La Tomatina and recession: Should celebrations attract an entry fee?

Chucking squashed tomatoes has become an expensive affair. In the Spanish town of Buñol, near Valencia, tourists and locals have participated in the tomato-slinging festival, La Tomatina, since 1945.

This year, for the first time, visitors were charged Euro10 for participation (Disclaimer: converting the amount into Indian rupees may not be a wise endeavour in this unhealthy economic environment).

The fee was introduced to limit the ever-swelling crowds, not to speak of the recession-hit economy. The recession just didn’t hit hard enough to altogether stop the crowds pelting (read: wasting) 130 tonnes of tomatoes this year.

The entry price for this tomato festival best captures the economic zeitgeist. A grim state of affairs indeed when one cannot squash and fling the plumpy, red fruit without paying for it.

The fee left many throwers disappointed, which was reflected in the dropped attendance of 20,000 people from 40,000 last year. Well, India can always extend a helping hand in these matters.

How about inviting the fellow Spaniards to partake in the Holi celebrations, which are free? An added attraction would be its multi-coloured nature in contrast to the red-only theme at Tomatina.

What’s more, we’ll throw in a bit of that traditional Indian tipple called bhang— absolutely gratis!