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. | Ni nani aliye tupa nyanya ya kwanza ambayo ilianzisha mapinduzi ya La Tomatina? Ukweli ni kwamba hakuna anayejua. Labda ilikuwa ni mapinduzi kushindana na Wafaransa, ama ilikuwa ni sherehe ambayo iliyosambaratika. Kulingana na taarifa iliyoenea zaidi, sherehe ya 1945 ya Los Gigantes (maandamano makubwa ya karatasi za kuunda), wakazi wa huko walinuia kufanya ghasia ili wapate kusikizwa. Walipatana na mkokoteni uliokuwa umebeba mboga na wakaanza kutupa nyanya mbivu. Watazamaji ambao hawakuwa na hatia yoyote walilazamika kuhusika hadi kukatokea fujo ya matunda kupurushwa kila mahali. Walioanzisha ghasia hawakuwa na budi kuwalipa wauzaji wa nyanya lakini hiyo haikusimamisha vita vya nyanya-na kuzaliwa kwa desturi mpya. Katika mwongo wa 1950, ili kuepukana na ghasia na fujo zaidi, serikali walikataza, wakageuza marufuku, kasha wakapiga marufuku tena desturi hiyo. Katika mwaka wa 1951, wakazi wa mtaa huu ambao walikiuka sheria hiyo walifungwa jela hadi watu wakadai kufunguliwa kwao. Ufidhuli maarufu zaidi ulifanyika mwaka wa 1957 ambapo wapinzani walifanya mazishi ya kuigiza yaliyokamilishwa na sanduku la maiti na maandamano ya watu. Kutoka 1957, serikali ya eneo hilo iliamua kufuata mkondo, waliweka amri chache na wakukubali mila hiyo ya kushangaza. Hata kama, nyanya ndio zinazovutia zaidi, kuna wiki moja ya sherehe hadi onyesho maalum la mwisho. Huu huwa ni wakati wa kusherehekea watakatifu marehemu wa nchi ya Bunol, mtakatifu Maria na Mtakatifu marehemu Louis Bertrand yenye maandamano ya njiani, muziki na fataki kulingana na desturi ya shangwe ya Uhispania. Ili kuongeza nguvu kabla ya ghasia zinazotarajiwa, chajio ambacho ni onyesho la wali wa Kivalensia, chakula cha baharini, zafarani na halzeti huandaliwa usiku wa kuamkia vita. Siku hizi, sherehe hii isiyo na vizuizi ina mpangilio fulani. Wasimamizi hupanda nyanya ambazo haziwezilika kwa manufaa tu ya sikukuu hii. Sherehe huanza saa nne za asubuhi ambapo wahusikaji hukimbia kunyakua kiweo ambacho huwa kimethibitishwa juu ya ufito wenye mafuta. Watazamaji hutupia maji wanaohusika katika kunyakua kiweo huku wakiimba na kucheza ngoma kwenye njia. Kengele ya kanisa inapopiga saa sita za mchana, malori yaliyojazwa nyanya huingia mjini watu wakipaza sauti wakiimba “To-ma-te, to-ma-te!” Mzinga wa maji unapoachiliwa, tukio maalum linaanza. Hii ndiyo ishara kwa wahusika kuanza kushambuliana katika msongano wa kuponda na kutupiana nyanya. Halaiki hutupiana nyanya kwa umbali, wengine kwa karibu na wengine kwa karibu zaidi. Haijalishi ustadi utakao tumia, wakati tukio hili linaisha utafanana na kuhisi tofauti sana. Saa moja baada ya shani, watu waliopakana nyanya wanawachwa kucheza kwenye njia iliyojaa unyevu wa nyanya zilizopondwa, bila hata ya nyanya moja kupatikana. Mzinga wa pili unapoachiliwa, huwa ni ishara kwamba vita vimefikia kikomo. |