Tomatina: Rivers of Tomatoes and Tons of Fun

What about an international human gazpacho in Spain

La Tomatina is a festival celebrated on the last Wednesday of August of each year in Buñol, Valencia Province, Spain. It is such a unique international festival because, is a battle of tons of tomatoes between thousands and thousands of people. Thanks to this festival, the city of Buñol receives great benefits and makes Spain twice as touristic as normal, attracting people from around the world. This week-long festival is the celebration of their patron, Saint Luis Bertrán, and it has been so successful that many parts of the world wanted to do the same. That is to say that it has been exported to several cities of the world including cities in China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States and even India!

Story behind the Tomatina

The origin of this tomato battle dates back to 1945, when juvenile quarrels occurred in the town's main square. Indeed, in 1945 the youth met in the village square of Buñol to watch the parade of giants and other acts of the party. The boys decided to put a dent in the parade's entourage of musicians and Giants. And of course, it caused a stampede. Then, one of the participants fell, and, furious, he started hitting everything in its path. By chance there was a vegetable stall that was the target of the angry crowd, people started throwing tomatoes at each other until the law enforcement ended that vegetable battle. That's how our tomato fight started to become what it is now. One of the most popular events of Spain! Besides all the fun, they had to pay for the damage afterwards.


A year later the party was still remembered by everybody, so on the same day, young people met again, but this time with their own tomatoes, and the second battle of tomatoes started, sadly, the party was stopped by the police. After that incident, the celebration was forbidden for 7 years until the council decided to allow it in 1970's to boost tourism. Since then it has never ceased to stop. As you must have guessed, it has been the best decision they've ever made. As thanks to it, people from all over the globe are able to enjoy it!



Festive General Conduct

Everyone can participate in this event, so why not you? To participle in the festival, people must protect their eyes. The participants are not allowed to bring bottles or anything that may cause harm. You have to wear a shirt and tearing shirts is not allowed. Moreover, the tomatoes must be crushed before being launched to reduce risk of injury.


The first day of the festivities begins at 9am, in the village square, where people eat pastries distributed by the municipality to get some energy before starting the epic battle. Gradually, more and more people start to arrive. Do not worry if you didn't take a shower in the morning as the inhabitants will throw buckets of water from the balconies on people to prepare you for the battle! At eleven o'clock the kickoff for the battle sounds; then the first truckload of ammunition arrives, the battle starts and the place turns red. It's raining tomatoes! It's a huge Human Gazpacho until the signal to stop the battle sounds, the party carries on for a little bit longer, while the members of the council clean the whole mess. And then, all you hope for is to be back next year...