70th annual tomato battle paints Spanish town red

Thousands of half-naked revelers pelted each other with tomatoes on Wednesday in the town of Buñol in eastern Spain, bathing the streets with red goo in the annual “Tomatina” battle. A string of trucks laden with 170 tonnes of tomatoes rolled through the town’s narrow streets, as teams on board distributed their load to surrounding crowds for people to throw at each other during the hour-long festivities. The iconic fiesta – which celebrates its 70th anniversary and is billed at “the world’s biggest food fight” –  has become a major draw for foreigners, in particular from Britain, Japan and the United States. Reflecting its worldwide popularity, Google dedicated its search engine doodle to the fiesta.

There are countries where maybe people have a harder time expressing their feelings. The Japanese for example are very reserved, solemn, and transform themselves when they come here.

Mayor Rafael Perez

The paid-entry event was inspired by a food fight between local children in 1945 in the tomato-producing region. Officials tried to ban the event in the following years during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco – even going as far as arresting participants – but eventually came to embrace it. Spain’s tourism secretary named the Tomatina a “festivity of international tourist interest” in 2002 because of its popularity. The festival has inspired similar celebrations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and the United States.

Odd News la tomatina