The Spanish town of Buñol staged its annual giant tomato fight last week, spreading 180,000 tomatoes, about 145 tonnes worth, around its streets, its residents and its visitors.
Known as 'La Tomatina,' the event which had its origins in a 1945 street brawl at a vegetable stand, has been repeated ever since on the last Wednesday in August. But what was once just a neighborhood celebration became famous and grew to as many as 45,000 participants, more than the town felt it could deal with.
These days, the limit is 22,000, and it's a ticketed event. Five thousand tickets are reserved for locals, and the rest are sold to visitors €15 each, with a few VIP tickets going for €500. Those include the right to ride on one of the trucks that spreads the goodies to eager throwers and smashers around the town.
The tomatoes in the festival come from Extremadura, lauded for their cheap price, low quality and inferior taste, meaning that participants don’t feel too bad about squandering food.
While the whole operation makes a giant mess, its proponents say it also helps clean up the city because the acidity of the tomatoes acts as a disinfectant. It's also said to cleanse and tone skin, shrink large pores and condition hair.
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