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The Spanish village where 'La Tomatina' takes place has a very surprising secret
Buñol, near Valencia in southern Spain, has held the hot mess of a festival 'La Tomatina' for the last 70 years. The festival began on a hot August day in 1945, when locals gathered to watch a traditional Catalan 'Giants and Big-Heads' fairytale parade. There were some sharp elbows involved to bag the best viewing spots, which led one frustrated member of the crowd to pick up the nearest projectile - the tomatoes outside a grocery - and fling them at the crowd. And thus, a noble tradition was born:
The world's biggest food fight attracts 20,000 revellers every year - but Buñol's biggest secret is probably that it doesn't actually grow any tomatoes. More than 54 tonnes are imported to the village for the festival annually, and even if Buñolians wanted to grow their own, they'd never be able to meet demand. While some question whether the hassle and expense is worth it, one side-effect is that the village is left spotless once it's been hosed down because the acidity in the fruit is a cleaning agent. And let's face it: could you have this much fun not bathing in a street full of squashed tomatoes?
Saucy Scenes From La Tomatina, Spain's Annual Tomato Fight
In Spain, Pamplona has the running of the bulls, but Buñol has the running of the sauce. The tomatoes fly freely during La Tomatina, a purely recreational tomato fight that's been held in the Valencian town since 1945. The yearly throwdown celebrated its 70th anniversary on Wednesday. This year's event drew an estimated crowd of more than 22,000, according to The Associated Press. Some came in costumes, while others arrived in very little clothing at all. But as the images below show, soon everyone was wearing red. About 175 tons of ripe tomatoes are dumped on the crowd, according to the Telegraph, leaving the streets and the participants awash in red pulp within minutes. According to Vox, the festival itself has murky origins, but some historians tie it to public discontent during the reign of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. These days, it's more about fun (and tourism).
See photos of this year's La Tomatina festival, in this video.
