My desi community that is reading could probably guess where I got the idea to go to this. If you’re not desi, or you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s ok! Cause here’s a video clip from the movie Zindagi na Milegi Dobara:

First time watching this movie through I really was like wtf are these people thinking… and then I watched it again. And then all of a sudden... I’m in a line in Buñol, Spain to get my entrance bracelet for this festival. Crazy. On the bright side though, if you know anything about this movie, I told myself I would never run with the bulls as they do later on in this movie (I’m saying this now but I probably will). So what’s it really like being there?

We went in 2023, and let me preface this by saying no, it’s nothing like the movie (expected). It is very crowded, very packed, and very, very messy (expected).

To give some background, La Tomatina is an annual festival that’s literally known as the world’s biggest food fight. The festival began in 1945 after a fight broke out between teenage boys during a parade. Today, thousands of people arrive annually to participate in this.

How do you know when to start throwing the tomatoes? The answer is actually more batshit then you think it is. Someone has to grab a ham from the top of a greased pole, like this:

Cited: https://becausewander.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/bunol-spain-la-tomatina-the-worlds-largest-food-fight/

So yeah, actually batshit. But then you just start throwing tomatoes when the people in the big trucks throw them at you (pictured below). And then it goes on for like 3 hours, until a bell is rung. We left before the bell rung, because after about 30 minutes, it was definitely overwhelming. On the plus side, after we came out, there are several locals that offer to hose you down, and provide refreshments as you gather yourself.