🍅🍅🍅 Take part in the famous Spanish battle of... 🍅🍅🍅
The La Tomatina festival has several dozen years of tradition, and it apparently owes its origins to a quarrel between Spanish students in 1945. The young people wanted to join the fiesta of gigantes y cabezudos (giant figures), but its participants did not agree. The dispute was settled with tomatoes from a nearby vegetable stand. The fight for ripe fruit has become a part of Spaniards' blood, and today it is organized by the city. Trucks deliver more than 150 tons of soft tomatoes grown especially for the fiesta to the center of Buñol near Valencia. This year it will take place on August 28.
A maximum of 20,000 people can take part in the battle. This limit was set after 2012, when the event became so popular that as many as 50,000 volunteers visited the small city especially for this occasion. This decision was based on safety concerns, because accidents can easily occur in such large gatherings.
Check out how to take part in the tomato fight!
1. Buy a ticket
Since 2013, participation in the Tomato Battle requires a ticket, which can be purchased via the website latomatina.info and costs approximately EUR 12.
2. Arrive early.
At. 7, car traffic in the center is closed. You can only walk to the place of fun. Along the way, you can leave your belongings in temporary storage rooms (consigna). For safety reasons, backpacks are not allowed on Tomatina.
3. Wait for the signal
The beginning and end of the battle are marked by rocket shots. Before the fighting signal and after the sound ending the fight, do not throw tomatoes at anyone - the game must be fair. The fun begins with climbing greased palo jabón poles. The brave try to reach the ham placed on them (anyone can try). When someone finally succeeds, the signal for battle is given (in practice, climbers often do not wait for their success because it takes too long). Beforehand, the participants are poured with water by firefighters. Such a cold shower is beneficial in August Spanish temperatures.
4. Crush
One important rule: never throw whole tomatoes at anyone. First, crush them in your hand. You can throw the ammunition prepared in this way at anyone you want: your neighbors, your mother-in-law (if you managed to convince her to go to the party), your crush and anyone else you can lay your hands on.
5. Take your glasses
Seasoned Tomatina participants know how to gain an advantage in a tomato fight: they take swimming goggles or protective goggles with them. Thanks to them, you don't have to worry about juice splashing into your eyes and closing your eyelids. And the better the visibility, the greater the accuracy of your throws.
6. Waste your clothes
Even the best powder and bleach will not be able to clean clothes stained with ripe tomatoes. Dress up in clothes you've written off. Many people come only in beach shorts or swimsuits. Wear closed shoes with a sole that has good grip. Flip-flops or flip-flops will not provide you with adequate stability during combat.
7. Take care of your camera
If you want to take photos during the battle, be sure to secure your camera properly. A plastic case will come in handy. Don't forget about a waterproof cell phone case. After a battle you are wet from head to toe, electronics have no chance of surviving it. However, it will be best to skip photography this time and focus on having fun.
8. Take a free shower
After the fight, you will be able to wash yourself in the showers located on the street. The participants of the fun usually complain that there are too few of them, but just ask people watching the fun from their balconies (most of them have buckets or hoses) or firefighters to pour water on them. After the battle, the latter start cleaning up the streets flooded with tomato juice, so you can stand within range of their pisses.
We hope that we managed to interest everyone in this event and we will meet there with tomatoes in hand. 🍅🍅🍅
If you want to get detailed information about the festival, visit the official website of the event
https://latomatina.info/
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