Tomato fight has a sore edge
2002-08-28 20:31
Valencia - A young woman was seriously injured at the traditional tomato
fight in the small village of Bunol near Valencia, the first-ever
casualty of the annual Tomatina festival.
The woman broke her leg and suffered other injuries when she
fell trying to climb up a tomato-laden lorry and was run over,
rescue services said. She is currently being treated in hospital.
More than 40 000 people take part in the Tomatina festival, the
world's largest food fight, every August when battle-thirsty
people from all over the world pelt each other with 120 tons of
ripe tomatoes.
In no time the entire town is painted red and no shirt escapes
clean. There are strict safety rules for the "battle" and the
tomatoes are squished before they are thrown to prevent injuries.
A gong sounds to end the spectacle and the clean-up begins.
People jump in the swimming pool or the river to wash away the
squashed tomato from their skin. The town cleaners and fire
services come in to hose down Bunol and its inhabitants and, once
again, it becomes a quiet spruce Spanish village.
The origin of the festival is unclear. One anecdote said a group
of young people in the 1950s wanted to make fun of a busker who
couldn't play in tune so they pelted him with vegetables. The man
responded in kind and the first Tomatina was born.
The festival started becoming famous in the 1970s and it now
attracts more and more people every year on the last Wednesday in
August.
- Sapa-DPA
- SAPA