¡Vamos a la tomatina!

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Rachel Acuff High School Spanish

Why should I take this virtual trip? By the end of planning your visit to

Spain, you’ll know all about a festival that takes place there each year…

Let’s get ready to go!

Quiz(Call your mom)

Directions Exit

Directions Let’s get ready to take a trip to

Spain. Before we go on our trip, we have to learn about where we’re going and what we’re going to do there. Answer the questions correctly to plan a fun and safe trip!

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Okay, we know that we’re taking a trip to Spain to participate in the Tomatina festival. We should make reservations for our trip. In which city will we stay? Buñol Pamplona

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¡Ay carumba! We’re not off to a good start for our

trip!

Let’s try that one again.

¡Sí! Vamos a Buñol, España. La tomatina takes place in Buñol, which is in the Valencia province of Spain. I wonder WHEN we should make our reservations. What do you think?

January August

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¡Ay carumba! We would freeze to death in

January!

Let’s try that one again.

¡Sí! August in Spain will be maravilloso! Beautiful weather, beautiful country. I should have thought of taking this vacation sooner. Do you know how long this event has been going on?

Since the mid 1800s Since the mid 1900s

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La tomatina isn’t quite that old.

Let’s try that one again.

¡Muy bien! The Tomatina festival began in 1944. It’s a relatively new festival compared to most in Spain. Now that we know where and when we’re going, let’s pack our bags. What should we bring?

Swimsuits Goggles and gloves

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We’re not taking a beach vacation! We’re going to

La tomatina!

Let’s try that one again.

¡Por supuesto! This is going to be a very messy vacation. It’s a giant food fight. What kind of food do they throw? Ham Tomatoes

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Nope! Ham plays a role in the event, but not this role. We’ll

learn about ham at La tomatina later.

Let’s try that one again.

¡La respuesta correcta otra vez! Yes, at La tomatina, as the name suggests, people gather in the streets to throw tomatoes at each other. Sounds like fun, right? The tomatoes come from the province of Extremadura where the tomatoes are cheaper. I bet getting hit with all those tomatoes really hurts, don’t you think?

YES! NO!Return to

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Uh-oh! You’d think it would really hurt, but it doesn’t. Go back to find out why.

Let’s try that one again.

No! It doesn’t hurt that badly because the law forces everyone to squish the tomatoes before they are thrown. There is another rule that we should know before we get there. Can you guess it?

No white clothing. No glass bottles. Return to

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¡Incorrecta! Unless you don’t care about staining your clothes, I wouldn’t wear white, but there’s

no law against it.

Let’s try that one again.

¡Qué inteligente eres! Glass bottles are not allowed to keep the participants safe. I wouldn’t suggest wearing white to this messy event, but there are no laws against that. We already know a lot about the event, but we don’t even know how it begins! How will we know to start throwing?!

An alarm sounds Lights flicker on and off

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Nope! Lights would work, too, I suppose, but that’s not how

they begin the festival.

Let’s try that one again.

¡Por sí! When the event begins, the city officials sound an alarm. They only sound the alarm, however, after someone climbs to the top of a greased pole and retrieves a ham. It sounds strange, but it’s true! Wow! The event doesn’t end that way does it? We’d be there for days!

No! Yes!Return to

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No way, José! It would be impossible to climb that pole

when you’re covered in

tomato juice.

Let’s try that one again.

¡Tienes la respuesta correcta! No, it doesn’t end the same way. After exactly one hour of the food fight, the officials sound an alarm to end the festivities. If anyone throws a tomato after this alarm, they will be arrested! I bet the city hates this mess, don’t they?

Of course they do!

No. They like it.Return to

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You would think they hate it, but they let the event

continue for a good reason.

Let’s try that one again.

¡Por supuesto! The city actually loves this event. After the streets are rinsed, they are clean from the acidity of the tomatoes. Now that we know all this, are we ready to take that vacation?

Not yet. I can’t wait! ¡

Vamos a España!

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¡Buenísimo! Let’s go to Spain and throw some tomatoes! Make sure call your mom and tell her all about it when you return!

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Welcome home! I bet your mom wants to know all about your

exciting vacation. Why don’t you give her a call?

Call mom.

Mom: Hi, honey! Welcome home! I heard your trip went well. Didn’t you go to Spain? Where city did you stay in while you were there?

B. Madrid

C. Buñol D. Valencia

A. Pamplona

A child should never lie to their mother! Tell

me the truth.

Go back and tell your mom the truth about

your vacation or you’ll be grounded

for weeks!

That sounds wonderful! What festival did you visit?

D. Carnaval

C. Cinco de Mayo

B. San Fermín

A. La tomatina

Fantastic! That sounds like it has something to do with tomatoes. What do you do with them?

D. You cook them.

C. You throw them.

B. You grow them.

A. You eat them.

I’d much rather cook or eat them, but I guess you young people love getting messy like that. I bet the government hates it, though, right?

C. No! They love it because the acidity of the tomatoes cleans the streets.

B. Yes, but the people love it so they let it go on each year.

D. No, they like it because they are able to get rid of a lot of rotten tomatoes that way.

A. Yes, they’ve been trying to get rid of it for years!

That does sound like a good idea, kind of. I guess I could squish some tomatoes in my kitchen while I’m cleaning and see if it does the trick. I hope you didn’t get hurt there with

all those tomatoes flying around!

D. Well, a little. Those tomatoes hurt when they hit you.

C. No way! I ran too fast for anyone to catch me!

B. Of course not! There are rules to protect the participants. No glass bottles are allowed and tomatoes must be squished before they are thrown.

A. Yes! Everyone gets hurt, but that’s part of the fun!

Well, it sounds like you had a good time! Maybe I’ll go on vacation with you next time you visit La tomatina. On second thought, all that

messiness would make me too nervous! I think I’ll just

stay at home. See you soon, sweetie!

Hang up the phone.

¡Felicitaciones! You’re an expert on La

tomatina.

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This messy event began in 1944 and continues today. Thousands of people travel to Buñol, Spain each year to throw tomatoes and have fun. This messy event serves to entertain the masses and clean the city streets. If you’re ever in Spain in August, you should check out this crazy event!

Standards

High School Spanish II.Standard Number 2 (Goal Two) Gain Knowledge

and Understanding of Other CulturesStandard Rationale – Learning Expectations:2.1 Demonstrate an understanding

of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.

Citations

Original image is “La tomatia” WordArt

www.abc.net.au/reslib/ 200708/r172653_651251.jpg myweb.uiowa.edu/jthoms/ images/tomatina1.jpg http://www.2camels.com/images/festival-photos/la-tomatina-3.jpg http://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/

vegetable_seeds_and_plants/vegetable_seeds/tomato_seed_abraham_lincoln/