Following a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, 120 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes were thrown at each other in Spain on the last Wednesday of August every year, according to Reuters. The 75th iteration of the “La Tomatina” event was held in the Bunol, region in Spain and it began with 6 trucks dropping tomatoes. During Spain’s renowned “La Tomatina,” individuals from all over the world engaged in a gigantic food war on Wednesday by hurling over-ripe tomatoes at one another.
The festival, which calls itself “the world’s largest food fight” has grown to be quite popular with tourists especially those from Australia, England, Japan, and the United States.
Festival goers were observed picking up and throwing tomatoes from the ground while bending over and wearing goggles to protect their eyes. Additionally, most of them were spotted lying in the pulp.
How It Originates And Named La Tomatina???
The “La Tomatina” festival got its origin in 1944 when neighborhood brawlers at a folk fair snatched tomatoes from a vendor and started fighting in the street. Due to its popularity, the event was designated as a “festivity of worldwide tourist significance” by Spain’s tourism secretary in 2003.
“La Tomatina is a celebration where people hurl tomatoes at each other and get into a tomato fight just for fun (Spanish phonetic transcription: [La Tomatina])”.
According to the travel website LaTomatina.org, contestants are advised to wear protective or swimming goggles to safeguard their eyes throughout the combat, which lasts for roughly an hour.
According to LaTomatina.org, the cannon fires to announce the start of the conflict, at which point anarchy ensues. “Once the fighting starts, it’s usually everyone for themselves.”
Sneak Peek Into The Festival!!!
Numerous visitors from all around the world rushed to the festival and posted sneak peek of their festivities on social networking sites. The images showed people entirely covered in red juice while wearing T-shirts and shorts and eye protection glasses. Commenters jumped at the chance to express their admiration for the holiday as soon as images and videos of the celebrations appeared online.
“Oh wow, what a unique experience, it feels like everybody is enjoying the time of their lives”, one person wrote.
One more user said, “So Fun”.
A “tomato battle” said the third user.
The event is celebrated in the village of Bunol which is close to Valencia. 120 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes were delivered by workers in trucks into the downtown area, to be used by the participants as missiles, covering the area in red pulp.
According to travel websites regarding the event, La Tomatina usually takes place on the final Wednesday of August each year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was suspended for the last two years, but it eventually made a triumphant comeback this year. Earlier It was canceled only once in 1957 due to political reasons.
The festival which cost 12 euros (USD 12) to enter was anticipated to draw around 20,000 attendees.
According to the Associated Press, the event was motivated by a food battle between neighborhood kids that occurred in a region that produced tomatoes in 1944. It became a national and worldwide event due to media coverage in the late 1970s, drawing participants from all over the world.
After an hour of so much fun and enjoyment, the conflict comes to an end. No more tomatoes may be hurled at this time. Using water from a Roman aqueduct, fire trucks are used to spray down the streets during the cleaning procedure.
According to the AP (Associated Press), it’s been 20 years since Spain designated it a global tourist site and this year’s commemoration marked the festival’s as 75th anniversary. It also marked the festival’s comeback following COVID-19.
