One of the lovely things about Spain is the fact that every year, on the last Wednesday in August, the tomatoes are hauled out, the town is quiet and with the first smash, the world’s largest food fights begin. This food fight is a thousand times better than your average, kid gets angry, throws food in the cafeteria food fight as it’s planned to a ‘T’ as to how long the food fight should be.
The week long La Tomatina Festival is held in Bunol, Spain where over 20,000 people come to get all tomatoed-up. The finest food fight begins when the water cannons are fired, and every man for himself attempts to throw down as many tomatoes as he or she possibly can. The origins of the tomato fight are a little weary, as the whole concept is a little bizarre, but many locals have said to believe La Tomatina started way back in 1944 or ’45 with either a local food fight among friends, a practical joke on musicians, or angry townspeople tomato-ing city councilmen.
Needless to say, no matter how the festival started, it surely is a hit in the town of Bunol as locals and tourists alike can’t wait to smell like tomato juice for the length of this slippery slide of a food fight. And one of the finest things about this food fight is the fact that, after an hour, the hoses come out and the cleaning process begins. One of course would think that the city would want its people to be nice and clean, but in fact they are more concerned with the streets and so visitors venture off to The Bunol River and douse the river in red as they wash away the smell of tomatoes. So dress in your finest, barest gear and get out there and smash a few tomatoes at the finest food fight in town.
Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com/James O’Brien II