Garden concert

Jo Pugh

THE stunning setting of Albarda gardens in La Sella, Pedreguer, will be the venue for an evening music concert on Tuesday, August 15. The concert features rock classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s, with covers from bands such as America, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and The Eagles.

The event begins at 7pm, and ticket prices are €15 per person. Tickets can be purchased online from jardinalbarda.com.

The event is hosted by Fundem, a private nonprofit organisation dedicated to the conservation of Mediterranean fauna

TICKETS are now on sale for La Tomatina ­ the crazy, fun filled tomato throwing festival in Buñol, Valencia. The event starts at midday on Wednesday, August 16 and tickets are €15 each.

The story of La Tomatina and flora since 1996.

The gardens are also open to the public, and are well worth a visit. They are open daily from 10.00am to 2pm, and 6pm to 9pm daily. Tickets are €7 per person on weekdays, with

Classic guitar tones

Credit: Jo Pugh children under seven free, and €9 at weekends and holidays. A family ticket (includes two adults and two children between seven and 14 years) is €15, and €22 at weekends and holidays.

Insane tomato time

began on the last Wednesday of August 1945, when some boys caused a participant to fall from a passing parade of floats. The participant, filled with anger, began to throw everything that was in his path. By a whim of fate, in the middle of it all was a vegetable stand which was used by the angry crowd to release adrenaline: those present began throwing tomatoes until the public enforcers put an end to this strange fight.

The following year, the young people deliberately repeated the altercation, even taking tomatoes from their homes. Far from accepting this event as a custom, the police prohibited it from being repeated in order to prevent it from taking root as a tradition.

The Tomatina was banned in the early 1950s, a decision that did not dissuade its participants, even though some were arrested. The people protested and the festival was authorised again, adding more participants every year and becoming more and more crazy.

ON Wednesday, August 9, at 10pm, the talented Pancho Varona will perform at the parador in Javea, as part of his Punto y Seguido 2023 Tour. Pancho Varona, renowned guitarist and composer, has collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the Spanish­speaking world, including Joaquín Sabina. His skill on the guitar is simply exceptional. He enthralls his audience with an evening filled with timeless Sabinero classics and captivating melodies in a magical setting. Tickets must be purchased in advance for €17 through www.entradi um.com.

Finally, the Tomatina was authorised and institutionalised as a local festival.

Over the years this celebration has drawn crowds from the rest of Spain. Since then, year after year, the excitement for it and the number of participants has grown. The overwhelming success led to La Tomatina of Buñol being declared a festival of interest in 2002.

Tickets sell out very quickly, so it is advisable to purchase them early. They can be purchased from the official website www.latomati na.info.

Buñol is located inland, west of Valencia.