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THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TOMATO FIGHT

WORLDWIDE 2004ISSUE #02$6.95

TRAVEL CULTURE>GST INCLUDED

COLOUR TEST COVER.qxd 24/6/04 9:48 AM Page 1

festivalofredfacesSOMETIMES YOU HEAR ABOUT

something that is so stupid, so pointless, that you just have to go and see it. La Tomatina is one such thing.

Billed as the world’s largest tomato fight, it takes place every year in the village ofBuñol in Spain. In just under one hour a crowd of over 35,000 people pelt some125,000 kilos of tomatoes at each other for no better reason than to have a bit of fun.

On the last Wednesday of every August,crowds gather in the early hours. Throngs of people arrive from nearby Valencia, mostsettling down to the serious business ofdrinking because, lets face it, no-one has a gigantic tomato fight sober.

The festive food fight happens in the Plazadel Pueblo, the main ‘square’, which is actuallyjust a wide main street. Along balconies androofs locals overlook the streets below, whichare packed with combatants, TV cameras andcurious onlookers. Sheets of plastic coatbuildings like some conceptual art installation.

In the centre of the street is a raisedplatform, enclosed with a wire cage. With less than an hour to go, two people inside thecage turn fire hoses on the crowd, soakingeverybody and people on the balconies start throwing buckets of water. While the intention is probably to douse anyonesuffering in the hot August sun, they insteadwhip the crowd into an expectant frenzy.

There are but a few rules for La Tomatina:no ripping of clothes, squash tomatoesbefore throwing them and no throwing afterthe last rocket signals the end of the fight.Needless to say there are plenty of idiotsfrom the international backpacker brigadewho ignore the traditions of the festival. Atone point three locals bemoan not the factthat their fiesta is so popular – Buñol takes a great civic pride in the numbers whotravel to their town for La Tomatina – but the fact that a minority of outsiders won’tplay by the rules, ruining it for all.

Now the place is packed. Moving a few feettakes a lot of squeezing through wet bodies.

Steve Davey gets splattered at Spain’s La Tomatina festival, the biggest food fight in the world.

#12 get lost! ISSUE #02 get in the know! The first legal Tomatina was in 1950, but it was then banned until 1957 when the civic authorities legalised it

text + images: steve davey

destination: buñol/spain

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ISSUE #02 get lost! #13

opposite: Every yearthe 10,000 people who

live in Buñol villagefind that theirpopulation has

quadrupled overnightas a multitude of

frolicsome ritualiststurn up to fling andlob tomatoes just for

the hell of it.

above: Wear oldclothes, bring heaps of

tomatoes and a maskor goggles to protect

your eyes.

Billedas the world’s largest tomato fight, it takes place every year in the village of Buñol, near Valencia, in Spain.get in the know! Tomatoes were first provided for ‘throwers’ by La Tomatina festival organisers in 1975 ISSUE #02 get lost! #13

www.getlostmag.com

section: get festive!


As 11 o’clock approaches, the crowd revs upand a rocket is fired, signalling the beginningof the famous La Tomatina.

A truck pulls into the street. It movesslowly but inexorably through the crowds, its juggernaut cargo loaded high on theback. Locals in fancy dress, known as

‘instigators’, sit atop the tray, which ispacked with ripe tomatoes. They pelt thecrowd. People try to get onto the truck, keen to score their own ammunition.

Halfway down the street the truck stops and the dumper slowly tilts up. Tons oftomatoes fall out onto pavement.

The mob closes in and the pile is quicklyshredded and flung around the street.Wherever tomatoes fall they are picked upand flung further. A flurry of red radiatesfrom the truck. Some people pick out targets, others throw wildly adding to theone-colour melee. The rich smell of tomatofills the square, as well as the ears, eyes and mouths of the crowd. Those wearingswim goggles are feeling smug.

When all of the tomatoes have been pureed,the truck lowers the dumper and drivestortuously away. Everyone listens out for therumble of the next delivery. It soon nosesinto the square and the frenzy ensues again.

