Written by United Planet Team Member Alyssa

For those of you currently in the Valencia region of Spain, make sure you have a change of clothes and your goggles ready! As the last Wednesday in August, the famous “Tomatina” tomato fight will be held today in the city of Buñol.

Starting late in the morning, a greased pole is raised holding a ham at the top. Participants then fight to get the ham off of the top climbing their way up in any way possible. When the ham is finally removed, water cannons are fired signaling the start of the main event. Thousands of tomatoes are brought into the square and are thrown by participants at any available target. For about an hour, all you will see are tomatoes flying and spatters of red all over the square. Eventually, a second blast is fired from the water cannon signaling the end of the fight. At that point, the party continues throughout the city with music, parades, dancing, and fireworks.

This event is believed to have started in 1945 and has many theories on why it began. Some include a food fight among friends, a parade being pelted with tomatoes, a bad musician being hit with tomatoes causing a frenzy, or even the aftermath of a truck spill. The event has been carried on over the years, stopping only during the reign of dictator Francisco Franco, and beginning again after his death. Recently, the event has drawn nearly 40,000 visitors to Buñol to participate in the festivities.

Some suggestions to people traveling in for the day:
- Definitely bring a change of clothes if you are coming in to the event by local transportation. The drivers of buses and trains will not allow travelers on with dirty clothes.
- Goggles are highly recommended. The acidic tomato juice is not a fun thing to have enter your eye which is bound to happen with thousands of tomatoes flying.
- Wear shoes that will protect your feet and have a good grip. As you can imagine, tomatoes get very slippery.
- Have fun! There are no winners and no losers, just lots of friendly people looking to have a good time.

If you can’t make it to Buñol this year, stop by on the last Wednesday of August next year and it will happen all over again!

Photos taken by United Planet Volunteer Ann Marie Barron

Ann Marie has recently returned from a memorable volunteer abroad experience in Cusco Peru; working at the after school clinic named Quinta Carmen these are just a few of the stunning pictures she has chosen to share with us.

To plan you own trip to Peru visit us at our website.

Plan your own trip to Ecuador by visiting our website.

Written by United Planet Team Member, Alyssa

The festival of Bumba Meu Boi in the city of Sao Luis in Maranhao, Brazil lasts from late June until the second week of August. A fusion of African, Indian, and Portuguese cultures, the event revolves around the story of the ox’s death and resurrection. Performers flock to the streets dressed as oxen and mythological creatures to tell the story through song, dance, and capoeira (an art form native to Brazil combining martial arts, song and dance).

The story begins with a rich farmer who gives his favorite ox, or boi, to his daughter as a present. A trusted farm hand is given the responsibility to watch over the ox and protect it. One day, the farm hand’s pregnant wife has a craving to eat the tongue of this prized ox. She convinces her husband to kill the ox for her, but when his actions are discovered he is brought to trial and sentenced to death. Before the husband’s execution date, the ox is magically resuscitated; the farmer is then pardoned for his crime and reunited with his love.

In northeast Brazil people begin rehearsing as early as Easter for this magical festival. Local schools compete for the year’s best presentation; the prize: a year’s worth of bragging rights. The area’s many parades and events draw thousands of people to the festival each year to celebrate Brazil’s diverse cultural influences.

Written by United Planet Team Member, Lucille

For 96 years, daring cyclists have braved the 3,5000 kilometers of this 21 day race.

This year, the race was made up of 10 flat stages, seven mountain stages, one medium stage, two individual time-trials, and one team time-trial stage.
The most famous, if not challenging, bicycle race in France is also exciting for television viewers who get to see stunning French landscape as the cyclists pass by. TV announcers often discuss cultural aspects of the regions while commenting on the race.

Each year, people all over the world follow the results of the Tour de France and try to guess who is going to win the legendary maillot jaune, which is given to the cyclist with the best finishing time. But, the one who is wearing this famous yellow jersey is not necessarily the one who wins the race of the day. Although the yellow jersey is very important, and denotes the overall winner, it is not the only jersey you can win in the Tour de France. Cyclists also race for the maillot vert (green jersey), the maillot a poids (red polka dot jersey), and the maillot blanc (white jersey). The green jersey is given to the cyclist with the highest number of sprint points which are, depending on the stage, given to the first ten to twenty-five riders that finish. The red polka dot jersey is for the best climber, or “King of the Mountains,” which is the first person to summit designated hills and mountains. The white jersey is for best youth cyclist, classified as under 25 years of age. There are also special jerseys such as the yellow bib for the team ranking, and a red bib for the most combatant rider which is decided by a jury.

Now for the results! This year, the yellow jersey was awarded to Alberto Contador of Spain, the Green jersey goes to Thor Hushovd of Norway, and the best climber is Franco Pellizotti of Italy.

All the cyclists dream of winning at least one stage but there is one stage that stands out among the rest as boasting eternal glory: the final stage! This year, Mark Cavendish was first to summit the Champs Elysses. The first one arrive at the Champs Elysees was Mark Cavendish. Cavendish won five stages this year, which has not been seen since Lance Armstrong in 2004!

Congratulations to all the brave cyclists! We’ll see you next year!