La Tomatina 2027

Traditions

What actually happens

• Palo jabón — climbing a greased pole to retrieve the ham that starts everything.
• The hour itself — trucks, tomatoes, and no rules beyond 'squash it first'.
• La bajada — the closing hose-down, and the search for anything you lost.
• The week around it — parades, fireworks and a paella contest on the eve.

Food

The table, widened

• Paella valenciana cooked over orange wood in the plaza the night before.
• Local manchego, horchata with fartons, and a great deal of cold beer.

Music

Sound of the crowd

Brass bands walk the streets through the week; a DJ runs the plaza on the night itself. The soundtrack for the hour is 22,000 people screaming and nothing else.

Religion

Why this date

The date belongs to San Luis Beltrán, Buñol's patron saint, which is how a food fight survived Franco's prohibition of secular festivals. The religious element is now vestigial — the saint's day still opens the week.

History

How it survived

Reinstated in 1957 and documented from 1975, when a report by a Spanish journalist brought national attention. Ticketing and a hard cap were introduced in 2013 to cap attendance at 22,000.