In a lull between trucks I elbow my way to a sheltered enclosure. The fire hoses stillplay on the crowd, goading them to pelt thecage. Nearby, a couple of people are gettingfirst aid and a photographer is trying to dry his camera out in the exhaust of thegenerators powering the fire hoses.

#14 get lost! ISSUE #02 get in the know! More than 90,000 pounds of squashed tomatoes are used between 11am and 1pm

right: Get the right day!Tomato trigger-happyparticipants have onlytwo hours in which tohurl fruit and then thetown returns to itssleepy self.

below left: Revellers waitfor the tomatoes to flow.

below right: Enjoy a post festival drink in the main square.

The action has taken two hours and some 30 tons of tomatoes have been reduced to red slurry that is over a foot deep inplaces.

text + images: steve davey

destination: buñol/spain


Rules of La Tomatina:Although it looks like anarchy, there are

certain rules that the locals stick to; ignoringthem is pretty rude. On the town websitethe town council has posted the following:• Don’t carry bottles or anything else that

can cause an accident• Don’t rip t-shirts or clothes• Crush tomatoes before throwing them• Be careful of trucks carrying tomatoes• No tomatoes are to be thrown after

the second rocket is fired.

Details:Buñol is 30 km inland from Valencia,

Spain. La Tomatina generally happens on

the last Wednesday of August, although thissometimes changes. Check with the towncouncil on www.lahoya.net/tomatina.

Tomatina tips:

• If you are a woman, make sure that you are wearing something under your t-shirt– preferably a sports bra. Although youare not supposed to rip anyone’s clothing,someone is bound to do it.

• Wear old clothes and take a change. This can be stashed in a bar or withfriendly locals.

• Traffic can be bad – leave plenty of time or you’ll miss the fiesta.

• Swimming goggles will protect your eyes from stinging tomato juice.

• Take a cheap disposable waterproofcamera. Anything else will get wrecked.

History of La Tomatina

The festival is reputed to have originatedfrom a near riot that started after localyouths tried to take part in a civic parade.This ended up with a tomato fight,ammunition being taken from a localvegetable stall until police intervened. This near riot was not forgotten and the next year on the same Wednesday of August the youths of the town againmet at the square, this time bringing their own tomatoes. And so another battle started and once again was stopped by local police.

Getting tribal with South East Asia’s hill tribe festivals.

After the last truck has left the square arocket blast signals the end of La Tomatina for yet another year. The action has takenunder two hours and some 30 tons oftomatoes have been reduced to a red slurry that is over a foot deep in places.

The clean up begins. Plastic sheets comedown from buildings and streets are hoseddown. Thirty minutes later it’s hard to believe that La Tomatina ever happened,except for a straggling line of tomato-encrusted revellers making their way back to the car park and railway station, big grins on their very red faces.

la tomatina

SPAINPORTUGAL

FRANCE

valenciabuñol (bunyol)

madrid

barcelona

below: Get wet! Firehoses spray the crowdclean at the end offestive throwing.

get in the know! The festival coincides with peak tomato growing season in Buñol ISSUE #02 get lost! #17


#26 get lost! ISSUE #02 get in the know! the word ‘che’ is Latino for ‘hey you’ and ‘mate’. Some South Americans call all Argentines ‘Che’

text + images: david atkinson

destination: bolivia/south america

santa cruz

BRAZIL

BOLIVIAPERU

PARAGUAY

valle grande

la higuera

OutlawChe.qxd 24/6/04 7:57 PM Page 26

#26 get lost! ISSUE #02 get in the know! the word ‘che’ is Latino for ‘hey you’ and ‘mate’. Some South Americans call all Argentines ‘Che’



santa cruz

BRAZIL

BOLIVIAPERU

PARAGUAY

valle grande

la higuera

OutlawChe.qxd 24/6/04 7:57 PM Page 26

SEÑORA OCINAGA REMEMBERS THEday clearly: October 9, 1967. Shewas working her normal shift as astaff nurse at the Señor de MaltaHospital in Vallegrande when

soldiers arrived with the body of a renegadefighter executed that morning. The man waslaid out in the laundry, an outbuilding to thehospital, and crowds started to gather.

