History of La Tomatina La Tomatina is one of those annual world events that attract enormous amounts and ever increasing amounts of travellers to Valencia. La Tomatina takes place in the normally sleepy village of Buñol about an hour from the city and is a magnet, not just for backpackers and young people taking […]
Bloody good fun It was hard to believe there were going to be any tomatoes at all. The main street was rammed with muchachos and chicas, buzzing while they waited for the battle, chanting ‘‘Ag-ua!’’ to provoke the residents on the roofs, then ‘‘To-ma-te’’, and of course the song ‘‘O-le, ole, ole, ole…’’, as […]
Buñol… Soaked to the skin La Tomatina (Probably the worlds biggest and certainly the messiest food fight). So when I heard that they were organizing a coach trip, I jumped at the chance to go. I have never experienced anything like it in my life, up to 40,000 people crammed into tiny streets. Mental! I mean I’ve […]
If someone asked you if you would like to spend a weekend living in abject squalor and inescapable heat whilst being surrounded on all sides by drunken strangers, there are few of us out there who would jump at the opportunity. However, this year around 150,000 people opted to gleefully immerse themselves in […]
Summer’s here. It’s hot inside and there’s nothing new on Netflix. So it’d be better to get outside, there’s plenty to do, especially given that it is festival season! If you’re already keen as mustard to get into it but you’re still going to be stuck in the city for a while, don’t worry! You […]
All the Fun of the Fair Valencia’s Fería de Julio will be 146 years old this year. When UB40, Salif Keita and Ara Malikian play concerts in the Viveros Gardens it will be light years away from how the Feria’s stuffed shirt originators would have envisioned things back in the late 19th century. To survive […]
The start of something new. More than 400 years ago Lope de Vega wrote “Salen de Valencia, Noche de San Juan, Cien coches de damas, Al fresco de la mar”. On the night of the 23rd June Valencians all over the region will be celebrating San Juan. The biggest parties are a day later down […]
VALENCIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Cinema Jove celebrates its 33rd edition in Valencia from June 23 to July 1 with cycles dedicated to Pablo Trapero and Urban Art • The Argentine director will receive the ‘Luna de Valencia’ award in recognition of his career. • The official section will give an overview of the burgeoning number […]
SAN VICENTE With the city all partied out and out of puff after Fallas, Valencia has never been big on Holy Week. Easter is a quiet affair around these parts. Some opt for a tentative pre-Summer trip to the beach in the patchy April weather. Others decide to get away to the mountains for fresh […]
This is what the city’s residents say; condensed for you by David Rhead and Jose Marín… The smell of cordite and the sizzle and crack of rockets. The smell of Buñuelos frying in the middle of the night. The smell of the Plaza de la Virgen carpeted with Spring flowers at four o’clock in the […]
