La Tomatina Festival - a Tomato Party In Spain

While I like to focus most of our articles on the great guys weekends and mancation ideas right here at home, there are of course plenty of super cool places to go and things to do outside of the US as well.

One of our readers, Roger LaPlante of Leesburg, Virginia sent this awesome account of his father and son (Joshua LaPlante) mancation trip to Bunol Spain for the Valencia region's annual "tomato party" known as the La Tomatina Festival.

My son Josh and I traveled from Washington, DC to Bunol, Spain (just outside of Valencia) to participate in the famous "La Tomatina" Tomato Festival in 2007.

We spent a total of 4 nights and 5 days in Spain. The first part of the trip we toured and enjoyed the American-friendly beaches, bull fights and bars of Valencia. The locals are extremely friendly there; they seem to particularly enjoy practicing their English chatting with Americans. There was also an international flavor to the population of Valencia at that time because of the popular La Tomatina festival; my son and I found it easy to meet and make friends with Australians, Brits, Germans, French, and, of course, Spanish people during our stay. By the 3rd night, we felt right at home in the city with our new found friends as we smoked a couple fantastic Cuban cigars and drank marginal Spanish beer with them.

Although it was not the official bull fighting season, we attended a wine festival which included the scary combination of an endless supply of free local wine with taking your chances with very angry bulls in a local bull arena. My son--either braver or more foolish than me--had his moment of glory when he cleverly avoided getting gored by a massive bull to the eruption of loud applause and cheers from the entire audience in the arena.

The morning of La Tomatina festival we arrived at Bunol, Spain at around 7:30 AM. We were told by the locals that the most intense tomato fighting was down near the square, where they had erected a large, greased pole about the size of a telephone pole topped with a ham. My son and I made our way down to the square and watched as locals tried to climb the greased pole to get to the ham.

After at least an hour of what appeared to be a futile attempt to get to this ham, a few locals actually made it and got the ham off the top of the pole. This triggered the beginning of the tomato fight. To the sound of loud cheers, water cannons began firing from platforms on each side of the narrow street as large trucks loaded with tomatoes began moving slowly through the dense crowds. Standing in the crowded street with little room to move we watched as a storm of tomatoes moved down the street and engulfed everybody and everything in its wake. Everyone was drenched with tomato pulp long before there was the opportunity to pick one up and throw it at someone.

The actual tomato fight was much more violent than I had expected--it was a real fight with flying fists and elbows. Within minutes any person with a shirt had it ripped off by locals and thrown into the air--this is probably why no women were in the square when the event began. The tomato fight was reduced to a sludgy wrestling match in minutes.

I had a local guy jamming tomatoes in my face so hard that he chipped my molar, so my old Marine Corps instincts kicked in and I was considering drowning the bastard in the foot-deep tomato sauce that was on the ground at that point! The fight only lasts an hour, but most people are thoroughly exhausted in minutes from the intense fighting. My son and I were quickly separated by the mob and did not reunite until the end of the fight.

Interestingly, when the horn sounded to end the fight, the same guy that had fought me so aggressively only moments before gave me a giant hug and shouted out "I love Americans!" Rarely do you see a happier person living in the moment.

Everyone-- exhausted and covered in tomato, but with smiles on their faces-- slowly paraded out of the town while being sprayed with garden hoses by local residents.

My son and I were reunited at the outskirts of Bunol, both laughing and covered in the remains of tomatoes. We spent the rest of the trip laughing and marveling over our adventures at the La Tomatina festival.

All in all I would have to say the friendly locals, the great food, beautiful sights, and of course the crazy tomato fight made it a father-son bonding experience that my son and I will never forget.

Author Articles

More from this author:

Nick's Great Adventure - Mexican Mancation (1998 Hits)
Mancation Blog > Misc Thoughts
There is more to taking a mancation than just going to some awesome place with your guy friends, it is also about doing it in a manly way. No I don't...

Adventures in Travel Expo Chicago (1282 Hits)
Mancation Blog > Expos and Events
This past weekend I had the chance to visit the Adventures in Travel Expo in Rosemont. Browsing fun and exciting opportunities from African Safari's...

