La Tomatina: When pelting tomatoes is so much fun

Spanish festival, La Tomatina, is held every year in the town of Bunol in the Valencia region of the country. A reveller is pelted with tomato pulp during the annual festivities on August 31, 2016. (AFP)

Updated on: Sep 03, 2016 5:40 PM IST

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Spanish festival, La Tomatina, is held every year in the town of Bunol in the Valencia region of the country. A reveller is pelted with tomato pulp during the annual festivities on August 31, 2016. (AFP)

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The festival involves throwing and pelting tomatoes as part of a fun fight. It is played purely for entertainment purpose. Revelers make merry... Trucks dumped 160 tons of tomatoes for some 20,000 participants, many from abroad, to throw during the hour-long morning festivities. (AP)

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No one really knows the origins of the festival. However, it is popularly believed that disgruntled townspeople rioted and attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. (AFP)

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What led to riot and what happened later is hardly remembered. However, the act itself was enjoyed so much that it was repeated the next year and year after that till it became a tradition. A reveler takes tomatoes to throw them into the crowd. (AP)

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Since 1945, it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities. Revellers battle with tomato pulp. (REUTERS)

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However, there was a break in festivities under the rule of Francisco Franco, who banned it since it had no religious significance. The festival promptly returned in the 1970s after his death. Revellers on a truck throw tomatoes into the crowd. (REUTERS)

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The festival follows rules -- tomatoes have to be squashed before throwing to avoid injuries, nothing else except tomatoes can be thrown and participants have to allow for trucks and lorries. (AFP)

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The festival has since been replicated in many cities across the world such as Twin Lakes, Colorado, US; Sutamarchán in Colombia and Dongguan, Guangdong, China among others. The festival was recreated in the song Eik Junoon in the Bollywood film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). (AP)