La Tomatina

Greetings all!

If you are looking for a last-minute trip this week, how about going to the town of Buñol, near Valencia, in Spain? On August 28, 2024, this small town – population 9,000 - will host its annual “World's Biggest Food Fight” with 120 metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes thrown in the streets! 
 

Image: https://www.latomatinatours.com/

 
The festival started by accident in August in 1945 when the crowd began throwing tomatoes that they found on a nearby vegetable stand. Why? No one remembers but there was some sort of public disturbance.

Then the festival was banned in the early 1950s and came back in 1957 after many people protested in its favor.

You do have to buy tickets and only a maximum of 20,000-22,000 tickets are sold, although in 2012 reportedly 50,000 people participated in this annual tomato fiesta.

The festival starts at around 12 noon. Technically the festival begins when someone can climb to the top of a two-story high, greased-up wooden pole (the Palojabon) and reach the coveted ham at the top. Whoever can climb the pole and get the ham can keep it!

In reality, the festival starts despite no one reaching the meaty prize. The firing of water cannons marks the start and the end of the flight, which lasts 1 hour.

Then fire trucks spray down the streets – but not the participants! - with water from a Roman aqueduct. Participants wash in the Buñol River or rely on kind locals to be hosed down.

So here you go! You still have some time to decide if you are up for it! What did you think? Drop me a line!

Source: https://www.latomatinatours.com/