La Tomatina: The day Spain turns red

Agencies Published August 27, 2015

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The streets of the eastern Spanish town are awash with red pulp as thousands of people pelt each other with tomatoes in the annual "Tomatina" battle that has become a major tourist attraction. At the annual fiesta in Buñol on Wednesday, trucks dumped 150 tons of ripe tomatoes for some 22,000 participants. The world-famous festival has been held in the Valencian town of Buñol on the last Wednesday of August since 1945.

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Satt

Aug 27, 2015 05:09pm

Lets play Holi with natural color's.There are lot of hungry people in the world,tomatoes are good source of Vitamins.

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Waste of Resources

Aug 27, 2015 05:23pm

Waste ?? no , they are a developed nation! who cares?

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Majid

Aug 27, 2015 05:35pm

Irony is when these ppl call us uncivilized..

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ashraf

Aug 27, 2015 05:37pm

insensitive and shameful!! please send all these tomatoes to Arica and Syria.

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Umair

Aug 27, 2015 05:37pm

Oh... They can afford playing 150 tons of tomatoes... Doesn't matter if someone under same sky can't afford even 1 to eat.

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Insanely Atheist

Aug 27, 2015 05:42pm

Why people are so hurt here,they are just playing their version of Holi. At least they are keeping it organic and natural.

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Observer

Aug 27, 2015 06:10pm

They waste uncooked AND we waste cooked.

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AHA

Aug 27, 2015 07:09pm

To me, wasting food is a very big sin.

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anwar siddique

Aug 27, 2015 07:20pm

People from poor countries would look at these photos with confusion. European countries are rich hence they can have this type of festival.

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abcd

Aug 27, 2015 11:18pm

shame on you people people in africa and south asia die due to hunger and you people who tend to be very humanity caring community do such activities. you place trade embargoes on these countries because they have child labour, if you send these tomatoes to these countries they won't have to work for their living.

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Aug 28, 2015 12:16am

@ashraf I agree. And the worse is that Spain is not rich anymore, Spain will have the same destiny than Greece very soon, the unemployment rate is very high, and life is more wealthy in Pakistan than for the spanish workers. It's a culture from ONE spanish city, so it would be good to avoid racist comments on this page as I read in some comments, not all European countries do that, and many pakistani in Europe are as good as European to waste food.

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Aug 28, 2015 12:17am

@AHA You're right, it's a big sin for christians too. @ashraf I agree. And the worse is that Spain is not rich anymore, Spain will have the same destiny than Greece very soon, the unemployment rate is very high, and life is more wealthy in Pakistan than for the spanish workers. It's a culture from ONE spanish city, so it would be good to avoid racist comments on this page as I read in some comments, not all European countries do that, and many pakistani in Europe are as good as European to waste food.

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Unshackle Pakistan

Aug 28, 2015 01:03am

Those who believe people don't have the right to waste what they own are probably socialist in nature. No one has a claim over the assets and productivity of another. If the plight of those who are less fortunate is too much to bear then voluntarily people can send help. No one's stopping anyone from doing the helping. Eating at a restaurant is also expensive and that money could have been sent to the poor as well. Some eat out and others play in tomato paste.

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Abdulla Hussain

Aug 28, 2015 02:58am

For some time I will not take tomato ketchup.

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holysmoke

Aug 28, 2015 03:15am

@Waste of Resources : Spain has swerious economic issues.!It should stop grwoing tomatoes to waste it on this bozarre "fun". Growing other food would help it improve its economy! No country become a "developed nation" and then stays in a holding pattern forever!

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holysmoke

Aug 28, 2015 03:17am

@Majid: The Tomato waste and siliness at least does not massacre fellow citizens! There's the comparison. Now, the running of the bulls and bull fighting is another story....

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holysmoke

Aug 28, 2015 03:28am

@anwar siddique : After all the colonies, the stolen wealth, subjugation, and exploitation, European countries are always on the edge of stagnation and use money manipualtion to stay afloat --bailing each other out! Example: British old people are going to poor countries with good health care to live because they can't afford good old Brittain and can't stand the South Asians Africans, and and Middle Easterners "invading" their beloved homeland!

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Omran

Aug 28, 2015 04:50am

@abcd , yes this is what we see sitting in the 3rd world countries, people playing in these festivals don't even know there are people living outside their country too...

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lala

Aug 28, 2015 07:22am

@Satt respect culture.

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Dar Tajamul

Aug 28, 2015 09:06am

uncivilized. destroying natural sources. Could have been used this natural source for those in needy. there are so many people in the world who are eating just one meal in a day, that too after pleading all the day.

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Keen Reader

Aug 28, 2015 10:24am

What a waste ...

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SAM

Aug 28, 2015 12:19pm

Looks like all the commentators forgot that these were OVER-RIPE tomatoes!!

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AASHISH

Aug 28, 2015 12:52pm

@Majid whats uncivilized in it? They are enjoying and capacity to have it.

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Imagine

Aug 28, 2015 02:52pm

imagine if they sent all those tomatoes to feed the hungry in asia and africa

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Satt

Aug 28, 2015 07:40pm

@lala I respect enjoyment and I gave a suggestion to play Holi with natural colors.You can also make natural colors from tomatoes and in that way you will require lesser tomatoes.There is lot of color fest's going in this world.

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reality bites

Aug 29, 2015 08:34am

Spain does have some very uncivilized traditions like this food wasting and bull fighting or bull run through the streets. This tomato fight festival is quite grotesque in light of famine across the Mediterranean in some African countries.

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reality bites

Aug 29, 2015 08:39am

@Unshackle Pakistan Your argument is completely unjustified. We all live and share the resources on this earth. Is it ok for Saudi Arabia to flood their oil in their desert or sea, just because they produced it?

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A lawyer

Aug 29, 2015 10:32am

What's the history, story, logic or custom of this practice ? Anybody knows ? I will not comment on it before knowing the background.

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AB Samii

Aug 29, 2015 09:50pm

we are thinking and calling them 'people who waste the world resources' , but they also think that muslims are wasting their money and resources on 'sacrifice of eid ul uzha' , why we don't give it to a funding organization which help poor. but the real fact is that we all should respect everybody's culture , whatever they are.

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Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Aug 29, 2015 10:17pm

There are millions of people unable to find food in many countries on the Planet. It is sad and shocking to know that people are wasting fruit, vegetable and food items in some parts of the world.

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M033d

Aug 30, 2015 01:15am

It is perceived as over indulgence to the naked eyes belonging to thoughtless brains. An occasion like this is part of tourism industry that brings in good chunk of money to not only balance the sheets but also generate profits. And even if it is being thought to be a free event; the money spent is worth the smiles and joy it spreads. It is still peanuts as compared to the money and resources that end up being abused by your politicians with no trickle down effect in place.

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Arif

Aug 30, 2015 06:51am

Non sense....and above all they love to teach others the lessons of civilization...Even if no one in the world needs these (which is clearly not the case) then still they have no right to waste the food..

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rehan

Aug 30, 2015 02:03pm

such a pity and a waste of tomatoes when in some parts of the world people are dying of hunger... sad

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