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. | Kdo cast, da je prvi usodno paradižnik, ki se je začel v La Tomatina revolucijo?Realnost je, nihče ne ve. Mogoče je bil anti-Franco upor, ali karneval, ki je ušel iz rok. Po najbolj priljubljenih različico zgodbe, med 1945 festivalu Los Gigantes (velikan papir kaše lutkovna parade), domačini so iskali na oder pretepu, da bi dobili nekaj pozornosti. Oni se je zgodilo na rastlinskem voziček v bližini in je začel meče zrele paradižnike. Nedolžni opazovalci vpletla še stopnjevalo sceno v velikem zunanjem delu leteči sadja. Pobudniki morala vrniti prodajalci paradižnika, vendar to ni ustavilo ponovitve več paradižnika bojev-in rojstvo nove tradicije. Bali za neposlušne stopnjevanje organi sprejeli, sproščen, nato pa ponovno vrsto prepovedi leta 1950. Leta 1951 so bili domačini, ki so kljubovali zakonu zaprli, dokler javnem ogorčenju pozval k njihovi izpustitvi.Najbolj znana Drskost na prepovedi paradižnika se je zgodilo leta 1957, ko zagovorniki potekala mock paradižnikovo pogreb skupaj s krsto in procesijo. Po letu 1957, lokalna vlada odločila, da udarce, določiti nekaj pravil v veljavi, in objel čudaški tradicijo. Čeprav paradižnik v središču pozornosti, teden praznovanj privede do končne showdown. To je praznovanje svetniki Bunol je, Marije in St Louis Bertrand, z ulične parade, glasbo in ognjemetom v radosten španske mode. Zgraditi svojo moč za bližajočem pretepu, je epska paella služil na predvečer bitke, ki prikazuje ikonično Valencije jed iz riža, morskih sadežev, žafran, in oljčno olje. Danes je ta neovirano festival ima določeno mero reda. Organizatorji so šli tako daleč, da gojijo posebno vrsto neprijetnih za uživanje paradižnika le za letni dogodek. Slavje začelo okoli 10:00, ko udeleženci dirke, da zgrabite šunko fiksno vrhu mastne pole. Gledalcev cev premešalniki z vodo, medtem ko petje in ples na ulicah. Ko zvonik udari opoldne, tovornjaki, pakiranih s paradižnikom roll v mesto, medtem ko so napevi iz "Na-ma-te, do-ma-TE!" dosežejo crescendo. Nato je z vžigom vodnimi topovi, glavni dogodek začne. To je zelena luč za drobljenje in začetek paradižnik v vseh-out napadih kolegi udeležencev. Paradižnika na dolge razdalje lobbers, point-blank morilci in posnetkov kavelj dolgega dosega. Ne glede na vaše tehniko, ki jo je takrat, ko je konec, boste videti (in občutek) precej drugačna. Skoraj uro kasneje, paradižnika, namočeno bombniki do konca tekme v morju krhek ulice salse z malo levo, ki spominja na paradižnik, da je treba najti.Drugi topovi shot označuje konec bitke. |