“I cleaned his body and put him intohospital pyjamas as his own clothes were inrags,” she remembers. “He had three bulletwounds, including one to the heart, but hiseyes were still open and alive. I thought helooked like Christ.”

It was weeks later she learnt that the bodywas that of the Argentine doctor turnedrevolutionary, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna,aka Che.

This winter, the residents of Vallegranderelived that fateful night with theinauguration of Bolivia’s new Che Guevaratourism route, timed to coincide with Che’sJune 14th birthday.

What’s more, with filming of the long-awaited and often delayed Che Guevara biopic- starring Benicio del Toro in the title role -scheduled to start shooting in the area duringthe forthcoming dry season, the spectre ofChe will return to haunt the town once more.

According to the star’s official website(www.beniciodeltoro.com), the film was

finally green-lighted in February this yearwith Steven Soderbergh in the director’schair and a tentative release date of 2005.

The Che tourism project, meanwhile, hasbeen championed by Care Bolivia, the SantaCruz-based branch of Care International, and has been several years in planning. “Wehave been working since 2001 to overseethe development of museums and improve

get in the know! Che was a great lover of chess and often had long battles against his idol and leader, Fidel Castro ISSUE #02 get lost! #27

the tourist infrastructure along the trail,” explains Jacqueline Peña, who heads the project for Care Bolivia.

“The idea is that funds generated will go directly into the hands of the localcommunity and benefit over 500 Guaranifamilies living along the route,” she adds.

Now, with the deadline fast approaching,

they’re close to completing their aim: aworking trail that follows Che’s footstepsduring the last few months of his life, tracinga route through south eastern Bolivia fromSanta Cruz via Vallegrande to La Higuera.

To see it all in action, however, you’ll beneeding a jeep, a guide and a sense ofadventure befitting of a revolutionary leader.Tracing the route, we drive four hours from

To see it all in action, however, you’ll be needing a jeep, a guide and a sense of adventure befittingof a revolutionary leader.

www.getlostmag.com

section: get lawless!

TRAVEL:ON THE TRAIL OF CHEIn the barren backblocks of Bolivia, David Atkinson discovers the world’s most famous revolutionary is making a spirited comeback.

OutlawChe.qxd 23/6/04 9:13 AM Page 27

Europe special – trailing wolves in the heart of Transylvania.

#28 get lost! ISSUE #02 get in the know! It is said that Che had a deep oedipal complex with his mother

Santa Cruz to Mataral, after which the road toVallegrande branches off to a steep incline ata crossroads where a girl in ragged dresssells chewing gum and sodas to passingmotorists. From Mataral the road degeneratesto little more than a dusty dirt track, while thescenery changes rapidly from lush, tropicalvegetation to rough scrub dotted only withcacti and the occasional roaming mule.

Vallegrande itself is a typically Boliviancommunity with the sun-bleached fascadesof colonial buildings grouped around anorderly central plaza. Overlooking thesquare, the Casa de Cultura contains atreasure trove of a room filled with black-and-white photos capturing the tumultuousevents that changed the face of this sleepyBolivian pueblo forever.

Across town, the formerly unmarkedgraves where the bodies of Che and hisfellow combatants were secretly dumped

are now a hive of activity. Their precisewhereabouts - a windy airstrip on theoutskirts of Vallegrande - were only revealedin 1997. Che’s body was subsequentlyexhumed and returned to lie in peace inCuba, but the site is now being prepared for a new Che museum.

Pushing on along the trail fromVallegrande, it soon becomes all too

apparent that, while Vallegrande is preparingitself as the hub for Che tourism, the otherpueblos en-route are still to get in on theact. Pucara, for example, appears little morethan a ghost town, while La Trigal is bereftof all life apart from a dodgy karaoke jointand some rabid-looking dogs.

Stopping for coffee and water, our arrivalis greeted with slack-jawed astonishment.The prospect of jeep-loads of greenback-laden gringos flocking from across the globeis probably enough to have the locals

locking up their daughters and reaching fortheir shotguns.

