tomatina

La Tomatina is a festival held in Buñol, a town in the Valencia region of Spain. It takes place on the last Wednesday of August and is renowned for a large-scale tomato fight that takes over the streets. Thousands of participants throw ripe tomatoes at each other in a playful, chaotic event that lasts about an hour before a final signal ends the activity.

Origins of the festival are not definitively documented. The most commonly cited account traces the first tomato fight to 1945 during a local celebration, and the event gradually became an annual tradition. Over the years it has grown into a major tourist attraction that draws attendees from around the world, while remaining rooted in local customs.

What happens during La Tomatina is straightforward: roads are closed to traffic, and tomatoes are supplied by vendors specifically for the festival. The fruit are typically very ripe and not intended for eating. Participants are advised to squash tomatoes before throwing to minimize injury, and safety rules encourage wearing protective clothing and goggles. The battle begins after a starting signal and continues until another signal ends the hour-long melee. Afterward, street cleaning is conducted by municipal workers, often with hoses.

The festival is organized by the Buñol town council with the support of volunteers and security personnel. It has strict logistical and safety considerations, including crowd control and sanitation measures, to manage the large influx of visitors. La Tomatina remains one of Spain’s best-known cultural events and has inspired similar tomato-throwing celebrations in other locations.