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 aliyerusha ile nyanya jaliwa iliyoanza mapinduzi ya 'La Tamatina'? Ukweli ni kwamba hakuna anayejua. Huenda ikawa ni uasi dhidi ya Franco, au kanivali ambayo haingedhibitika. Kulingana na aina nyingi maarufu za hadithi hiyo, wakati wa sherehe ya 1945 ya 'Los Gigantes' (maonyesho ya karatasi kubwa sana, 'mâché puppet' ), watu walitaka kuzua mzozo ili kujulikana. Ilifanyika katika rukwama ya mboga iliyokuwa karibu na kuanza kurushiana nyanya zilizoiva. Watazamaji wasiokuwa na hatia walihusika mpaka mandhari ikaweza kuwa ghasia kubwa la tunda kuruka. Wachochezi walilazimika kuwalipa wachuuzu wa nyanya, lakini hilo halikumaliza kutokea kwa vita zaidi vya nyanya—na kuzaliwa kwa utamaduni mpya. Kwa kuogopa ueneaji mtukutu, Viongozi waliingililia kati, wakapunguza, na wakaamrisha mfuatano wa kupiga marufuku katika miaka ya 1950. Katika 1951, watu wasiofuata sheria walifungwa mpaka raia wakawezesha kuachiliwa kwao. Kuthubutu maarufu kwa kupiga nyanya marufuku, kulitokea 1957 wakati wapendekezaji waliweka mazishi ya mzaha ya nyanya wakiwa na jeneza na maandamano kamilifu. Baada ya 1957, serikali ya mtaa iliamua kufuata mkondo, ikaweka amri chache, na kukubaliana na utamaduni pumbavu. Ingawa nyanya huchukua mandhari ya kati, wiki ya sherehe hupelekea hadi kufungwa kwa mwisho. Ni sherehe ya watakatifu walezi wa Bunoli, Bikira Mariamu na Mtk. Louis Bertrand, na gwaride za mtaani, muziki, na fataki kwa mtindo wenye furaha wa Uispania. Ili kujenga nguvu zako kwa mzozano unaokaribia, chakula cha kisherehe hushirikiwa vita vinavyoendelea, kuonyesha chakula shupavu cha Kivalenzia cha wali, chakula cha baharini, zafarini, na mafuta ya zeituni. Leo, sherehe hii isiyosherehekewa ina mpangilio fulani. Wapangaji wameendelea mpaka wakaweza kukuza namna spesheli ya nyanya isiyo na ladha kwa tukio tu la mwaka. Sherehe huanza hapo saa nne asubuhi wahusika wanapokimbia kuchukua hemu iliyokaziwa juu ya nguzo telezi. Watazamaji huwamwagilia maji wanaong'ang'ania huku wakiimba na kucheza mitaani. Wakati kengele la Kanisa huashiria saa sita, Lori zinazobeba nyanya huingia mjini huku mkarara wa "To-ma-te, to-ma-te!" ukipaa juu. Basi, tukio halisi huanza kwa kufyatuliwa kwa mzinga wa maji. Hiyo ndiyo hupelekea kupondwa na kuzinduliwa kwa nyanya katika mapigo yote kwa wahusika wenyewe. Wanaorusha nyanya kutoka mbali, wauwaji maarufu, na milio wastani za kiopoo. Kwa mbinu yoyote ile, wakati wa kumaliza, utaangalia (na kuhisi) tofauti kabisa. Karibu lisaa moja baadaye, watupaji mabomu waliolowa katika nyanya huachwa ili kucheza katika ziwa la mdundo wa kufyonza wa mtaa pasipokubakia lolote linalofanana na nyanya. Mfyatuko wa pili wa mzinga huashiria mwisho wa vita. |