For Che purists, however, the Holy Grail isa dusty village two bone-shaking hours awayfrom Vallegrande along a rough dirt track thatwashes away to little more than a pot-holedmire at the first glimpse of the rainy season.It was here in La Higuera that Che was heldovernight in a ramshackle schoolhouse andsubsequently executed at dawn on October9th, 1967, by US-trained Bolivian troops.

Back the next day in Vallegrande we takethe short stroll down the street from thehospital to where Señora Ocinaga’s familynow run a sweet shop to say our goodbyes.On the way we take one last look at thelaundry outhouse where the world’s mediagathered to gawk at Che’s lifeless corpse.

As the late afternoon sunshine glances theslab where she cleaned Che’s body that nightback in 1967, one piece from the burgeoninggraffiti collection around the makeshift shrineto the revolutionary cause catches my eye.

It reads: “Che – alive as they never wantedyou to be.”

The prospect of jeep-loads of greenback-ladengringos flocking from across the globe is probably enough to have the locals locking up their daughters and reaching for their shotguns.



It reads: “Che – alive as they never wanted you to be.”


Kyoto, Japan

16th Century outlaw Ishikawa Goemon became famous when he tried to assassinateJapan’s then ruler, was caught and subsequentlyput to death in a cauldron of boiling oil. Visit a memorial to Goemon in Nodagawa, the village of his birth, walk the banks of Sanjo river inKyoto where he was killed or visit the Nanzenji Shrine where he is said to have hid while on the run. www.kyotoguide.com

Uttar and MadhyaPradesh, India

Nicknamed ‘The Bandit Queen’, Phoolan Devi wasa legendary female bandit whose career includedrobbery, ransom and massacre (of those whoreportedly raped her). Released after elevenyears imprisonment she began a political careerthat ended with her assassination in 2001. Checkout the wild Pradesh countryside where she andher gang roamed, visit her childhood village ofGorha ka Purwa or Bhind, where she surrendered. www.tourisminindia.com

Kaikohe/Waitangi, New Zealand

Leader, warrior and Maori hero, Hone Heke wasnevertheless considered an outlaw by Britishforces. One of the first chiefs to sign the Treatyof Waitangi in 1840, he was also the first to rebelagainst the Crown by cutting down the UnionJack flag. Visit Waitangi, scene of Heke’s flagpoleprotest, Waimate where he first met theGovernor, or Kaikohe where he lived out his days. www.kaikohe.co.nz

Sicily, Italy

Head to the home of Mafia where famous Italianblackmarketeer Salvatore Giuliano championedthe poor and fought for Sicilian independence.He was also involved in robbery, abduction,extortion and the murder of police agents whotracked him. Trek through the hills near hishometown of Montelepre where he smuggledgoods or see the courtyard where he was shotdead in 1950 in Castelvitrano. www.bestofsicily.com

get in the know! In 1965, Che spent time in the Congo, Central Africa, fighting a revolutionary war ISSUE #02 get lost! #29

Images 1 - 8 supplied by the National Museum of Australia. See www.nma.gov.au for details of its ‘Outlawed!’ exhibition now showing.

New Mexico, USA

Discover the Wild West state that hosted thebiggest and baddest outlaws including Billy theKid, Jesse James and the Wild Bunch headed byButch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. Check outBilly the Kid (above) at Lincoln or see where hewas shot dead by famed law man Pat Garret inFort Sumner. www.outlawtrails.com, www.newmexico.org

Nottinghamshire & Sherwood Forest , UK

Loathed by the rich, loved by the poor: legendarynice bloke Robin Hood is the most famous ofEngland’s outlaws. Check out the secret lairs ofSherwood Forest, the medieval town of Nottinghamand the outlaw’s supposed grave or visit ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey, home of Robin's legendaryarchenemy, the abbot. www.robinhood.uk.com

High country, Victoria, Australia

Beechworth, Euroa, Stringybark Creek andGlenrowan are just a few of the sites where youcan retrace Australia’s most famous outlaw hero,Ned Kelly. See where he was born, lived, fought,tried and the hotel where his gang made theirlast stand. Tours run by Beechworth Historic &Cultural Precinct. Bookings on 1300 366 321. www.visitvictoria.com

Chihuahua, Mexico

Visit the city made famous by Mexican outlawand revolutionary, Poncho Villa. Tour his formerhome (made into a museum by his widow) andthe spectacular Copper Canyon located nearby.Or dress up as one of the revolutionary’s possefor a snap-shot in front of his impressive statuein the town of Zacatecas . www.mexexperience.com

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www.getlostmag.com

section: get lawless!

