I was telling my colleagues about the Tomato Festival that goes on in Bunol, Spain, each year and was wondering how something like that would go down in a town like Laguna Beach. Bunol is situated only 30 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea, and well-connected by motorway and rail to Madrid and Valencia, and each year this charming town erupts into a fiery blaze of tomato-hurling on the last Wednesday of every August. Can you imagine Laguna’s powers that be allowing something like that to happen in our neat and orderly town? I take enjoyment out of reading the weekly police blotter in the town’s papers, just to see how ‘disorderly’ the inhabitants have been over the previous 7 days - I kid you not: one report actually documented someone calling the police to report a ‘large hummingbird, flying aggressively around his/her apartment’. Compare this to the pippy mania documented in this blog that I stumbled upon - thanks Brian and Louise.
Apparently ‘La Tomatina’ (as the festival is called) started during the forties when a bunch of buddies started a tomato fight, in the village main square, for unknown reasons - although it is speculated that the initial volley may have been aimed at city officials! Whatever the reason, it was just a matter of time before their rowdy hooliganism drew passers-by into the fray, and soon everyone was having a great time. Since then, the fiesta’s reputation has spread and it keeps getting bigger and better each year.
I’ve not participated in the festival myself but friends have been have told me that it is well worth the trip, just to experience the pure wackiness of it. I’m not so sure - I’m all for letting your hair down and having a good time, but I prefer my tomatoes sundried and on a pizza, or nicely combined with some fresh Buffalo mozzarella and basil in a delicious Caprese salad, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (hmm, it must be getting close to lunchtime)…rather than smeared across my face/body/clothes. I did giggle though - on our festivals/events page on the CalActive site, there is a listing of a strawberry festival in Oxnard in May - maybe we could all go up there and see what happens if we start pelting each other with the fruit - who knows, we may start a whole new tradition in Southern California.
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