La Tomatina Festival 2019: What is La Tomatina, how could it start and where does it happen?

For foodies who have a specific liking for tomatoes, the idea of slipping and sliding down a road covered in the fruit is one that they would readily make a reality.

What’s more, in fact, for a huge number of individuals in a town situated in the east of Spain, it is a yearly event, thanks to the tradition of La Tomatina food festival.

Here’s all that you need to know about La Tomatina, the festival broadly viewed as being one of the world’s most prominent nourishment battles:

What is the La Tomatina festival?

La Tomatina is a yearly, globally-renowned Spanish festival.

As the name recommends, tomatoes highlight heavily during this day-long festival, as thousands participate in a mass tomato-fuelled food battle.

The explanation behind painting the town red with various huge amounts of the juicy fruit? Pure, unadulterated happiness.

Revelers who go to La Tomatina don’t keep down as they participate in the groups swimming in, wading through and tossing tomatoes.

Where is La Tomatina held?

La Tomatina is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, which is situated in the east of Spain.

Buñol is found around 30km away from the Mediterranean sea.

Around 9,000 individuals live in the town, which is encompassed by mountain ranges.

In any case, a huge number of tourists visit the area particularly to participate in La Tomatina festivities.

How could La Tomatina start?

La Tomatina can follow its foundations back to the mid-1940s when the first public tomato food fight inadvertently occurred in Buñol.

As indicated by the official website for the festival, a parade was occurring in the town square on the last Wednesday of August in 1945, which included people dressed as giants with enormous heads (Gigantes y Cabezudos).

A group of youngsters obviously caused the enormous head of one of the parade’s member’s to fall off, a mishap which led the costumed individual to become incensed.

The unfortunate individual started to cause destruction along the motorcade course, crashing into a market slow down selling tomatoes.

This arrangement of occasions brought about observers grabbing the tomatoes and tossing them at each other, starting the origin of La Tomatina.

The following year, a group of individuals in the town coordinated an organized tomato fight, bringing their very own tomatoes from home for the event.

In the early 1950s, La Tomatina was restricted from occurring in Buñol by the local authorities.

As indicated by a La Tomatina travel website, the festival was restricted by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco for having no religious importance.

Yet, after a tomato burial was held in 1957 in protest of the decision – during which those for the festival carried a coffin containing an enormous tomato – La Tomatina was permitted by experts and made an official festival.

In 2002, La Tomatina has announced a Festivity of International Tourist Interest by the Spanish Secretary of the Department of Tourism.

When is La Tomatina Festival because of happening?

The current year’s La Tomatina Festival is occurring on Wednesday 28 August.

The festival is held yearly on the last Wednesday of August.

What does the day involve?

On the day of La Tomatina, trucks land in Buñol’s Plaza del Pueblo with hordes of tomatoes at 11 am, states latomatinatours.com.

The untidy food fight usually starts when water cannons are fired, and goes on for around 60 minutes.

Following the festivities, trucks are driven around the town which cleans the streets by showering them down with water.

Because of the high levels of acidity in the tomatoes, the streets of Buñol are typically extremely clean once they have been washed of tomato residue.

How can you get tickets for La Tomatina Festival?

Up until 2013, anybody could advance toward Buñol to participate in La Tomatina.

Be that as it may, for as far back as six years, just the individuals who have obtained tickets have been allowed to partake in the occasion, which a year ago drew in excess of 20,000 individuals.

Ticket packs which include travel from cities including Madrid and Barcelona can be purchased from official ticket partner sites.

As indicated by Spain’s official tourism website, general admission for La Tomatina is €10 (£9).