The world's biggest food battle erupted yesterday in the eastern Spanish town of Buniol, where thousands of revelers traded some of them with tomatoes as they jumped amid the red paste that covered the ground under their legs.
The municipal council has distributed more than 20,000 tickets to the annual festival this year, which was attended by a large number of foreign tourists and Spanish citizens.
There were rumbling cries as six trucks carrying 145 tons of tomatoes crossed the streets of Bunyol, and organizers threw ripe fruits into the crowd, which quickly turned into a pink and red sea.
Some of the participants wore glasses to protect their eyes. Many buildings were covered with tarpaulins to preserve their walls, while tomato paste covered other buildings, making the scene worthy of a painting of modern art.
The festival, known as Tomatina, is said to be due to a spontaneous quarrel between villagers in 1945.
The festival was banned for a time in the 1950s at the height of General Francesco Franco's rule, but returned in the 1980s and was popular across Spain, and now attracts large crowds of visitors from home and abroad.