Info+on+La+Tomatina+7

=La Tomatina! =

T he Festival:
==== La Tomatina is the festival of tomato throwing! People celebrate it on the third Wednesday of August. It is celebrated in the towns of Buñol and Valencia in Spain. It starts at 11:00 AM and lasts for one hour. At the end of this festival a banger is sounded and you stop throwing the tomatoes. The festival is not allowed to begin until someone climbs up a greased wooden pole or a cockaigne, to receive a ham. Once the ham is taken from the top of the pole the tomatoes start flying! This festival has become a major tourist attraction. The number of people flocking from around the world in the towns has gone up to 30,000 in the past few years. To fit the large amount of people they have to get more and ==== more tomatoes each year. The trucks bring in over 140 tons of ripe tomatoes for this festival! A lot of tomatoes makes a lot of mess. All the buildings get tarps and plastic wrap over them so they don't get ruined by all the tomatoes.When the second banger sounds indicating that the festival is over, the people like to go down and wash off in the public showers by the river Jarra or some just jump in and wash off! People who live on the streets also take out their hoses and spray people down as they walk past.

= History:﻿ = ==== This festival started in 1944. Some say it started when a group of men had a fight and used the tomatoes as a weapon. These men were put in jail, but the next year they came back and had the fight again on the same day. They got arrested again, soon people started following the festival and participating in it. Soon the police gave in and let them have the festival freely. This is just one of the many stories. Nobody knows for sure how it really started. 1944-1958 the festival was banned, but in 1959 the festival was allowed by the city council. There were also a few **rules** that came along with the festival being legalized. ====

The Rules:
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 * 1) ==== No tearing the clothes people wear. ====
 * 1) ==== No harmful objects can be taken to the feastival ; bottles, sharp objects etc: ====
 * 2) ==== Be mindful of the lorries or large trucks that carry the tomatoes. ====
 * 3) ==== Crush your tomatoes before throwing them so you don't hurt anybody. ====
 * 4) ==== At the second banger you must stop throwing tomatoes ====

Videos:
- [|This video shows what events happen and in what order] ====** [|News report in the middle of the festival] ** ====
 * [|Video of pictures at La Tomatina 2010] **
 * By Addie McKenna **