Tomato Fight in Bunyol
La Tomatina tomato fight in Buñol near Valencia happens every year on the last Wednesday in August though the partying starts earlier in the week. The highlight of the festival is the tomato fight which takes place between 11am and 1pm on that day.
History of La Tomatina
The origins of La Tomatina aren't clear with several theories explaining how Bunyol has become home to the world's biggest tomato fight. However, the most plausible suggests that the most likely explanation dates back to 1945 when an annual parade of enormous figures with big heads (Gigantes y Cabezudos) was passing through the streets of Bunyol.
It seems that some youngsters tried to join in the parade and accidentally knocked over one of the giants who got to his feet and started swinging out at everyone around him. In retaliation the youngsters grabbed some tomatoes from a nearby vegetable stall and started throwing them at him until the police arrived to break things up.
The following year on the same last Wednesday of August these young people returned to the town hall square and started another tomato fight using their own tomatoes. Again the police intervened and in subsequent years the local council tried to ban the 'El día de la Tomatina' but with little success as event continued to grow year after year reaching the ludicrous size it is today.
Rules of La Tomatina
The following rules have been set down by the Bunyol Town Council:
- It is illegal to bring any kind of bottles or other objects that could cause an accident.
- You must not tear t-shirts.
- Tomatoes must be crushed before throwing so that they don't hurt anybody.
- You must be careful to avoid the lorries which carry the tomatoes.
As soon as you hear the 2nd banger you must stop throwing tomatoes.
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