All started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent the time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. The young boys decided to have a place among the retinue of a parade with musician, Giants and Big-Heads figures.
The energy of these young people made that one participant fell off. The participant flew into a fit of rage, started to hit everything in his path. There was a market stall of vegetable that felt victim of the furious crowd: people started to pelt each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended that vegetable battle.
The following year, young people picked a quarrel by their own decision and brought the tomatoes from home. Although the police broke up the early tradition in the following years, this young boys had made history without being conscious about it. La Tomatina was banned in the early 50s, which was not a problem for the participants who were even arrested. But the people spoke and the festivity was again allowed with more participants and more frenetic feelings.
The festivity was again cancelled till 1957 when, as a sign of protest, the tomato burial was held. It was a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a huge tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band which played funeral marches and it was totally successful. La Tomatina Festival was finally allowed and became an official festivity.
As a result of the report of Javier Basilio, broadcasted in the Spanish Television Program called ‘’Informe Semanal’’, the festivity started to be known in the rest of Spain.
Since then, year after year the number of participants and the enthusiasm for La Tomatina is growing rapidly. The success has led Buñol to be declared in 2002 Festival of International Tourist Interest by the General Secretary of Tourism.
Due to the large amount of people and, to ensure safety of the attendees, since 2013 the access to La Tomatina is restricted so, to enjoy the party it’s mandatory to buy a ticket.
Since then ticketstomatina.com is official tour operator of the Tomatina.