La Tomatina is a week-long festival that is celebrated with music, dancing, parades and fireworks. There is a cooking competition also, a night before the tomato fight, for the participants. The festival starts around 11 a.m., where the first event of the festival begins. On a Cockaigne pole (greased pole), ham is placed and the participants of the tomato fight have to climb up and bring the ham down. The tomato fight starts only when the ham is brought down. After people struggle and climb upon each other to get the ham down, the main event starts.

Many trucks get the tomatoes to the centre of Buñol, Plaza del Pueblo. The fight begins with firing of the canon. The fight continues for about an hour or two and ends when another canon is fired. At this moment, no one is allowed to throw anymore tomatoes. Then is the cleaning process where the trucks spray water on the streets and people clean themselves with the water from BuñolRiver.

There are serious rules that the participants have to follow while in the tomato fight like no one is allowed to throw hard objects or bottles, it is prohibited to tear t-shirts, one has to squash the tomatoes before throwing, one needs to maintain distance from the trucks, and one has to stop throwing tomatoes once the second canon is fired.

People come from across the world to attend this amazing festival. There are about 30,000 people from different countries present for the festival every year while Buñol has a population of about 9,000 only. Being a small town, Buñol does not have enough place to accommodate the large number of tourists. People stay in Valencia and travel to Buñol either by bus or train which about 38 km outside the city.

The festival started to honor the town’s patron saints— Luis Bertrar and the Mare de DeudelsDesemparats, title of Virgin Mary in 1944 or 1945.

Featured Image Source: Excel Entertainment (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)

WI Editorial Staff

Team at World Infi

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