Spain's Tomatino festival returns after 2 years: What is it
krishna murthy
Since 1945 it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol.
This year, thousands of revellers hurled some 130 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes at each other in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol, as the "Tomatina" festival celebrated its 75th edition after a two-year lapse due to the pandemic.
It is believed to have started after a fight near a market in 1945. It became an official festival in 1957.
In 1950s, it was banned for a while at the height of General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship but survived to gain popularity across Spain in the 1980s.
It may be recalled that Zoya Akhtar's 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' had popularised the 'La Tomatina' festival in India.