About the Festival
La Tomatina is arguably the world's messiest and most fun festival. Held annually on the last Wednesday of August in the tiny town of Buñol (near Valencia), it transforms the streets into a river of red tomato pulp.
The festival started by accident in 1945 during a parade brawl and has since grown into an internationally famous event. Trucks haul in over 100 tons of low-quality, over-ripe tomatoes strictly for throwing.
The actual "fight" only lasts for exactly one hour (11:00 AM to 12:00 PM), but the party starts much earlier with the "Palo Jabón" (soap pole) challenge and continues long after with food, music, and washing off in the local river.
