La Tomatina

La Tomatina

 

Spanish fiestas are a large part of the way of life for people living in Spain. La Tomatina is an extremely popular food-fighting festival. It is an annual tradition, taking place on the last Wednesday of August. Not only Spanish citizens, but thousands of people from all over the world take part in the festival where tonnes of tomatoes are thrown around. The night before La Tomatina, there is a paella cooking contest. Paella is a well-known Spanish rice dish. The main ingredients are; white rice, seafood, meat and vegetables.

 

La Tomatina takes place in

Valencia

, in the town of

Buñol

. There are preparations for this messy tradition such as shopkeepers covering up the shop windows with huge plastic covers, to protect it from stains.

 

The festival doesn’t start until a courageous person has reached the top of the two-story high greased-up pole to reach the ham. People where gloves and goggles for protection, the tomatoes must be squished before being thrown and no glass bottles etc. are allowed. Water cannons end the festival after an hour and fire trucks are used to clean up the mess!

Fatema 9P.