasts
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Music festivals
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Tomato types
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Tomato cultivars
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Culinary
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Condiments
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Pest and
diseases
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See also
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39°25′10″N
0°47′26″W
/
39.41944°N 0.79056°W
/
39.41944; -0.79056