Last Wednesday the Spanish town of Bunol held its 64th annual 'Tomatina', a food fight in which participants throw over 100 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes at each other. Around 40,000 people, from all over the world, descend on Bunol to take part in the festivitiesThe festivities last for a week and feature music, parades, dancing and fire works. On the night before the tomato fight participants of the festival compete in a paella cooking contest. It is tradition for the men to wear no shirts and women to wear all white. The festival started in a casual way in 1945, but wasn't officially recognized until 1952. Shopkeepers cover their store fronts prior to the commencement of the messy battle that follows.
The first event of the 'Tomatina' is to climb up a greased pole with a ham at the top. While this is happening the participants work up a frenzy singing and dancing whilst being showered with hoses. Once the ham has been released from the pole trucks haul the bounty of tomatoes into the town centre, Plaza del Pueblo. The tomatoes come from Extremadura, where they are less expensive and are grown specifically for the festival. they are poor quality, not considered good enough for consumption. The fight is started by the firing of water cannons, lasts for one hour, and is finished by a second firing of water cannons. Competitors are urged to wear safety goggles and gloves and tomatoes must be squished before being thrown to make them softer. Following the fight fire trucks move in to hose down the streets, with water provided from a Roman aqueduct.
The festival is in honour of the town's patron saints, St Louis Bertrand (San Luis Bertran) and the Mare Deu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless) a title of the Virgin Mary. It is not certain how the festival started, but one theory suggests it arose out of disgruntled townspeople attacking city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. The holiday was banned during the Spanish State period under Francisco Franco for having no religious significance, but returned in the 1970s after his demise.
