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. | Aliyeirusha ile nyanya ya kwanza iliyoanzisha mapinduzi ya Tomatina ni nani?hakika hakuna ajuaye.Huenda ulikuwa ni uasi dhidi ya Franco, au tamasha lililoshindikana kudhibitiwa .Kwa mujibu wa hadithi maarufu ya hivi sasa, wakati wa tamasha la mwaka 1945 la Los Gigantes (Karatasi kubwa la mâché la kuchezea gwaride wanasesere), wenyeji walitazamia kufanya ugomvi ili waweze kutiliwa maanani.Walipata kuwa jirani na toroli la kuuzia mbogamboga na wakaanza kurusha nyanya mbivu.Watazamaji wasio na hatia walishirikishwa mpaka ikawa tafrani kubwa ya matunda yapaayo.Na wachochezi walipaswa kuwalipa wachuuzi wa nyanya,lakini hilo halikusitisha kuibuka kwa mapigano zaidi ya nyanya-na hatimye kuzaliwa kwa utamaduni mpya. Ikihofia hali tete,mamlaka ililegeza, na halafu ikaweka mfululizo wa marufuku katika miaka ya 1950.Mnamo waka 1951, wenyeji waliokaidi sheria walifungwa jela mpaka umma ulipopiga kelele kutaka waachiwe.Ujasiri mkubwa wa kupinga marufuku ya nyanya ulitokea mwaka 1957 ambapo waungaji mkono waliigiza msiba na kufanya mazishi ya nyanya zikiwa jenezani.Baada ya mwaka 1957,serikali ya mtaa iliamua, kutunga taratibu chache,na kuuridhia utamaduni wa kiwendawazimu. Ingawa nyanya huchukua nafasi pekee, juma la sherehe hupelekea kilele cha fainali.Ni kusherehekea walezi watakatifu wa Buñol, Bikira Maria na Mtakatifu Louis Bertrand kwa matembezi mitaani,muziki na mafataki kwa mtindo wa Kihispania kwa shangwe.ili kujenga nguvu kwa ajili ya pambano lijalo,chakula murua paella huandaliwa wakati wa kilele cha pambano,wakionesha chakula cha Kivalensia chenye wali,vyakula vya baharini,safroni na mafuta ya zeituni. Leo, tamasha hili lisilo na kizingiti lina baadhi ya vigezo .Waandaaji wamekwenda mbali zaidi na kulima aina maalumu ya nyanya zisizovutia mahususi kwa tukio la mwisho wa mwaka.Sherehe zaanza kama saa nne za asubuhi ambapo washiriki hushindania kupata kipande cha nyama nyembamba ya nguruwe kutoka begani kilichowekwa juu ya nguzo yenye grisi.Watazamaji huwamwagia maji kwa mpira wagombaniaji huku wakiimba na kucheza mitaani.Kengele ya kanisani ya adhuhuri inapolia, malori yaliyosheheni nyanya hukatiza mjini,na ambapo ukelele wa ''To-ma-te, to-ma-te!'' hufikia mshindo wa juu. Baada ya maji kunyunyizwa, tukio nyeti huanza.Hiyo ni taa ya kijani kuashiria kuponda nyanya na kufanya mashambulizi dhidi ya washiriki wenzenu. Warusha nyanya wa masafa marefu,wauaji wa papo kwa papo,wa masafa ya kati.Mbinu yako yoyote ile,inapofikia kikomo, utaonekana(na kujihisi) tofauti sana. Karibia saa nzima kwa baadaye,wapiga mabomu waliotapakaa nyanya huachwa wacheze katika bahari ya muziki maridhawa wa salsa mitaani wakati kidogo kikibakia kufanana na nyanya kuja kupatikana. Kunyunyizwa kwa maji mara ya pili huashiria kumalizika kwa pambano. |