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. | La Tomatino devrimini baslatan,herseyi degistiren o ilk domatesi kim firlatmisti? Gercek su ki bunu kimse bilmez.Belki Franko karsiti bir isyanciydi, belki de kontrolden cikan bir karnavaldi.Hikayenin en populer versiyonuna gore, 1945 Los Gigantes Festivali( devasa kagit kukla gosterisi) surerken, yoredeki yerliler dikkatleri uzerlerine cekmek icin bir kavga sahneleme arayisindaydilar.O sirada bir sebze tablasinin yakinindaydilar ve oradaki domatesleri firtlatmaya basladilar.Olay, meyvelerin havada ucustugu meydan kavgasina tirmanincaya kadar, masum izleyiciler de olaya dahil oldular.Olayi kiskirtanlar daha sonra domates saticisina odeme yapmis olsalar da bu, domates kavgasinin tekrarini ve yeni bir gelenegin dogusunu engelleyememisti. Basina buyruk bu tirmanistan urken yetkilier duruma mudahele ettiler,olay duruldu ve 1950’de bir seri yasaklar getirdiler.1951’de bu yasalara karsi cikan yerliler,ta ki halk bu yerlilerin serbest birakilmasi icin buyuk bir isyan cikarincaya dek, hapis ile cezalandirilmislardi,Domates yasagina en meshur acimasiz baskaldiri 1957’de,yanlilarin tabut ve konvoy dahil olmak uzere domates icin sahte bir cenaze toreni duzenlemeleriyle gerceklesti.1957’den sonra, yerel hukumet ,bir seri kurallar koyarak duruma uyum gostermeye ve bu garip gelenegi kucaklamaya karar verdi. Kutlamalarin merkezinde domates olsa da,bir haftalik bu festival bir final gosterisine dogru yol alir.Simdi bu kutlama, Bunol’un koruyuculari kutsal Meryem Ana, Lousi Bertrand’in sokak gosterileri, muzik vehavai fisekleriyle kutlandigi eglenceli bir Ispanyol modasina donusmustur.Dovuslerin olacagi aksam,kendilerini bekleyen meydan kavgasina guc toplamalari icin, katilimcilara geleneksel Ispanyol Paellasi sunulur, simgelesmis meshur Valensia pilavi, deniz urunleri,safran ave zeytin yagi gosterime cikarilir. Bugun serbestlestirilmis bu festival bir olcude belli duzenlemelere sahiptir.Her yil gerceklesen bu olayi duzenleyenler, tadina bakilmayacak kadar kotu tadi olan ozel domatesler yetistirecek kadar ileri gitmislerdir.Gosteriler sabah 10’da , katilimcilarin yagli bir diregin tepesindeki jambonu almak icin girdikleri yaris ile baslar.Izleyiciler,bir yandan sokakta sarki soyleyip dans ederlerken,bir yandan da direge tirmananlari hortumla suya tutarlar.Kilise zili oglen oldugunu haber verdiginde, “Do-ma-tes,do-ma-tes” cigliklari zirveye ulasirken, domates dolu traktorler sehre inerler. Iste tam o sirada,sularin fiskirtilamasiyla esas olay baslar.Bu da, domateslerin cikartilmasi, firtlatilmasi,carpismasi ve katilimcilarin birbirlerine domatesle saldirmasi icin yesil isik yakar.Uzak mesafe atiscilari,teget gecen suikastciler, orta duzey basket atislari…Tekniginiz ne olursa olsun, gosteri sona erdiginde cok farkli goruneceksiniz(ve hissedeceksiniz).Yaklasik bir saat sonra, domatese bastirilmis savascilar, ezik domates denizine donusmus sokaktaki son domatesimsi kalintilarla salsa yapmaya terkedilirler.Ikinci top atisi ise muharebenin sona erdigini isaret eder. |