La Tomatina: A Festival of the Absurd or the Ultimate Catharsis?

I can think of few things that are more cathartic than throwing a tomato—or several hundred tomatoes—at strangers. Normally, this type of behaviour would evoke some type of uncomfortable reaction, much like Newton Third Law teaches us: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. But not at La Tomatina. 

At La Tomatina, heads and bodies are fair game for anyone looking for some light-hearted fun, a giant food fight, or the ultimate cathartic release with impunity…that is, at least for one day out of the calendar year.

What is La Tomatina?

La Tomatina is a yearly festival that takes place on the last Wednesday of every August in the southeastern Spanish town of Buñol, roughly 40km from Valencia. At its core, the festival is essentially a massive food fight with only one type of food: tomatoes.

The party begins in the morning, as a traditional leg of cured Spanish Ham (jamón) is tied to the top of a greased pole called the Palo Jamón. Revelers attempt to climb the pole and capture the ham. Whether they do or do not doesn’t really matter. The main part of the festival—and what brings over 20,000 tourists to Buñol every year in August—begins regardless.

The agenda at La Tomatina

At about 11 am, trucks loaded with roughly 120 tons of ripe tomatoes are driven into the town square and dump the participants’ ammunition. For the next hour or so, food-fight enthusiasts, tourists with a lot of pent-up anger, and those simply keen on odd and new experiences delightfully hurl tomatoes at each other, all in the name of fun and cultural celebration. 

As soon as the tomato fight is over, the fire department does its part by driving through the town, hosing tomato-soaked party-goers off with their fire hoses. Locals also help by sharing their garden hoses, while some take the natural approach and head down to the local river and turn into a passata-drenched stream.    

I know what you’re thinking: “Sounds great! But doesn’t it get out of hand? Particularly with attendees that are a little too angry or might be aspiring baseball pitchers or cricket bowlers. What if there’s a really angry aspiring baseball pitcher!?!?!?!”

Fret not, the organizers of La Tomatina have done their due diligence to ensure that people throw tomatoes at others with the utmost civility and respect. They have created a set of rules.

La Tomatina rules

To prioritize safety and ensure that those with anger management issues and repressed frustration don’t let their emotions get the best of them, there are some rules all attendees must follow to preserve decorum and tomato-tossing etiquette. They are as follows:

• Only throw tomatoes. Foreign objects like bottles, sacks full of coins, cell phones, etc., should not be thrown.
• Do not take off and throw your clothes. Nor should you throw anyone else’s clothes should you happen to find them. (It’s strange, I know, but this is an actual rule. If they had to codify it, it must be for a reason. That reason being, it happened a lot in the past, I guess?)
• You should squash your tomatoes before throwing them. The blow to your target will be softened. You will still feel satisfied by a direct hit, but your target will also be able to continue enjoying the fun instead of having tomato-induced head injuries, which is not fun for anyone.
• Respect the bringers of the tomatoes (the trucks) and keep a safe distance from them. Everyone will have a chance to get to the tomatoes once they’re dumped onto the street.
• Stop throwing the tomatoes when the second firework goes off, signaling the end of the festival.

With such an interesting list outlining the expected behaviour of the festival revelers, one can only wonder how such an odd and curious festival began in the first place.

La Tomatina: A history

The origins of La Tomatina are highly contested, and there doesn’t seem to be a shared consensus on how this all started. The one thing that is certain is that the festival began in 1945. 

There are different explanations and legends that attempt to define La Tomatina’s origin story. 
The most common one is that the festival has its roots in the Giants and Big Heads parade (Gigantes y Cabezudos), where some younger parade-goers and a faction of older members of the parade got into an altercation close to a vegetable stall.

One thing led to another and the two groups in conflict took exception to each other. They used the vegetable stall’s wears and goods to settle their disagreement by throwing them at each other. The following year, the same thing happened until it became a tradition that persists to this day, with many more participants under the official supervision and management of the city council.

Other La Tomatina urban myths

One legend explains that the trouble all started when the rambunctious youth caused one participant of the parade to have his adorned big head costume fall off. The parader was enraged. He started to hit everything in his path, causing a riot close to the vegetable stand. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Other explanations point to a celebration of the tomato harvest, which is definitely an interesting way to reap what you sow. A common theory that is also documented is that the hurling of tomatoes by youths was a form of protest against the fascist dictatorship of Franco at the time. 

Regardless of its roots, it definitely has its charm, but is it for you?

Why should you go to La Tomatina?

Deciding on whether you’d like to attend and experience La Tomatina is really a simple process of asking yourself the following question: Would I like to throw tomatoes at others and have tomatoes thrown at me?

The answer to that question should give you the direction you’re looking for.

By all first-hand accounts, the festival itself is very enjoyable and good-natured. If a giant food fight is something that you have on your bucket list, then La Tomatina is one heck of a way to cross it off.

La Tomatina criticisms

Even though the festival is meant to be a fun, light-hearted celebration, it isn’t without its critics and detractors. At this particular time when food insecurity is highly publicized and a common topic in the public domain, many argue that it’s an insensitive and irresponsible waste of food when there are massive populations that have none. 

Locals of the Valencia region, however, refute those criticisms explaining that the tomatoes are of extremely low quality, purchased at a very low price from the Extremadura region of Spain, and would go to waste otherwise because of their inferior integrity. 

Regardless of where you stand on the debate, if La Tomatina is something you’re interested in experiencing, you should consider other logistical matters.

Some considerations for La Tomatina

Like any large-scale festival, planning ahead is crucial. Accommodation in Buñol – because of its size and the scale of demand – is limited, so one must make arrangements well in advance. 

If you’re staying in nearby Valencia, you must book transportation to Buñol far ahead of time to ensure you get there accordingly and can take your shot at climbing the greased pole for the highly-coveted cured ham, or can at least be there when the initial tomatoes are dumped onto the streets, and the party begins. 
Some other tips organizers espouse include the following:

• Wear old clothes. By the end of the festival, you will be covered in tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes.
• Traction is key. Wear shoes that perform well on tomato-covered surfaces.
• Bring goggles. Have you ever had tomato juiced squeezed in your eyes? I have. Don’t ask me why or how. It’s a long story, but it stings.
• Tomato gets everywhere. Leave your valuable electronics at home or protect them with water-/tomato-proof coverings.
• Get there early. Car access to Buñol ends at 7am.

La Tomatina takes place this year on Wednesday, August 30th. If you’re attending, may the tomatoes be ripe, the winds soft for a more aerodynamic trajectory, and may your enemies be covered in more tomatoes than you. As the Spanish say, “Al ataque!” (It means “attack.” Feels appropriate.)