Spanish town painted red during “La Tomatina” festival

by Yucatan Times August 30, 2023

written by Yucatan Times August 30, 2023 0 comment

Revellers hurled tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes at each other in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol, at the annual “Tomatina” festival.

When: La Tomatina Festival happens annually during the last wednesday of August.
Where: Takes place in Buñol, a little village near Valencia, Spain. Population around 10.000 people. Located 40 km from Valencia by bus, train or car.
Why: In 1945 some young boys decided to get a place among the retinue of a parade during the town festivities. The energy of these teens made that one participant fell down. The participant got mad and started to hit everything in his way. Casually nearby there was a vegetable stall that fell victim of the furious crowd: people started to pelt each other with tomatoes.
What: What’s your ammunition? 120 tons of red tomatoes.
Who: Locals and people from all over the world. Maximum capacity: 22.000 participants.
How: Tomatina Festival begins at 12am with a bang. Trucks loaded of tomatoes proceed to drive through the fight area while some locals in the back of the trucks are throwing tomatoes at all of the festival goers. As soon as the truck passes, everyone dives on the ground scooping for tomatoes to get themselves armed for the battle…that’s when the fun begins! The following hour will be one of the most intense and hilarious experiences of your life.