La Tomatina (Tomato Throwing) Festival - Craziest Festival Ever

La Tomatina (2011)

I can still hear the endless chants rumbling from the sides of my head like a sacrificial tribal encantation...tomatina...Tomatina...TOMatina...TOMATINA...TOMAATINAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! And that it was. I still cannot believe it's almost been a year since my Europe trip (and I've obviously failed in blogging) but I need to get this entry down...for Tomatina at least. Because this was one of those unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime memories that will forever be etched in the confines of my mind. Although it has already been nearly a year now and many of those minute details have already been erased...I still do remember the majority of how it went (for now) and I must write it down for preservation purposes (because we will forget the smaller things, albeit very important, sooner or later in life). 

So...as I remember it...I remember hearing and seeing this "Tomatina" festival as a kid watching MTV in the good old days when they showed those crazy Spring Break videos and the Tomatina festival was one of them. It was literally one of the craziest things I'd ever seen because you'd just see a sea of RED and people going crazy like they were all on Ecstasy or something. Who would've thought that in 10+ years time...I would have the opportunity to partake in this massive festival of craziness as well? Well...it just so happened that my Study Abroad trip in Spain coincided with the timing of the Festival as well. And this is something that you just have to do once in your lifetime...especially when the opportunity is right beneath your nose...even if you have a Final Exam the NEXT DAY. And yes...those of us who decided to go to Tomatina did indeed have a Final Exam the next morning...but it's Tomatina...even if aliens were invading Earth and vaporizing the face of mankind, I would still be there in Bunol holding a tomato in one hand and a beer in the other. 

Originally, a bunch of people from our program were planning on going to Tomatina but that number got sliced in half when we found out that there was a Final Exam the next morning. And the professor said he was going to offer a "review session" the day of Tomatina where students would also get "extra credit points" for attending so that made people question the idea of going to Tomatina even more. Eventually, the brave last standers ended up being the older folks (4th and 3rd years) who "cared" about their grades but not as much as the 1st or 2nd years. To put it out truthfully, we could've cared less about some "review" or "extra credit" (although I'm Chinese and I'd kill for extra credit), but this was the Tomatina Festival and when else would we get the opportunity to do something as crazy as this? Probably never. And plus, the Final Exam was "open book" and our grades were already pretty good at that point. So in the end, the Tomatina crew ended up consisting of : Me, Johnson, Peggy, Winnie, Jimson, and Lisa.

But there was also another problem...how do we get there? It was actually pretty complicated because we planned it so last minute and getting there was a bit difficult as well. I just remember spending hours researching possible methods of getting there but there wasn't that much detailed information online. A lot of people actually take a tour bus that brings you to Bunol (where the festival takes place) just for the Festival and picks you up again, but that was a bit too expensive for our college budgets. A few nights before Bunol, we actually found a "Tomatina tour bus" that would pick us up a few blocks from our hotel in Madrid and drive us all the way to Bunol...and it was pretty cheap. The hotel receptionist (I forget her name but she was the nicest ever) called this company for us at 1AM in the morning, and they said we would have to do a "cash wire transfer" to one of their bank accounts. Oh hell no. Especially not in Spain. Actually, we were hella stupid because we actually thought about doing it at first...and then we slapped ourselves and decided not to. After countless hours of more research, we found out there was a bus that goes to Valencia from Madrid (by a legit bus company). So that was what we did (and because tickets were limited, we had to split up and meet up in Valencia). We basically took a taxi at around 11PM to the Madrid bus station...tried sleeping on a 5 hour bus ride to Valencia but failed because the bus driver blasted and was singing along to some Spanish oldies...then took a cab to one of the Valencia train stations and waited there for a few hours until 6am...boarded a train packed of Tomatina'ers...and we finally arrived in Bunol at about 7AM.

Outside the Valencia Train Station ~ 6AM

On our way to Bunol...crazy tired but met a bunch of cool random people

Finally arriving in Bunol ~ 7AM.

TOMATINAA!!!! Well...not quite...by the time we arrived to Bunol at around 730AM, we were mad tired a nd in no mood to shower ourselves in tomatoes. I wanted a nap. Rather, I wanted to SLEEP, but as the sun crept up and people started filing into the city...there was no time nor room for sleep and we just wandered around in our zombie-like moods. But that all changed as the start of the festival started getting nearer and nearer and we got more excited by the minute. After storing all our clothes and valuables in a ghetto storage locker, we proceeded to follow the crowd downtown to where the festival was held. Now, just a quick background information on Bunol...it's a city of about 9000 people but it jumps to around 50000 for that one Tomatina day. You could see people from all over Europe...all over the world...speaking in their own respective languages. But we all had one common goal: throwing and chucking tomatoes at each other for that one hour of madness.

