New Delhi: Google on Wednesday celebrated 70 years of world’s largest food festival, La Tomatina, by dedicating its doodle to the day.
The Google Doodle, created by Nate Swinehart, features an animated depiction of the revelry that about 50,000 people are expected to engage in on Wednesday — including the ham hoisted on top of a pole that must traditionally be untied and brought down before a single tomato can be thrown.
La Tomatina is a food fight festival, which takes place on every last Wednesday of August in the town of Bunol near to Valencia in Spain.
The festival first began in 1945, when a man was pushed off a float during the town’s annual parade. In a fit of rage, he picked up tomatoes from a nearby vegetable stall and began throwing them at everyone in sight.
A group of people repeated the act the following year, and although authorities tried to clamp down on the tomato-throwing initially, it became an official festival in 1957.
Wondering how many tomatoes are used? This year, the town plans for a record 150 tonnes of tomatoes from a place called Extramedura. La Tomatina 2015 will also be launching its first ever Tomatina Race, a tomato-based obstacle course.
The festival was initially free for participants from 1945 to 2012, but in 2013 the Mayor of Bunol imposed a 10 euro entry fee.
La Tomatina honours the town’s two patron saints, Luis Bertran and Mare de Deu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless), a title of the Virgin Mary.
Once the fight ends, fire-fighters wash down the streets and people with hoses. And surprisingly enough, the village looks quite clean after, all thanks to the tomato’s acidity acting as disinfectant.
(With inputs from agencies)