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 nyanya ambayo iliyoanzisha mapinduzi ya La Tomatina? Ukweli nikua hakuna mtu anayejua. Labda ilikua ni uasi dhidhi ya Franco, au sherehe kubwa ambalo lilitoka nje ya mkono. Kulingana na taarifa mashuhuri la tukio, wakati wa sherehe ya 1945 mjini Los Gigantes (iliokua gwaride kubwa la kinyongo la karatasi), wenyeji walikuwa wakitazamia kuzua rabsha ili wapate kuonekana. Walikaribia na kujipata katika mkokoteni wa mboga uliokua karibu na kuanza kurusha nyanya zilizoiva. Watazamaji waliokua karibu wakajiunga kushiriki mpaka eneo mzima ilienea katika mvutano mkubwa wa matunda yakupepea. Iliwabidi waanzilishi kuwalipa wachuuzi hao wa nyanya, lakini hilo halikusababisha mwisho wa vita kama hivyo vya nyanya - nao ukawa mwanzo wa utamaduni mpya. Kwa uoga wa kupanda kwa ukaidi zaidi, mamlaka ilitunga, kuteremsha, na kisha kurejesha mfululizo wa marufuku katika miaka ya 1950. Katika mwaka wa 1951, Wenyeji ambao walikaidi amri walitiwa gerezani hadi kukawa na kilio kutoka kwa umma ili waachiliwe. Tukio la kwanza maarufu dhidi ya marufuku hio ya nyanya kilitokea mwaka 1957 wakati watetezi walifanya maskhara ya mazishi ya nyanya kamili na jeneza na maandamano. Baada ya 1957, serikali za mitaa iliamua kukwepa makonde na kuweka sheria chache kisha kukumbatia utamaduni huo. Ingawa nyanya huchukua hatua ya mbele, Wiki moja ya sherehe kuu hutawalia tukio kuu la mwisho. Ni sherehe ya watukufu wa Buñoli, Bikira Maria na Mtf. Louis Bertrand, kwa gwaride za mitaani, muziki, na miale za moto katika furaha ya mtindo wa Kihispania . Ilikujenga nguvu yako kwa rabsha iliyombele, chakula kitamu cha paella huhudumiwa usiku wa vita, manyesho makuu ya wali wa kivalensia,vyakula vya bahari, zafarani, na mafuta ya zeituni. Leo, sherehe hili kuu lina utaratibu wa kipimo. Waandalizi wamejitolea hadi kutayarisha na kupalilia aina maalum ya nyanya yasiokulika kwa ajili ya sherehe hili la mwaka. Sherehe zinaanza takriban saa 4 asubuhi hivi wakati washiriki watakimbia kunyakua paja la nyama lilioekwa juu ya fimbo refu. Watazamaji humwagilia wang'ang'aniaji maji huku wakiimba na kucheza barabarani. Wakati kengele la kanisa hugonga saa sita mchana, malori yalioezekwa nyanya huingia ndani ya mji, huku kelele za "to-ma-te! to-ma-te!" yakizidi kupanda. Basi, kwa kurushwa kwa kanuni la maji, tukio kuu huanza. Hilo huwa ndilo kiashiria cha mwanzo wa kusiaga na kurusha nyanya katika mashambulizi yote dhidi ya washiriki wengine. mitungi ya kurusha nyanya kwa umbali, ukabidhi wa ukaribu na kurusha shoti za wastani. Mbinu yoyote ile utakacho tumia, wakati utakapoisha, utakaa ( na kujisikia) tofauti kabisa. Karibu saa moja baadaye, wapiga bomu za nyanya walioloweka wanaachwa kucheza katika bahari ya mtindo wa salsa mithili wa nyanya yanayo patikana. Shoti la pili kutoka kanuni huashiria mwisho wa vita. |