The epic La Tomatina food fight draws thousands to a small Spanish town

BUÑOL, Spain (AP) — Thousands of revelers descended on Buñol on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, where they were set to paint the small Spanish town red with up to 165 tons of overripe tomatoes.

The messy melee takes place over an hour in the town, where buildings are covered with tarps ahead of the festivities. Held on the last Wednesday of August, the festival traces its origins to a food fight in 1945.

La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction.

More than 20,000 people are expected to take part this year, with Spanish news agency, EFE, reporting this week that roughly 40% of participants over the past three years are tourists from outside Spain.

There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.

The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there on Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.

“I feel really great, actually. It's the best festival that I ever had, and I enjoy a lot here,” said Khokhar, who owns a clothing business.

Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.

Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.

Once the hour is up, the sound of a cannon blast marks the end of festivities and crowds wash off at communal showers nearby. The town's streets are later hosed down.

Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes' citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.

Revelers cheer ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Revelers from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

A reveler dressed in a tomato costume poses for a picture before the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Revelers Vigu, left, and Megha from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Revelers ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 26, 2026--

Star Mountain Capital, LLC ("Star Mountain"), one of the largest dedicated lower middle-market teams in the country with approximately $5 billion in assets under management ("AUM"), is pleased to announce that Adam Fitzner has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Strategic Portfolio Partner. Mr. Fitzner will support Star Mountain's continued growth by leveraging his expertise in private equity investing and operational value creation to strengthen and optimize portfolio company performance.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825727880/en/

Mr. Fitzner brings more than 30 years of experience as a private equity investor, board member and turnaround and restructuring advisor, working with more than 60 businesses across growth, transformation and complex situations. He has created many successful companies by building culture, developing high-performance teams, creating clear and aligned strategic plans and driving accountability. His experience spans a vast range of markets including industrial, business services, consumer, financial and technology-enabled companies, with particular expertise in founder, entrepreneur and family-owned lower middle-market companies and Qualified Small Business Stock eligible investments (IRC section 1202). Over the course of his career, he has successfully raised and / or invested over $3 billion of new capital and restructured over $5 billion of debt.

Prior to joining Star Mountain, Mr. Fitzner spent 14 years at Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners and Corinthian Capital Group, two lower middle-market private equity firms, where he sourced, executed and managed control private equity investments including identifying and executing strategic acquisitions. In these roles, he served as an investment committee member, led portfolio company boards and was instrumental in developing and implementing a standardized value-creation approach focused on culture and leadership, strategic planning, commercial growth, operational excellence, digital transformation, financial management and acquisition integration.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Fitzner spent 12 years advising companies, boards, private equity sponsors and creditors on operational turnarounds, financial restructurings, financings and mergers and acquisitions at Evercore (NYSE: EVR), Miller Buckfire (now a part of Stifel Financial, NYSE; SF), Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI) and Phoenix Management (now a part of JS Held). Across these roles, he helped management teams navigate complex situations, improve liquidity and operating performance and execute recapitalizations, sales and restructurings.

"Adam's combination of private equity investing experience and deep operational expertise in the lower middle-market makes him an exceptional addition to our team," said Brett Hickey, Founder and CEO of Star Mountain Capital. "His track record of building high-performance teams, executing value-creation plans and navigating complex business situations aligns directly with our mission of being a true value-add partner to the entrepreneurs and management teams we back."

"Star Mountain's focus on culture and people and its differentiated approach to the lower middle-market, including its advanced use of technology, breadth of lower middle-market solutions (debt, equity, secondaries, NAV loans and fund solutions) and its deep commitment to partnering with small businesses, represents exactly the kind of platform I have been interested in joining," said Mr. Fitzner. "I look forward to helping our portfolio companies reach their full potential and optimizing value for our management team partners and investors."

Mr. Fitzner earned a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, with dual majors in Finance and Marketing from Lehigh University where he was a Division I swimmer, team captain and recipient of the Coaches Award for team leadership. He also earned an MBA, cum laude, from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he was a Park Leadership Fellow. While at Cornell, he co-founded SightSpeed, a peer-to-peer videoconferencing business that was subsequently acquired by Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI).

About Star Mountain Capital

With ~$5 billion in AUM (committed capital including debt facilities as of 7/31/2026), Star Mountain specializes in providing scalable and data-driven investment solutions across two core strategies:

Star Mountain’s investors include public and private pensions, insurance companies, commercial banks, endowments, foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Employee-owned and sharing profits with 100% of its U.S. full-time employees, the firm prioritizes alignment of interests to maximize value for stakeholders.

Since 2010, Star Mountain has completed over 100 direct platform investments and 50 secondary / fund investments in the North American lower middle-market. The firm has been recognized as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies and a Best Place to Work by Crain’s New York Business and Pensions & Investments.

For more information, visit www.starmountaincapital.com.

Legal Disclaimer:

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interests in any investment product. Awards and recognitions by third-party rating agencies, companies or publications should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future results or performance. They should not be considered as an endorsement, recommendation or referral of Star Mountain Capital or its representatives by any client or third party. Rankings published by media and industry organizations are based on information provided by the recognized advisor. Additionally, readers should understand that past performance is not indicative of future results. Award descriptions and selection methodologies may vary.

Awards and Recognition Disclosure:

Star Mountain Capital’s awards and recognitions are based on third-party evaluations and criteria, which may be subjective. These honors do not imply a guarantee of future performance or an endorsement by current or past clients.

Ranking Methodologies:

 

Adam Fitzner, Managing Director & Strategic Portfolio Partner at Star Mountain Capital.