La Tomatina Spain
When: 29th August, 2018 (please check closer to the date)
Where: Bunyol, Valencia, Spain
Did you say you loved tomatoes? Tomato soup, tomato ketchup, tomato salad- or anything, for that matter, with loads of the carotene-rich vegetable/fruit in it? Then Valencia (Spain) is where all your tomato-tinted dreams will come true in August every year. On this particular day, the streets of the town of Bunyol become the scene for what may qualify as one of the biggest food fights anywhere on Earth: the festival of La Tomatina. La Tomatina (as its name signifies) centers around the humble tomato, 1,25,000 kilos of which are used by the town's populace- and visiting guests- to pound, batter, and completely cover each other with squishy tomatoes.
La Tomatina's origins are pretty humble: it began as a common brawl outside a restaurant way back in 1944- but the decades since then have seen it develop into one of Spain's biggest, most popular and most fun tourist draws. Bunyol's actual population is only about 9,000, but during La Tomatina, that figure swells to a respectable 30,000- all of them with a ferocious red gleam in their eyes, eager to pelt everybody in sight with tomatoes. The tomato festivities begin at 11 am with the launching of five tomato-packed rockets- and then, for the next 2 hours, everybody goes more than a little mad. The rules for the tomato fight are simple enough: no ammo other than tomatoes is allowed, and all tomatoes must be squished before being thrown.
Two hours of tomato-throwing take their toll on participants and streets alike, and after everybody's washed and changed and Bunyol's streets have been hosed down, La Tomatina continues- with plenty of wine, lots of music and feasting- all of it in the still-tomato-redolent environs of Bunyol. So if you're looking for a bit of good ol' street fighting, and that too with your favourite vegetable, come to Bunyol for La Tomatina!
In 2018 the La Tomatina festival will be celebrated on 30 August.
For more information on Spain Travel Guide
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