Tomatina Ketchup 2011
The Spanish town of Buñol has successfully held another of its crazy events that fascinates people from around the world. The most amazing thing about this is that to the best of my knowledge there has never been a death arising from the madness.
I am writing this as a motoring topic because it takes place in one street that is only about four short blocks long, and it is a single one way lane that is barely wide enough for a large truck to pass through.
Add to that, about forty thousand people crowd into the street and get totally out of their minds, but not necessarily on alcohol. The reason we say that there are about forty thousand people is because this is the maximum number of people that can squeeze into the area.
As a lead-in to the arrival of the tomatoes the crowd gets hosed down with water to avoid heat stroke. Then the most dangerous thing takes place as the most massive trucks arrive filled to the top with tomatoes. This year has been a very good year for the tomato crops, being very large and sweet and juicy, that you might mistake them for fruit.
The truck enters the street at the far end, led by guides on foot, and it has to make its way down the entire length of the road that is so full of people that for individuals to move out of the way is very difficult as there is no place to go. The lower sides of the trucks are boarded up so as to make it difficult for people to fall under the wheels. However, when the tomatoes start flying the street becomes a slush of ketchup that make it almost impossible to stand up.
To make matters worse the truck will tip out the last half of its contents, people and all, and while this is all done in slow motion the danger level in the minds of health and safety people is off the scale. This routine is repeated five times.
It is a modern miracle that no one has been hurt or killed in the Tomatina, but when it comes to Spanish festivals, it they aren’t late at night, or incredibly loud, or totally good naturedly violent or deadly dangerous, what would be the point?
Who paid for the 120,000 kilograms of tomatoes?
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
The Spanish town of Buñol has successfully held another of its crazy events that fascinates people from around the world. The most amazing thing about this is that to the best of my knowledge there has never been a death arising from the madness.
I am writing this as a motoring topic because it takes place in one street that is only about four short blocks long, and it is a single one way lane that is barely wide enough for a large truck to pass through.
Add to that, about forty thousand people crowd into the street and get totally out of their minds, but not necessarily on alcohol. The reason we say that there are about forty thousand people is because this is the maximum number of people that can squeeze into the area.
As a lead-in to the arrival of the tomatoes the crowd gets hosed down with water to avoid heat stroke. Then the most dangerous thing takes place as the most massive trucks arrive filled to the top with tomatoes. This year has been a very good year for the tomato crops, being very large and sweet and juicy, that you might mistake them for fruit.
The truck enters the street at the far end, led by guides on foot, and it has to make its way down the entire length of the road that is so full of people that for individuals to move out of the way is very difficult as there is no place to go. The lower sides of the trucks are boarded up so as to make it difficult for people to fall under the wheels. However, when the tomatoes start flying the street becomes a slush of ketchup that make it almost impossible to stand up.
To make matters worse the truck will tip out the last half of its contents, people and all, and while this is all done in slow motion the danger level in the minds of health and safety people is off the scale. This routine is repeated five times.
It is a modern miracle that no one has been hurt or killed in the Tomatina, but when it comes to Spanish festivals, it they aren’t late at night, or incredibly loud, or totally good naturedly violent or deadly dangerous, what would be the point?
Who paid for the 120,000 kilograms of tomatoes?
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
