Practical Joke Turned All-Out Spanish Tomato War!     18 Apr 05
 
150,000 tomatoes; 20,000 unrelenting participants; and 2 hours of exhilarating entertainment! That is the meaning of this once-a-year popular festival, held at the Plaza del Pueblo, in the tiny Spanish town of Buñol, just 15 minutes by train from Valencia in Spain.

It?s name ? La Tomatina. How it began ? no-one really knows, yet its origins lie somewhere between a ?practical joke? of throwing tomatoes to silence a singing townsman, to a riot that broke out over a disagreement between some youths and members of a parade in 1945. The battle was broken up by police, but the following year on the same date, the men came prepared with their own tomatoes. The date then became known as the day of the Tomatina and has been celebrated ever since. It?s held on the last Wednesday of August every year, at ten o?clock in the morning ? this year being 31 August 2005.

To participate in such an event you will need to arrive equipped with a swimsuit and goggles. Furthermore, there are certain ?rules? that must be abided by, namely:
? Bottles of any kind are prohibited ? there has never been an accident and the organisers prefer to keep it that way!
? T-shirts are to remain fully in-tact ?this is an event for young an old alike, so keep it ?G ? rated?!
? Tomatoes must be crushed before being thrown ? the aim is to stain, not injure your opponent!
? Two rockets mark the start and finish of the festival, when the second one goes off, not a tomato is to be thrown ? so get in early!
? Throw as many tomatoes as possible ? make sure to give as good as you get!

For a food fight of a different kind or for further information about the La Tomatina Festival and Bunol, please visit www.spain.info or www.lahoya.net/tomatina/menuing