LA TOMATINA FESTIVAL RULES

Each August, people travel to Buñol, Spain. They gather in the streets and start throwing tomatoes at each other. They don’t do it because they are angry at each other. They are just celebrating one of the most famous festivals in the world, La Tomatina. After an hour, the streets turn into red rivers of tomato paste. People get covered with red tomato paste. However, they think it is great fun. That is why thousands of people travel to Buñol each year.

This year’s Tomatina was during the last week of August. More than 40,000 people took part. Some of them came to Buñol from as far away as Japan and Australia. People threw 100 tons of tomatoes. At the end of the day streets, sidewalks, and everyone was covered with tomato. Storekeepers covered their storefronts before the event. They knew that their windows would be covered in red slime if they did not.

Tomatina started when a group of kids threw tomatoes at each other in 1945. However, it did not become a festival until the mid-1950s. Today, it is a weeklong festival with fireworks, music, and parades. The officials of town approve and encourage the tomato fight. In fact, they provide the tomatoes for the fighters. Why encourage such a mess? They know that thousands of tourists go to their small town for that.

It is really easy to find tomatoes during the festival but it is not that easy to find hotel rooms. It is a small town and there aren’t many hotels in it. Many people cannot find a hotel room and stay in different places. Some pay families in Bunol to rent a room in their houses, some stay in other towns and take buses and trains to Buñol.

The fight began with the firing of a cannon. Everyone understood the rules: Tomatoes had to be squished before throwing. They shouldn’t be too hard because it may hurt people. People cannot throw anything else than tomatoes. Throwing must stop when the town officials fire the cannon for the second time. Officials recommended that participants wear safety goggles and gloves.

When the food fight is over, some people prefer staying in the tomato juice or even swim in it. Tidying the streets is very easy. The town fire brigade cleans the streets with water, but the smell of tomatoes stay for a few more days.