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 kojim je otpočela revolucija La Tomatina? To, u stvari, niko ne zna. Možda je to bila pobuna protiv Franka, ili karneval koji se oteo kontroli. Prema omiljenoj verziji priče, u toku festivala Los Gigantes 1945. godine (parade džinovskih lutki izrađenih od papirne kaše), meštani su želeli da otpočnu tuču kako bi privukli pažnju. Slučajno su u blizini našli kola sa povrćem, pa su počeli da bacaju zrele paradajze. Umešali su se i nedužni posmatrači, pa se prizor pretvorio u opštu borbu letećim povrćem. Podstrekači su morali da nadoknade štetu prodavcima paradajza, ali to nije sprečilo ponovne borbe paradajzom – i rođenje jedne nove tradicije. Plašeći se izbijanja nemira, vlasti su pedesetih godina prvo donele zakon, pa su malo popustile, da bi zatim ponovo donele niz zabrana. Meštani koji su prkosili zakonu su 1951. godine pohapšeni, i bili su u zatvoru sve dok nisu počeli javni protesti kojima se tražilo njihovo oslobađanje. Najveću uvredu protivnici borbe paradajzom su pretrpeli 1957., kada su njeni pobornici, podsmevajući se, priredili sahranu paradajza, sa kovčegom i pogrebnom povorkom. Nakon 1957., lokalna vlada je odlučila da se prilagodi novonastalim prilikama, pa se, postavivši neka pravila, priklonila luckastim običajima. Iako je paradajz u centru zbivanja, konačnom obračunu prethodi čitava nedelja svečanosti. To je proslava Bunjolovih svetaca-zaštitnika, device Marije i svetog Luja Bertrana, praćena uličnim paradama, muzikom i vatrometom, pravim veseljem na španski način. Da biste dobili snagu za predstojeću bitku, uoči bitke se služi ogromna paelja, živopisno jelo iz Valensije koje se sastoji od pirinča, morskih plodova, šafrana i maslinovog ulja. Danas je ovaj nesputani festival u izvesnoj meri uređen. Organizatori su čak uzgajili naročitu vrstu neukusnog paradajza samo za ovaj događaj, koji se dešava jednom godišnje. Svečanost počinje oko 10 sati ujutru, kada se učesnici trkaju, pokušavajući da skinu šunku koja se nalazi na vrhu namašćenog stuba. Gledaoci polivaju penjače vodom iz šmrkova, pevajući i igrajući po ulicama. Kada crkveno zvono otkuca podne, traktori puni paradajza ulaze u grad, dok skandiranje "Pa-ra-dajz, pa-ra- dajz!" dostiže vrhunac. A onda, nakon hica iz vodenog topa, počinje glavni događaj. To je zeleno svetlo za gnječenje i bacanje paradajza u sveobuhvatnim napadima na ostale učesnike. Ljudi koji iz daljine lobuju paradajzom, napadači koji neposredno gađaju, lučni udarci srednjeg dometa. Koja god da je Vaša tehnika, na kraju ćete izgledati (i osećati se) sasvim drugačije. Gotovo sat vremena kasnije, bombaši natopljeni paradajz-sokom prepušteni su igri u moru gnjecave pulpe po ulicama, gde više nema gotovo ničeg što podseća na paradajz. Drugi hitac iz vodenog topa označava kraj bitke. |