As we headed downhill towards the epicenter of Tomatina, you could see people selling beer from every street corner and everywhere else. People usually come the night before (to Valencia) to party and drink before the main festivities, so we decided to buy a few beers to sip on before everything started (turned out to be a bad idea...explanation later to come). So as 9AM approached, a horn blows (I think) which signifies the start of the event. Firstly, before the trucks full of tomatoes come charging into town, a piece of ham needs to be retrieved atop a pole. But it's not as easy as it sounds because that pole is 50 feet tall and is GREASED UP. We watched from about 50 feet away as guys (and some gals) attempted to climb the pole and failed miserably time and time again. There was one guy who almost reached the top but was a stupidass and tried to get a picture in and in the process, fell all the way back down. It's pretty interesting for the first 30 minutes, but it gets kind of tiring as you're just anxiously waiting for someone to get the damn ham so the "real festival" actually starts. In the end, I think 2010 Tomatina was an epic fail for the "Ham" because no one actually fetched it. After about an hour and a half, the Tomatina committee just gave up on us and released the trucks anyway. 

One of many ghetto "Storage Facilities"

Failllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

It did take the trucks quite a while to reach us, but part of the fun was the "wait" and the crowd and atmosphere. We were literally squished like a can of sardines...there was no movement and you had to fight your way to get through the crowds. And let me refer back to the "beer" comment because you don't want to drink that much beer because you'll need to use the restroom.My friend Jimson whose bladder was about to explode needed to use the restroom right before the trucks came and so he frantically left us to go look for a toilet (he eventually and miraculously came back to find us just as the trucks started to roll in). The reality is that...because you literally cannot find a restroom nearby and you can't move around anywhere...people resort to just pissing on themselves or on the ground. No one notices in that crowd, especially when the trucks full of tomatoes come rolling in and chaos reigns...It is definitely sick because you'll see people "bathing" in the tomato-soaked streets afterwards...which is mixed with a combination of tomatoes, piss, spit, and other nasty things.

But onto more fun and less sickening ideas...the atmosphere is just CRAZY. Most people have been drinking and really get into the "moment," especially the Aussie crowds. You'll hear people chanting like they do at soccer games and screaming at the top of their lungs as gallons of water are sprayed onto the crowd from a fire hose (it was almost like a water park at the same time as well). And if you're a girl and you are sitting on some dude's shoulders...there is a 100% chance that the crowd will pinpoint you and ask you to FLASH them. So even before the tomatoes came...it is already a crazy party in itself...but when the trucks did come...all that I remember was TOTAL CHAOS...

You could just hear the trucks coming from a distance...as evidenced by the majestic roar of the crowd and the frequent blowing of the trucks' horns...just imagine the big fight scene in the movie "300" and replace the Persian Army with the Tomato Trucks and Spartans with Us. And just imagine the epic 300 soundtrack playing in the background with slow-mo action as tomatoes are flying from left and right. EPICNESS. Truck after truck after truck would pile down the streets as people raided and climbed onto the trucks like savages...and the fight was ON. And let me tell you something...TOMATOES HURT! Imagine throwing an orange at someone (not as hard as an orange) but they do hurt like crazy. And I just want to warn you if you're a small asian girl (like my one friend) girl, you will be pushed and shoved around like a beanbag in this war between men versus tomatoes...it will not be friendly. In a matter of seconds...you could see the entire street change from clear to crimson red...just like a bloodbath. Actually, that is a pretty good way to put it...we were all almost like zombie savages in need for blood and the only way we would be able to get it was from chucking tomatoes at each other and the end result was a street full of weary and half-dead people drenched in red...looking for a way out. Good analogy, David. It was only an hour long but it seemed like a decade. Thank god it was only an hour long because any longer and I think there would've been serious injuries and possibly, the Tomato Disease. 

We walked to the end of the street to find public showers awaiting us as we quickly rinsed off and tried to locate the rest of the group (because some of us got split up). And that walk back up the hill was the longest walk of my life. Baking in the hot sun and still with bits of tomato in our ears, we became the definition of Sun Dried Tomatoes. 

Sick....you have no idea what's in that "Tomato Sauce."

See you later Tomatina!

Tired...drained..and .wrenched of "Sun Dried Tomatoes"

As we regrouped at around 3PM...we each bought a Tomatina t-shirt for memories and headed out of Bunol. We decided to take the train back (as there were no buses) and the only thing I remember from that train ride was getting on...and getting off...because I just KNOCKED THE CRAZY OUT. We all got back to Madrid on time...still wrenching of tomatoes and wearing the same set of clothes...and then proceeded to take the best showers of our lives when we got back to the hotel...and finally began studying for our final we had the next day.