More than 20,000 people have
pelted each other in the street with tomatoes in this year's "Tomatina"
as the Spanish event celebrates its 70th birthday.
At
the annual fiesta in the eastern town of Bunol on Wednesday, 175 tons
of ripe tomatoes were offloaded from seven trucks into the crowd packing
the streets for an hour-long battle.
Since 1945 people have been doing this, and it all started because of a
“Giants and Big-Heads” parade.
La Tomatina started on the last Wednesday of August in 1945 (29th
August 1945) when some young people went to the town square to attend
the Giants and Big-Head figures parade. They decided to join the parade with a musician. The group's
excitement caused a person to fall from the float. The participant flew
into a fit of rage and started to hit everything in his path. There was
a market stall of vegetables that fell victim to what soon became a
furious crowd. People started to pelt each other with tomatoes until
local law enforcement ended the battle.
The following year the young people deliberately repeated the fight
on the last Wednesday of August, only this time they brought their own
tomatoes from home. They were again dispersed by the police. The food
fight became an annual event. In 1950, the town allowed the tomato hurl
to take place, but the next year it was stopped again. Many young people
were imprisoned but Buñol
residents forced authorities to let them go. The festival gained
popularity with more and more participants every year. In subsequent
years it was banned again with threats of serious penalties. In the year
1957, some young people celebrated "the tomato's funeral", with
singers, musicians, and comedies. The main attraction however, was a big
tomato in a coffin carried around while a band played funeral marches.
In 1957, demand for the popular festival led to its becoming official,
with certain rules and restrictions. These rules have gone through many
modifications over the years.
A big tomato in a coffin?
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