They opened the stadium for the craziest festival in the world! The tradition borrowed from Spain, taken to another level
Article by David Marinescu – published on Friday, June 6, 2025 23:34 / Updated on Friday, June 6, 2025 23:38
“La Gran Tomatina” is probably one of the strangest festivals in the world. Thousands of people go out on the streets and fight with tomatoes.
The event takes place every summer in the small city of Sutamarhan, Colombia. This year's edition was the one with the number 15, according to Torontolatinos. The amateurs also moved to the local stadium, a true “match”.
Photo gallery. What does “Gran Tomatina” look like, the big battle in Colombia
People go out on the streets of Sutamarhan and wait for the organizers to bring the approximately 100 tons of tomatoes. Then, for an hour they share their strokes and have fun.
The tomatoes must be very ripe to break easier. Also, participants take care to crush the red in hand to avoid possible incidents. The fun takes place including on the sports arenas in the city. They are seriously damaged by the tomato beat.
In order to be able to take part in the festival, the participants must go through an equally strange ritual: they have to climb a pillar as two floors covered with ham.
The festival represents a celebration of the community, the tradition and the economic spine of the city – the production of tomatoes. The festival stimulates local tourism, unites inhabitants and visitors.
In the end, people wash in the nearby rivers or with a hose brought by firefighters. The original tomato festival appeared for the first time in the Spanish city of Bunol, near Valencia, in the mid -1940s.
