La Tomatina is a Spanish festival in Buñol, Spain where participants throw tomatoes at each other. It is said to be the biggest food fight in the world. From the festival's origin as a food fight between friends in the 1940s, it has become a famous tourist attraction. Until 2013 there was no limit to the number of participants; in 2013 the festival became a ticketed event for no more than 20,000, so as not to overwhelm Buñol's population of about 9,000 people.

History

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. 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 significance, however, this did not stop the participants, who were later then arrested. The people protested against the prohibition and the festival was again allowed with more participants. The festivity was again canceled until 1957 when, as a sign of defiance, a tomato funeral was held: a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a large 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. 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 Buñol was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest by the Secretary Department of Tourism due to its popularity. 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. Due to COVID-19, the 2021 event was also cancelled. In the last edition, on August 28, 2024, more than 23,000 people from 51 countries participated.

Description

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 centre. On Wednesday morning, the first event before the tomato battle is the "Palo Jabón", centred 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. Usually, the fight lasts for about one hour, after which the town square is covered with tomato debris. 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 Peñones pool to wash. The citric acid in the tomatoes leads to the washed surfaces in the town becoming very clean. 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 of tomatoes were thrown. The city council prescribes a short list of instructions for the safety of the participants and the festival:

In other countries

La Tomatina Buñol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of the world:

In popular culture