5 Fun Facts About La Tomatina in Spain – Everything You Should Know

Every year, the renowned La Tomatina celebration in Spain makes history in the month of August. Spain’s Bunol, a town in Valencia, is the primary location of the event and every August, the Valencian streets transform into rivers of tomato juice. Yes, you did read it right. Ripe tomatoes are thrown at one another and all the mess turns into one of the biggest food fights in the world.

Today we’re going to tell you 5 interesting facts about this messy, vibrant, and juicy event that is loved worldwide and has won people’s hearts, not just in Spain.

1) World’s Biggest Food Battle

Sounds odd, but it’s true! La Tomatina is the biggest food festival in the entire globe. Almost 40,000 people attend the festival each year and participate in the food battle. Tourists from different nations travel to Spain, specifically to attend this event. The best part about the event is that it never gets old. Every year, participants engage with the same zeal and make La Tomatina celebration the largest and happiest food celebration on earth.

2) It All Started with a Street Fight

Indians might know about this festival from Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Mliegi Dobara, but the history of the festival goes back to the 1940s. Plus, the origin story of the festival is as fascinating as its brawling fights.

The legend behind the celebration is that it was the final Wednesday of August in 1945 when a street brawl broke out. A rowdy local began to pelt everyone with vegetables from the nearby market stall during a more solemn street parade. Following this simple move, other groups joined and did the same. The conflict continued that day and the following year, the same young individuals brought their own tomatoes and deliberately started a fight. Although attempts to outlaw it was made in the early years, the food fight’s passion persisted and continues till today.

3) Ham Slice Starts the Fight

Another interesting fact about La Tomatina is that each year, a piece of ham is served to commence this festival.

A slice of ham is hung from the summit of the greasy pole at 10 am on the day of Tomatina. The overall objective of the festival is to ascend the grease pole and get the ham. During the event, the people in the area support that individual in various ways. A signal indicating the entry of the tomato-loaded trucks is provided as soon as the slice of ham is dropped off, and the festival then starts.

4) Tomatoes are just one type of food.

If you think the festival is all about throwing tomatoes, you are wrong.

Throwing tomatoes at each other is not the only element of this festival. It has a great deal more to do. For example, this fun-filled week is jam-packed with cooking competitions, pyrotechnics, and other festivities that are celebrated with great enthusiasm.

5) The Number of Tomatoes Used Will Blow Your Mind!

Every year the La Tomatina Festival is made grand and unforgettable by using about 40,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes! The good part is that most of the tomatoes used are typically of poor quality and are imported from a region called Extremadura.

These were the most exciting facts about La Tomatina. For more cool information on such events, visit www.pepshep.com.