This year's "La Tomatina" took place as usual in the small Spanish town of Buñol west of Valencia. Thousands of festivalgoers threw tomatoes at each other and jumped, slid and splashed around in the red tomato paste that covered the streets and squares.

City Hall had handed out over 20,000 festival tickets. The organizers drove six large trucks and dumped 145 tons of overripe tomatoes on the expectant crowd, which quickly turned red.

Some (more experienced?) partygoers wore cyclops eyes. Several houses were covered with tarpaulins to protect walls and other things.

It is said that the festival originated in a local brawl in 1945, when young people allegedly stole tomatoes from a greengrocer and started a spontaneous food fight. During the 1950s, the Franco dictatorship banned the festival for several years, but in the 1980s there was a revival. Since 2002, ”La Tomatina” has been classified as part of Spain’s national heritage.

The tomato festival is now a colorful tourist attraction that attracts thousands of tourists and generates large amounts of income for Buñol.

Source: TT