There is a town in Spain, at less than 40 kilometresfrom Valencia, where the tomato, one of the most important ingredients in our country, has the leading role in one of the most unusual celebrations from Spain, La Tomatina de Buñol. A celebration where participants throw tomatoes at each other for 60 minutes.
This festivity is celebrated during the last week of august in the Valencia Community town of Buñol, so, if you are undertaking a Spanish course in Valencia there is no excuse not to go. The event turned into an advert for Spanish citizens and foreign tourists, attracting more participation year after year. It is undoubtedly, one of the best opportunities for those who come to study Spanish in Spain, to enjoy one of the most famous festivities in our country.
Participantes lanzando tomates desde un camión
The celebration started in 1945 and it was only in 1983 that the festivity became popular after several cancellations along the years, mostly thanks to a report shown on television. From then on, the number of visitors coming to enjoy this festivity is increasing every year, a success that brought the Tomatina de Buñol to be considered of International Tourist Interest in 2002.
The Tomatina starts at 10 am with the so-called “palo jabón”, which involves people climbing up a greasy post to take a ham (whoever takes it keeps it), and the festivity starts the instant someone manages to catch it. From that instant the craziness starts and several trucks arrive on the Plaza del Pueblo from where they start to throw tomatoes in big quantities. After one hour of continuous fighting the celebration comes to an end and that is when you can see the square filled with a mantle of tomato and people bathing in rivers of juice.
For students staying in Spain to learn Spanish, and visiting Buñol to participate in the celebration, there is a series of rules and pieces of advice to follow in order to have a good time without any problems. You can not throw t-shirts to each other, or tear others’ t shirts off. You need to squash the tomatoes before throwing them, to ensure the hit is not too strong and when the fight comes to an end you have to stop throwing. It is also very important to stay at a reasonable distance from the truck, to avoid any type of incident. Moreover, it is advised to wear old clothes or clothing you won’t be using after, since you will probably need to throw your clothes away after the battle. Anyway, to go with goggles might be a good idea, as the tomato acid can produce stinging in the eyes.
If you are in a Spanish school in Valencia or in any other Spanish city, you can not miss La Tomatina of Buñol and take a bath in a tomato puddle, which is very good for the skin.
Image truck. Flydime. http://bit.ly/oDcSO5
Image girl in tomato. Flydime. http://bit.ly/n4PwmV
Spanish in Tour http://www.spanishintour.com
Dosal Proyectos. Spain.
