La Tomatina - wikipedia La Tomatina La Tomatina La Tomatina in 2014 Official name La Tomatina Observed by Buñol, Valencia, Spain Date Last Wednesday in August 2016 date August 31 ( 2016 - 08 - 31 ) 2017 date August 30 ( 2017 - 08 - 30 ) 2018 date August 29 ( 2018 - 08 - 29 ) 2019 date August 28 ( 2019 - 08 - 28 ) Frequency annual La Tomatina ( Spanish pronunciation : ( la tomaˈtina ) ) is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, a town located in the East of Spain 30 kilometres ( 19 mi ) from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in this tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes. Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during the week of festivities of Buñol. Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Rules of the festival 4 In other countries 5 In popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links History This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2016 ) It all started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent the time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big - Heads figures parade. The young boys decided to have a place among the retinue of a parade with musician, Giants and Big - Heads figures. The energy of these young people made that one participant fell off. The participant flew into a fit of rage, started to hit everything in his path. There was a market stall of vegetable that fell victim of the furious crowd : people started to pelt each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended that vegetable battle. The following year, the young people picked a quarrel by their own decision and brought the tomatoes from home. Although the police broke up the early tradition in the following years, the young boys had made history without being conscious about it. La Tomatina was banned in the early 50s, which was not a problem for the participants who were even arrested. But the people spoke and the festivity was again allowed with more participants and more frenetic feelings. The festivity was again cancelled till 1957 when, as a sign of protest, the tomato burial was held. It was a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a huge tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band which played funeral marches and it was totally successful. La Tomatina Festival was finally allowed and became an official festivity. As a result of the report of Javier Basilio, broadcast in the Spanish television program called Informe Semanal, the festivity started to be known in the rest of Spain. Since then, the number of participants increased year after year as well as the excitement about La Tomatina Festival. In 2002, La Tomatina of Buñol was declared Festivity of International Tourist Interest by the Secretary Department of Tourism due to its success. Description Preparing the `` palo jabón ''. Throwing tomatoes from a truck. Usually the fight lasts for an hour, after which the town square is liberally covered with tomato debris. Fire trucks then hose down the streets and participants often use hoses that locals provide to remove the tomatoes from their bodies. Some participants go to the `` los peñones '' pool to wash. The acidity of the tomatoes leads to the washed surfaces in the town becoming very clean. Since 2013 participation in the event has been restricted to the holders of paid tickets. In 2015, it is estimated that almost 145 000 kg of tomatoes were thrown. Rules of the festival The city council follows a short list of instructions for the safety of the participants and the festival : Do not throw bottles or hard objects Do not tear or throw tee - shirts Squash tomatoes before throwing them to avoid hurting others Keep a safe distance from trucks Stop throwing tomatoes after the second starter pistol shot Follow the directions of security staff In other countries La Tomatina Buñol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of the world : Since 1982, the town of Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado has held a tomato fight called the `` Colorado Texas Tomato War, '' in which Texans and Coloradans square off. The Coloradans also attempt to overtake the Texans ' straw Alamo effigy, generally succeeding. Since 2004 the Colombian town of Sutamarchán holds a similar event on 15 June when a surplus of tomatoes is harvested. In Costa Rica the town of San José de Trojas ( Valverde Vega Canton ) celebrates a Tomatina during the local Tomato Fair. In the town of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province in China, a tomato fight is held on October 19, during which they use up to 15 tons of tomatoes. The City of Reno, Nevada in the United States also has an annual hour - long tomato fight that started in 2009. The event seems to take place on the last Sunday of August and is organized by the American Cancer Society. Organizers named the festival La Tomatina, and give full credit for the idea to the Spanish festival. In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Karnataka Government banned the hosting of such a Tomatina event in Bangalore and Mysore, after private organizers tried to organize one. Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is quoted as saying : `` In the name of ' La Tomatina ' festival, permission should not be granted to waste tomatoes ''. A similar event planned in Delhi was cancelled after it received negative response from the public. Milwaukee 's East Side Association holds an annual Tomato Romp during September in coordination with a Bloody Mary drink contest. Held since at least 2009 it is limited to 250 people in a caged - in area. Funtasia Island, Patna hosted a similar La tomatina Holi event on March 26, 2013 at Funtasia Water Park in Patna, India. In popular culture The festival was re-created for the song `` Ik Junoon ( Paint It Red ) '' from the 2011 Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The opening scene of the film We Need to Talk About Kevin depicts the character Eva attending La Tomatina. The Movie Spanish Masala has a scene showing the La Tomatina festival. The 2014 British musical film Walking on Sunshine features a tomato fight in an Apulian village. It was shot in Nardò, Italy. See also Battle of the Oranges, similar traditional festival in Ivrea, Italy Fiestas of International Tourist Interest of Spain Running of the Bulls References Jump up ^ Studio, Socarrat. `` La Tomatina -- Página oficial ''. latomatina.info ( in Spanish ). Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 20. Jump up ^ Mullins, Deirdre. `` La Tomatina ''. RTE. ^ Jump up to : Harris, Jenn ( August 28, 2013 ). `` La Tomatina festival : 20,000 people, 130 tons of tomatoes, 1 big mess ''. The Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ `` La Tomatina ''. The Taste of Spain. Retrieved August 24, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Rules of Tomatina Festival ''. Tomatina. ^ Jump up to : Galván, Javier A. ( June 19, 2014 ). They Do What ? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World : A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World. ABC - CLIO. pp. 309 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 61069 - 342 - 4. ^ Jump up to : `` La Tomatina Tomato Festival Inspires Tomato Battle In USA ''. Odd Culture. Jump up ^ `` Bangalore 's Tomatina festival cancelled ''. NDTV 24x7. Retrieved 17 September 2011. Jump up ^ `` Tomato Romp ''. The East Side. Jump up ^ `` Splash of La Tomatina adds to park revelry - Funmakers get drenched in tomatoes instead of gulal ahead of festival ''. Calcutta Telegraph. Jump up ^ `` Abhay Deol goes topless ! ''. Hindustan Times. 2011 - 05 - 31. Archived from the original on 2013 - 01 - 25. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Check out : Hrithik, Katrina, Farhan & Abhay shooting for Tomatina fest in Spain ''. Bollywoodhungama.com. 2011 - 03 - 19. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 25. Jump up ^ On location : ' Walking on Sunshine ', Joanne O'Connor, 27 June 2014, Financial Times External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Tomatina. Official web of La Tomatina Valencian Community articles History Prehistoric Iberia Treasure of Villena Iberians Contestani Edetani Ilercavones Lady of Elx Roman Hispania Lucentum Visigothic Kingdom Al - Andalus Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Valencia Spanish Empire Spanish transition Autonomous community Languages Valencian Spanish Sports Valencian pilota Tippler Pétanque Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix Valencia Street Circuit Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Valencia CF Levante UD Villarreal CF Hércules CF Cuisine Paella Arròs negre Fideuà Orxata Coques de Mullador Mistelle Allioli Torró Cabell d'àngel Sangria Gaspatxos Bunyols Gachas Pastisset Wines Musical instruments and typical music Dolçaina Tabalet Valencian Jota Traditions and feasts Muixeranga Ball de diables Bonfires of Saint John Cavalcade of Magi Correfoc Falles Holy Week La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival Mistery play of Elche Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia Moros i cristians Tomatina Bous al carrer Music festivals Benidorm International Song Festival Festival Internacional de Benicàssim Coordinates : 39 ° 25 ′ 10 '' N 0 ° 47 ′ 26 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.41944 ° N 0.79056 ° W ﻿ / 39.41944 ; - 0.79056 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Tomatina&oldid=804685499 '' Categories : August events Festivals in Spain Food and drink festivals in Spain Spanish culture Valencian culture Hidden categories : CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) Infobox holiday with missing field Infobox holiday ( other ) Articles needing additional references from May 2016 All articles needing additional references Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages বাংলা Български Català Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Italiano עברית ქართული മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Русский Simple English Svenska தமிழ் Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 14 : 33. 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Question: when did the festival of la tomatina first take place
Answer: the last Wednesday of August in 1945