Who cast that first fateful tomato that started the La Tomatina revolution? The reality is no one knows. Maybe it was an anti-Franco rebellion, or a carnival that got out of hand. According to the most popular version of the story, during the 1945 festival of Los Gigantes (a giant paper mâché puppet parade), locals were looking to stage a brawl to get some attention. They happened upon a vegetable cart nearby and started hurling ripe tomatoes. Innocent onlookers got involved until the scene escalated into a massive melee of flying fruit. The instigators had to repay the tomato vendors, but that didn't stop the recurrence of more tomato fights—and the birth of a new tradition.
Fearful of an unruly escalation, authorities enacted, relaxed, and then reinstated a series of bans in the 1950s. In 1951, locals who defied the law were imprisoned until public outcry called for their release. The most famous effrontery to the tomato bans happened in 1957 when proponents held a mock tomato funeral complete with a coffin and procession. After 1957, the local government decided to roll with the punches, set a few rules in place, and embraced the wacky tradition.
Though the tomatoes take center stage, a week of festivities lead up to the final showdown. It's a celebration of Buñol's patron saints, the Virgin Mary and St. Louis Bertrand, with street parades, music, and fireworks in joyous Spanish fashion. To build up your strength for the impending brawl, an epic paella is served on the eve of the battle, showcasing an iconic Valencian dish of rice, seafood, saffron, and olive oil.
Today, this unfettered festival has some measure of order. Organizers have gone so far as to cultivate a special variety of unpalatable tomatoes just for the annual event. Festivities kick off around 10 a.m. when participants race to grab a ham fixed atop a greasy pole. Onlookers hose the scramblers with water while singing and dancing in the streets. When the church bell strikes noon, trucks packed with tomatoes roll into town, while chants of "To-ma-te, to-ma-te!" reach a crescendo.
Then, with the firing of a water cannon, the main event begins. That's the green light for crushing and launching tomatoes in all-out attacks against fellow participants. Long distance tomato lobbers, point-blank assassins, and medium range hook shots. Whatever your technique, by the time it's over, you will look (and feel) quite different. Nearly an hour later, tomato-soaked bombers are left to play in a sea of squishy street salsa with little left resembling a tomato to be found. A second cannon shot signals the end of the battle. | Tko li je bacio onaj prvi, sudbonosni paradajz kojim je započela La Tomatina? Zapravo nitko ne zna. Možda je to bila pobuna protiv Franca, ili karneval izmakao kontroli. Prema najpopularnijoj verziji priče, 1945. za vrijeme festivala Los Gigantes (parada divovskih lutaka od kaširanog papira), neki mještani su izazvali tučnjavu ne bi li na sebe svrnuli pažnju. Igrom slučaja našli su se u blizini kola natovarenih povrćem i počeli gađati zrelim rajčicama. Povukli su za sobom i neopredijeljene promatrače, i scena je uskoro prerasla u opći metež letećih plodova. Inicijatori su morali platiti odštetu prodavačima paradajza, ali to nije zaustavilo nove i nove borbe rajčicama – i začetak nove tradicije. U strahu od nekontrolirane eskalacije, vlasti su donijele, pa ublažile, a zatim ponovo donijele seriju zabrana u 1950-ima. Mještani koji su se 1951. suprotstavili zabrani dospjeli su i u zatvor, ali ih je javno negodovanje oslobodilo. Najpoznatiji protest protiv paradajz zabrane dogodilo se 1957. kad su drski istomišljenici parodirali paradajzni pogreb - sa lijesom i procesijom. Nakon 1957. lokalne vlasti odlučile su se prepustiti struji; postavili su nekoliko pravila i prihvatili šašavu tradiciju. Iako su u fokusu priče rajčice, finalnoj predstavi prethodi cijeli tjedan ispunjen raznim feštama. Slave se sveci zaštitnici Buñola, Djevica Marija i sv. Luj Bertrand, uz ulične parade, glazbu i vatromet, razgaljeno, u španjolskoj maniri. A da biste pucali od snage u nadolazećoj borbi, paella epskih proporcija servira se uoči bitke, predstavljajući tako ikonu valencijske kuhinje, jelo od riže, morskih plodova, šaftana i maslinovog ulja. Danas ipak ovim razuzdanim festivalom barem donekle vlada red. Organizatori su otišli tako daleko da su uzgojili posebnu vrstu nejestivih rajčica, isključivo za ovaj događaj koji se zbiva samo jednom godišnje. Fešta kreće oko deset sati ujutro, kad sudionici startaju u utrci da bi dohvatili šunku pričvršćenu na vrhu namašćenog stupa. Promatrači šmrkovima zalijevaju takmičare vodom, pjevajući i plešući po ulicama. Dok crkvena zvona zvone za podne, kamioni natovareni paradajzima prodiru u grad, dok uzvici „To-ma-te, to-ma-te!“ dosežu krešendo. I tada, uz pucanj vodenog topa, glavni event počinje. Pali se zeleno svjetlo za lansiranje i gnječenje paradajza u bitci na sve ili ništa protiv drugova sudionika. Lobovi iz daljine, borba prsa o prsa, horozi srednjeg dometa. Kojom god tehnikom se služili, kad sve završi izgledat ćete (i osjećati se) poprilično drugačije. Gotovo sat kasnije, paradajzom natopljeni bombaši pušteni su da se igraju u moru uličnog umaka u kojem jedva da se može pronaći išta što izgleda kao rajčica. Drugi hitac topa označava kraj bitke. |