1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here there is a mother of 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: all food fights, and it is Lamentina Tomato Fight. This 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: is the largest food fight in the world and it 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: takes place on the last Wednesday in August each year 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: in the small town of Bugno, Spain, near Valencia. The 7 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: fight has gotten so huge that as many as thirty 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: thou participants descend upon bun Yol to hurl squished tomatoes 9 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: at each other. An entire week is dedicated to a 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: festival with music, food, revelry, and yes, lots of tomatoes. 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: On that Wednesday, you'll be hard pressed to get anywhere 12 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: near the town center where truckloads of tomatoes are brought 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: in for the big fight. But don't worry. From about 14 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: noon to one pm, chances are you can be just 15 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: about anywhere in town and still get in on the action. 16 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: No one is exactly sure about the origins of Lamentina. 17 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 1: There are stories of a food fight that broke out 18 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: between friends and escalated to a full town of fly 19 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: ing tomatoes. Other origin stories include anyone from a bad 20 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: musician to city councilman getting pegged with tomatoes. By angry 21 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,199 Speaker 1: towns people. One story was simply that a tomato truck 22 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: turned over in the center of town and people decided 23 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: to have a little fun in the aftermath. The most 24 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: commonly agreed upon origin has to do with a town 25 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: parade full of townsfolk wearing giant headed costumes sometime around 26 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: Legend has it, one of these human bubble heads fell 27 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: over during the parade after some kids tried to join 28 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: in and his costumed head was knocked off. He was 29 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: so angry that he started fight with any and all takers. 30 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: The local kids retaliated by raiding a nearby tomato stand 31 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: and assaulting him with the messy fruits. The following year, 32 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: the same kids re enacted the event, and it followed 33 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: as such year after year until it was a bona 34 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: fide town event. The city council and local police were 35 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: less than excited about it and attempted to stop it 36 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: at various points over the years, but they eventually embraced 37 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: it and the notoriety it brought to the small town 38 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: of just nine thousand people. If you want to take 39 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: part in the world's largest food fight, you better make 40 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: plans ahead of time. The sheer number of people who 41 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: come to Bunyol for lactomatina each year versus the actual 42 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: size of the town means that it's nearly impossible to 43 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: find accommodations there. Your best bet is to reserve a 44 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: room at a hotel or hostel in nearby Valencia. Trains 45 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: leave for bugnon about once an hour. You should also 46 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: heed the following unofficial rules. The start and end is 47 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: marked by firecracker. Respect the starting and ending times. You 48 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: must crush each tomato before you throw it, and avoid 49 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: hitting the tomato trucks. For the first thirty or so 50 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: years of the food fight, it was strictly a b 51 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: y O t affair. Since though, the ammunition has been 52 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: trucked in by Las Colorvarios di San Louis Bertron. Loosely translated, 53 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: this means the cavalry or army of San Louise Bertron, 54 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: the patron of the town of Bunyan. Roughly two hundred 55 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: thousand pounds of tomatoes are brought in for the festival. 56 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: That's about a hundred thousand kilos. The police are pretty 57 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: forgiving during the fight, as long as nothing violent happens 58 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: and the crowd seizes the fight immediately upon hearing that 59 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: second firecracker. After that, the partying continues and the clean 60 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 1: up begins. The tomatoes are hosed from the streets into 61 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: the sewer system. Locals and shop owners all chip in 62 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: on the hosing duties, but the majority of the washing 63 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,839 Speaker 1: away comes in the form of fire truck hoses. So far, 64 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: the town is reported no nefarious activity or injuries, and 65 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: those traveling to Bunnol have been respectful of the tradition 66 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: and its rules. If you plan on going to Spain 67 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: to take part in lacal Matina, you should heed the 68 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: following tips. Do not wear flip flops or any clothes 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: you care about. Don't throw any kind of non tomato 70 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: object in the food fight, including your own shirt. Do 71 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: bring a change of clothing, especially if you're traveling by 72 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: train to and from Bunyan. Also bring along swimming or 73 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: snow skiing goggles to avoid the sting of tomato juice 74 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: in your eyes. Make sure your phone and any other 75 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: devices like cameras are housed in watertight casings. And finally, 76 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: know that there are no spectators at Lacol mcdena. If 77 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: you're there, prepare to leave Red. Today's episode was written 78 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: by Charles W. Bryant and produced by Tyler Clang. If 79 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: you haven't checked out Chuck's new show, Movie Crush, you 80 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: can find it anywhere the podcasts are found. Brain Stuff 81 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. 82 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: For more in this and lots of other structured, le 83 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: messy topics, visit our home planet, how stuff works dot 84 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: com and for more podcast from My heart Radio like 85 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: Movie Crush, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 86 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.