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. | Ko je bacio prvi sudbonosni paradajz koji je započeo revoluciju pod imenom La Tomatina? To niko ne zna. Moguće je da je to bio jedan od anti-Frankovih pobunjenika, ili ipak neki haotični karneval. Najpopularnija verzija priče kaže da tokom festivala Los Gigantes (parada koja uključuje ogromne papirne figure), 1945. godine, meštani su pokušali da tučom izazovu pažnju posetilaca. Naišavši na korpu sa povrćem u blizini, počeli su bacati zrele paradajze iz korpe. Čak su se i neupućeni prolaznici priključili haosu načinivši ga pravom borbom letećeg voća. Ovi što su započeli sve to su na kraju morali platiti pordavcima paradajza, međutim to nije zaustavilo rađanje nove tradicije i budućih borbi paradajzom. Strahujući od buntovnog rasta, nadležni su smireno reagovali, a zatim ponovili serije zabrana pedesetih godina. 1951. godine, meštani, koji su se usprotivili zakonu, su bili u pritvoru do protesta javnosti za njihovim oslobođenjem. Protivljenje paradajz-zabranama je dostiglo vrhunac kada su zagovornici tradicije održali kompletnu sahranu paradajza kao parodiju akcija nadležnih. Nakon 1957. godine, lokalna vlast je odlučila da se prilagodi, i sa još uvek par pravila podrži ovu luckastu tradiciju. Iako paradajz zauzima centralno mesto, nedelja svečanosti dovodi do konačnog obračuna. To je proslava Buñolovih svetaca Bogorodice Marije i Svetog Louis Bertrand-a, s uličnim paradama , muzikom i vatrometima u radosnom stilu Španije. Za snagu, epska Paella (jelo od pirinča iz Valensije) se služi uoči bitke, morski plodovi, šafran, i maslinovo ulje. Danas, ovaj festival ima granice. Organizatori su se odlučili na gajenje neukusne sorte paradajza samo za ovaj godišnji događaj. Proslave počinju oko 10 časova izjutra, kada se učesnici služe šunkom na uljanim čačkalicama. Posmatrači polivaju skremblere vodom pevajući i plešući na ulicama. Kada se crkveno zvono oglasi u podne, kamioni napakovani paradajzom ulaze u grad, kada riječi "To-Ma-te , To-ma-te!" polako uzimaju maha. Zatim, uz aktivaciju topa vode, glavni događaj počinje. To je zeleno svetlo za drobljenje i bacanje paradajza na sve strane napadajući protivnike. Bacači paradajza na daljinu, tačno-u-cilj bacači, i oni osrednje-vešti. Bez obzira na tehniku , nakon borbe, vi ćete izgledati (i osećati se) sasvim drugačije. Skoro sat vremena kasnije paradajzom natopljeni bombarderi mogu da se igraju u moru salse (sos od paradajza), sa ponekim jedva čitavim paradajzom. Drugi hitac iz vodenog topa označava kraj bitke. |