Once the ham has been retrieved, the Tomatina festival officially starts. The streets are filled with people throwing tomatoes at each other. Huge trucks with tons of tomatoes drive through the streets to provide the people with "ammo". The tomatoes are too soft to eat, so it becomes the perfect consistency to throw.
The festival is a way for the town to remind people not to take life too seriously. Once a year, one day is dedicated for silliness and fun, and everyone is in on it. You don’t like your neighbor? Throw a tomato at him in good fun! It's a day of joy, laughter, fun, and so many tomatoes.
It also attracts many people from all over the world, which aids the economy, too. Buñol is a small town with about 9,000 inhabitants. It likely wouldn’t be on anyone's bucket list if it weren't for the festival. One year, there were over 22,000 participants with more than half of the tomato throwers coming from abroad.
Yes, the tradition connects heavily with the surrounding area! Firstly, Buñol is near Valencia, a city in Spain known for its crops, especially tomatoes. By using this many tomatoes, the town is supporting local farmers and businesses by purchasing their tomatoes. The vegetable, though technically a fruit, is overripe (too soft), and cannot be sold in markets. By being repurposed for this event, it leads to less food waste. Also, because of the acidity of the tomatoes, the streets get a nice wash and the town looks cleaner than before!
