La Tomatina

Tomato lovers of the world unite! Whether you like eating tomatoes or launching them at other people with a catapult, the Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain attracts the world’s most hardcore tomato connoisseurs every year.

Legend has it that in 1945, a fight broke out during a parade in Buñol. Because of the abundance of tomatoes in this region, the fighters picked up these vegetables and hurled them at each with great zeal. This altercation was the advent of the modern day Tomatina festival, where participants gather together to throw tomatoes, fire tomato juice out of water cannons and throw each other into fountains filled with thousands of tomatoes. But it was not so easy getting to this point where free-for-all tomato fights were permitted within city limits.

In 1950, the Buñol city council allowed the Tomatina festival to occur. But because of the tomato fight frenzies, it was banned in 1951. By 1957, the city threw the crazed tomato throwers in prison who carried on the tradition of throwing tomatoes at fellow partiers. Due high pressure against the city council from the tomato throwers in 1959, Buñol approved the tomato festival and allowed all participants to throw tomatoes at each other – with one stipulation: a horn would sound to begin the throwing and again sound to end the throwing.

Nowadays, the festival is such a hit that the city council provides the participants with literally tons upon tons of tomatoes to throw! And in 2002, the Tomatina was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Event while a soundtrack was even made in 2008 to commemorate the amazing event.

Here’s what the events of the Tomatina include and why it’s so popular among partiers. Around 10 a.m., a ham is placed atop a greasy pole. Participants try to climb the pole to knock the ham off while others sing and dance. Once the ham is knocked off the pole, a loud shout rings out to start the fight and the tomatoes begin to fly!

For exactly one hour, partiers fling tomatoes at each other, coloring each other and the entire town red. After the fight ends, fire trucks hose down the streets and buildings, while participants use safe garden hoses to spray the red tomato juice off their bodies. One cool fact about this festival is that the city streets are some of the cleanest in the world because of the high acidity from the tomatoes!