¡¡Tómate un tomate en la Tomatina!!
La Tomatina is held on the last Wednesday in August each year in a town called Buñol in Valencia, Spain. It is said to be the world's juiciest and most outrageous food fight!
Imagine a town transformed into a sea of red, with thousands of people, armed with over-ripe tomatoes, taking to the streets with tomatoes flying left, right and centre! From locals to tourists, everyone becomes a tomato warrior, ready to unleash their juicy ammunition on anyone and everyone. It's a tomato festival like no other!
No-one quite knows how the tradition of throwing tomatoes started. Legend has it that back in 1945, a group of young men decided to join a religious procession uninvited. Not happy with this 'gate crashing', things got a bit heated and a fight broke out and ended with tomatoes being thrown. The following year, the rebellious group tried to recreate the tomato frenzy, but were stopped by police and a ban was put in place to end their tomato-throwing dreams.
It is said that the group didn’t want to let go of their fun and in 1955, they came up with an ingenious plan called the ‘Burial of the Tomato’, where a giant tomato was lovingly placed in a coffin and was paraded through the streets as a symbolic tribute. Impressed by the persistence and passion of the group, La Tomatina Festival was given the official go ahead in 1957.
Now the tomato-throwing extravaganza has become a world-famous sensation, attracting fun-lovers from all the corners of the world for a wild festival. Did you know that around 150,000 overripe tomatoes are used in this zesty battle? As the years go by, La Tomatina only gets bigger, bolder, and juicier! The world watches in awe and amusement as tomatoes fly like confetti, creating a unique canvas of red hues.
If you're going to La Tomatina, get more out of your time in Spain (and as well as throwing tomatoes at everyone!) why not try to learn to speak Spanish with one of our innovative language courses>>
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