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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

TOMATINA FESTIVAL





TOMATINA FESTIVAL IN SPAIN

The annual Tomatina festival in Buñol, near Valencia where around 40,000 people from all over the world take part in an event in which participants throw 120 tonnes of tomatoes in a mass 'food fight'.The Spanish LOVE to eat tomatoes and according to Fruittoday Euromagazine, they eat 17 kilos per person annually! As with all Mediterranean cuisines, the tomato is an essential ingredient of Spanish cooking. The Spanish eat tomatoes every day and prepare them in a variety of ways, including fresh, crushed, stewed or simmered in a sauce. Tomato sauce is served on the side with fried eggs, chicken, meat and omelets at most Spanish dinner tables.Since one of the principal tomato-growing regions of Spain is the southeast, including Murcia and Valencia, it seems appropriate that the famous tomato fight takes place in Buñol, just west of the capital city of Valencia.It's not too hard to understand that La Tomatinafestival started by accident. According to all accounts, there was a parade and festival in Buñol on the last Wednesday of August of 1945 when a fight broke out between some young men. Taking advantage of a nearby fruit and vegetable vendor’s stall, they threw tomatoes at each other. The police broke up the altercation and those responsible ended up paying restitution to the tomato vendor.Apparently planning ahead, the following year the young people brought tomatoes with them to the parade and started a tomato fight again. Each year the fight continued until the early 1950’s when it was prohibited by order of the town council, but some townsfolk insisted on creating a fight and were thrown in jail. Protests ensued, including a “Tomato Funeral” and finally, in 1957 the town council allowed the fight to continue. In fact, since 1980 the city government has provided the tomatoes!
The celebration continue to take place on the last Wednesday in August in the plaza mayor of Buñol. The tomatina starts at 11:00am with the sound of a rocket being fired and ends one hour later. Last year 40,000 people were expected to participate in throwing over 100 tons of ripe tomatoes in the streets and this year even more are expected On August 7, revellers in Hyderabad took part in a re-enactment of the traditional Spanish festival of La Tomatina to celebrate Friendship Day.But when an organizer in Delhi tried to host a similar event in the Capital, it drew a lot of criticism forcing the programme to be called off at the last moment. Now, the buzz is that Kolkata too is preparing to host a similar event in a water park on October 16. The organizers have already got as many as 1,800 enthusiasts who want to participate in the event.The original La Tomatina Festival is held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Bunol near Valencia in Spain. It began sometime in 1944/1945 though no one is exactly certain about the origin of this Festival. Thousands of people from all parts of the world come to attend the "World's Biggest Food Fight" where more than 100 metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets. The week-long Festival features music, parades, dancing and fireworks. On the night before the tomato fight, participants of the Festival compete in a paella cooking contest too. Participants are advised to wear safety goggles and gloves. In addition, they must squish the tomatoes before throwing for safety precautions. Another rule is that no one is allowed to carry anything that might lead to a serious brawl. Although it is forbidden to tear someone else's clothing, the crowd invariably rips the shirt of any clothed person. However, Sourav is clear that ripping off clothes will be strictly prohibited at the Kolkata event.While there is a lot of excitement about the event, criticism has been flying in thick and strong. Says Rupsha Dasgupta, wife of singer Rupam, "We have been taught never to waste food. These guys are comparing this festival with Holi and Diwali! What they fail to understand is that in Holi and Diwali, people who make the crackers and colours, benefit from us buying them. But these tomatoes would not have gone to waste in our country had they not organized such a festival. In Spain, such a festival can be organized because they use over-ripe tomatoes which otherwise would have gone to waste. But that certainly isn't the case in Kolkata. This is shameful."

Prof. John Kurakar