MOST WANTED: OUTLAWS ON THE RUN


thaibeatF OR THE BEST PART OF THE 1980’s,

Shane MacGowan was the singer-songwriter of the folk-punk group

The Pogues. The wayward but charismaticMacGowan became something of a cultfigure with his poignant lyrics, formidable

drug and alcohol intake (he once said, “Youdon’t form a band to drink milk”) and thedeteriorating state of his dental hygiene.

In late 1990, The Pogues released their fifthstudio album, ‘Hell’s Ditch’, to mixedreviews. It would be the band’s final albumwith MacGowan at the helm. Becomingincreasingly estranged from other bandmembers and with his live performancesbecoming more unreliable and erratic,within twelve months he would be sackedby his fellow Pogues during a Sake-soddentour of Japan.

A number of the songs penned byMacGowan on ‘Hell’s Ditch’ are set in andwere inspired by Thailand, written during anextended holiday there. The first single fromthe album was titled ‘Summer in Siam’, thename by which Thailand was known until

1939. The accompanying film clip featured theband playing in a Thai bar, complete with akickboxing match and a female prostituteperched on a swing.

The laid-back, languid style of the tunereflects the beachside holiday that was its

backdrop. The Thailand of MacGowan’s lyrics is the ultimate escape destination: a place ofindulgence on beaches and in bars and aplace of stunning natural beauty, wheresunsets are savoured and “the moon is full of rainbows”.

Asked about his inspiration at the time,MacGowan described Thailand as his “newspiritual home” and explained that themessage of ‘Summer in Siam’ was a simpleone: “I’m out of my brains, I’m in Thailandand everything is in perfect harmony”.

MacGowan’s other torch songs for Thailandare littered with references to Singha Beerand Mekong Whisky. They tell of meetings in bars, a case of mistaken sexual identity and “hanging out on Pattaya Beach.”

For many fans, ‘Hell’s Ditch’ marked the endof The Pogues. The band’s post-MacGowan

era was relatively short-lived and yielded two largely forgettable albums.

MacGowan released two albums of hisown during the 1990's, backed by a newband named The Popes, and still toursdespite ailing health. He was in Australia

last year for a series of gigs, making thejourney with British Airways after Qantasrefused to let him on a Sydney-bound flightat Heathrow Airport. He remains a favouritewith the UK tabloid press, who happily filltheir pages with tales of drug and alcoholexcess and reports of his imminent demise.

Bangkok’s Patpong Road may be a long way from the Tipperary of his youth, butMacGowan’s connection with Thailand islasting and has been confirmed over theyears by repeated visits. He describes thecountry as one of the few places in theworld that he feels he can relax, saying in 1994: “I travel as much as I can. I’ve got a roaming spirit. I like places where the people are similar to the Irish: Thailand,Portugal, Spain. People who have a goodtime at any expense. I respect that.”

Travel inspires music. Music inspires travel. Damien McAloon unearths songs that wear their sense of place proudly on their album sleeve. First up, a postcard from Thailand courtesy of Shane MacGowan and The Pogues.

get in the know! Before forming The Pogues, Shane MacGowan was a member of a post-punk band called the Nipple Erectors ISSUE #02 get lost! #79

Finally found a place they could never reach Sipping Singha beer on Pattaya Beach

Singha beer don’t ask no questionsSingha beer don’t tell no lies – Shane MacGowan

www.getlostmag.com

section: get listening!

Get Listening.qxd 25/6/04 5:36 PM Page 79

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