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 aliyetupa ile nyanya ya kwanza kabisa iliyoibua mapinduzi ya La Tomatina? Ukweli ni kwamba hakuna anayejua. Pengine ilikuwa ni uasi dhidi ya Franco, au ilikuwa ni kanivali iliyopoteza mwelekeo. Hadithi maarufu kwa mujibu wa walio wengi ni kuwa, wakati wa sherehe za Los Gigantes (msururu wa vikaragosi vilivyoundwa kwa karatasi), wenyeji walitaka kuanzisha purukushani ili kupata kutambuliwa. Ikatokea kuwa wapo jirani na mkokoteni wa mbogamboga na kuanza kutupa nyanya zilizokuwa zimepea. Watu wasiokuwa na hatia wakiangalia nao wakajumuika hadi ikawa vurumai ya nyanya hewani. Wachochezi walilazimika kuwalipa wauza nyanya, lakini hiyo haikuzuia mwanzo wa utamaduni mpya. Zikiogopa kukua kwa vurumai hizi, mamlaka zikaweka, kuruhusu, na baadae kurudisha amri za kupiga marufuku mnamo miaka ya 1950. Mwaka 1951, wenyeji waliokiuka amri hii walifungwa hadi pale kilio cha watu wengi kilipodai waachiwe huru. Ujuvi uliopata kuwa maarufu zaidi kuliko wote kwa marufuku za vurumai hizi za kutupa nyanya ni ule wa mwaka 1957 ambapo watetezi wa utamaduni huu walifanya mfano wa maombolezo wakiandamana kwa kubeba jeneza la nyanya. Baada ya mwaka 1957, serikali za mitaa zikaamua kukubali mapigo, zikaweka sheria kadhaa, na kuruhusu utamaduni huu wa kipuuzi kuendelea. Ingawa nyanya bado zinakuwa ndio kiungo kikuu, wiki moja ya sherehe huanza kabla ya vurumai ya mwisho. Ni sikukuu ya walezi watakatifu wa Buñol, Maria Bikira na mtakatifu Louis Bertrand, ikijumuisha maandamano mitaani, muziki na fataki kwa namna ya furaha kwa Wahispaniola. Kujijengea nguvu kwa ajili ya mpambano unaokuja, chakula cha "paella" kililiwa siku ya kuamkia mpambano wa mwisho, aina ya chakula maarufu kule Valencia kikiwa na wali, aina mbalimbali za samaki wa bahari, zafarani na mafuta ya mzeituni. Siku hizi, sherehe hizi zisizopendwa zina aina fulani ya kanuni. Waandaaji wamefika mbali hadi kufikia kupanda nyanya ambazo hazina ladha kwa ajili tu ya tukio hili la kila mwaka. Shamrashamra huanza nyakati za saa nne asubuhi ambapo washiriki hukimbia kuinyakua hemu iliyoangikwa kwenye mlingoti uliopakwa grisi. Watazamaji huwamwagia maji washiriki huku wakiimba na kucheza mitaani. Kengele ya kanisa ikigongwa kuashiria saa sita mchana, malori yaliyojaa nyanya huingia mjini, wakati sauti za "To-ma-te, to-ma-te!"hufikia kileleni. Halafu, pindi mzinga wa maji unapopigwa, tukio kuu huwa linaanza. Hii ndio ruhusa ya kuponda na kutupa nyanya baina ya washiriki. Kuna wale wakirusha nyanya tokea mbali, wauaji wa karibu, na mapigo ya masafa ya kati. Kwa mbinu yoyote ile utakayotumia, utakaonekana (na kujisikia) tofauti kabisa. Baada ya muda wa saa moja hivi, watupiana mabomu waliolowa nyanya huachwa kucheza salsa kwenye bahari ya ujiuji kukiwa hakuna dalili ya kitu kinachofanana na nyanya kilichosalia. Mzinga wa pili ukipigwa unaashiria mwisho wa mpambano. |