Zoya Akhtar’s 2011 release Zindagi Na Milegi Na Dobara did not just set travel goals for Indians in their 20s and 30s, it also opened us up to never-seen-before facets of Spanish culture. La Tomatina, one of Spain’s most iconic tomato-throwing festivals, was portrayed in frame in the Ik Junoon (Paint It Red) song in the film. Drawing inspiration, India is all set to host its first Toma Terra festival in Hyderabad on Sunday, May 11.
However, netizens have expressed outrage citing concerns over food wastage in a country like ours where hunger and poverty regularly make headlines.
“Doesn’t sound like a good idea for India. Do we have an excess of tomatoes in India? We could use them to feed the many people in desperate need for food instead,” commented an Instagram user on a post announcing the event. Another wrote: “I mean why bring a wasteful practice here to India? We should be championing sustainability, instead. People don’t have enough water, there are farmer suicides and you want to waste a perfectly good food product just so that some people can have fun?”
As we pore over India’s decision to embrace Spanish culture, let’s learn about the rich history and cultural legacy associated with this small-town tradition that has now evolved into a global phenomenon, popular among locals and tourists alike.
According to tomatina.org, La Tomatina is an annual festival held in the small town of Buñol, located in the Valencia region of Spain.
“While its exact origins are somewhat unclear, the festival is believed to have started in the mid-20th century. Some say it began as a spontaneous food fight among friends, while others attribute its beginnings to a local dispute that escalated into a full-blown tomato battle,” reads the official website.
The earliest recorded mention of was in the 40s during Buñol’s traditional festivities honouring their patron saint San Luis Beltrán. People throwing tomatoes at each other in youthful exuberance quickly caught on among the rest of the crowd, and this event became a part of Spain’s cultural history.
Today, La Tomatina is celebrated on the last Wednesday of August, and the event begins with a palo jabón, a greased pole climbing contest, followed by the tomato battle in the town square. Trucks full of tomatoes are unloaded onto the streets, and participants squish the fruit before throwing them at one another in chaotic fun.