How to Pack a Bag Like a Man (897 Hits)
Mancation Blog > Mancation Advice
Saw this post about How to Pack a Bag for Travel over at Art of Manliness and thought it was a very appropriate before your next mancation. While...

Combos Ultimate Mancation Contest (564 Hits)
Mancation Blog > Travel Deals
The guys at Combos have prepared a cool video to help get people excited about their Win a Mancation Contest. For those of you who might not have...

The Currency Commision - or How to Pay for Your Next European Mancation (2283 Hits)
Mancation Blog > Ways to Save Money
Recently I was contacted by The Currency Commission, a firm based Washington, DC and London. This company buys old money from European countries that...

Related Articles

Related Articles:

Catskill Mountain Bachelor Party (2440 Hits)

Mancation Stories > Bachelor Parties

This mancation story was submitted to us by Tim Woods, a Man Tripping reader who wanted to share with us a story about his annual mancation taking...

Playboy Mansion Summer Fling Party (1927 Hits)

Things to Do > Festivals and Events

If there is a single place in the world that it is safe to say that every guy has dreamed of visiting at least once, it has got to be the Playboy...

Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Festival Weekend (767 Hits)

Travel with Man Tripping > Guys Weekend

CANCELED / DELAYED - if you are interested, please contact us so we can let you know when it is re-scheduled. Ever been dragged to a wine...

Party at the Palms in Vegas with Macanudo Cigars (425 Hits)

Mancation Blog > Travel Deals

Macanudo, America's number-one-selling premium cigar brand is back with an awesome opportunity for the ultimate Vegas mancation with Playboy...

Bourbon Festival Mancation and Distillery Tours (1487 Hits)

Mancation Stories > Tours

The Bourbon Festival is held each year in Bardstown, KY and if you are looking for the ultimate mancation this destination comes pretty darn close....

Latest Articles

Latest Articles:

Grand Ole Opry - College Basketball Night (6 Hits)

Man Tripping Newswire > Events

We had the chance to stay at the Grand Ole Opry last fall and let me tell you, Nashville is a blast! If you are looking for an excuse to get out of...

Bike the Drive 2010 and Fairmont Chicago (79 Hits)

Mancation Blog > Travel Deals

There are a few opportunities around the country to do good, visit a great city, and do something out of the ordinary. Chicago's Bike the Drive and...

Help Welcome the River City Casino in St. Louis (71 Hits)

Man Tripping Newswire > Casinos

A casino opening is almost always a big event (after all they want to do whatever they can to attract you and your money!). Today's opening at the...

Finalists for Don't be a Tool Promotion (507 Hits)

Mancation Blog > Travel Products

We have picked the top five entries for our Don't be a Tool! contest and the entries include relationship breakers, farting dinner guests, and...

Three-O Vodka: Olympic Rings Cocktails (114 Hits)

Mancation Blog > Travel Products

Planning a party to celebrate the Olympics? Three-O has a cool set of recipes to get in the Olympic Spirit. This is one of the fun things that I...

Most Read Articles

Most Read Articles:

Searching for Bigfoot With Bigfoot Safari (32146 Hits)

Things to Do > Hiking and Camping

With all the news recently about the guys down in Georgia that claim to have discovered Bigfoot, and the relevation that those guys indeed run a...

404 (19387 Hits)

404: Not Found Sorry, but the content you requested could not be found You may be interested in looking for your article in one of the following...

Windsor Red Bull Air Race (12425 Hits)

Things to Do > Festivals and Events

Last year the Red Bull Air Race was split between Detroit and Windsor but this year apparently the host is just Windsor, though of course you should...

Back to the Future Chicago Cast Reunion (11197 Hits)

Things to Do > Festivals and Events

TV and movie cast reunion parties are always a great excuse to plan a mancation around, whether it is Dukesfest down in Atlanta, a Star Trek...

Wild Dunes Golf Resort in Charleston, SC (4230 Hits)

Places to Stay > Golf Resorts

The south east coast is littered with great golf resorts, but last year when I was attending a wedding on Isle of Palms I came across Wild Dunes and...