La Tomatina - the most famous tomato fight in Spain

It's not only about tomatoes: this festival has a long and interesting tradition

According to the legend, the origins of the most famous vegetables battle lie in a harmless village brawl, which took place during a city festival in 1945. During a parade in Buñol a participant of the train was angry and grabbed the tomato ducks basket near a vegetable stand. A few tomatoes flew, but the story was complete.

A year later, the group of young people returned to the site throwing tomatoes at the musicians because the music did not please the audience. Especially the young people from the village were allowed to run riot here, because the tomato battle was fun, and so the tradition was born!

However, the mayor of the city did not want to cause unrest in the city, and the festival was banned. In protest, the residents of Buñol organized a tomato funeral and went in procession through the streets of the city and the city musicians played a funeral march.

The parade "La Tomatina" was allowed again in 1957 and is now an official bank holiday day. Later the festival was known across the country and even around the world thanks to a TV report.

The Tomatina became more popular, and thousands of tourists come every year to the city to take part in this wild tomato fight. The crazy festival takes place every year on the last Wednesday in August.

Several years ago, the City Council decided to sell tickets for visitors to the La Tomatina to cover the cost of tomatoes, since every year more and more visitors attended the battle. More info are to be found on the official website.

La Tomatina is now visited by 20,000 people and more than 100,000 tons of tomatoes are squished there every year! The organizers ensure that only the tomatoes, which are no longer suitable for human consumption, are used.

If you want to participate in this event, we recommend you to book a hostel in Valencia. From Valencia Express buses go to Buñol.