In Spain, Pamplona has the running of the bulls, but Buñol has the running of the sauce.
The tomatoes fly freely during La Tomatina, a purely recreational tomato fight that's been held in the Valencian town since 1945. The yearly throwdown celebrated its 70th anniversary on Wednesday.
This year's event drew an estimated crowd of more than 22,000, according to The Associated Press. Some came in costumes, while others arrived in very little clothing at all. But as the images below show, soon everyone was wearing red.
About 175 tons of ripe tomatoes are dumped on the crowd, according to the Telegraph, leaving the streets and the participants awash in red pulp within minutes.Â
According to Vox, the festival itself has murky origins, but some historians tie it to public discontent during the reign of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. These days, it's more about fun (and tourism).
See photos of this year's La Tomatina festival, below:
-
Revellers covered in tomato pulp pose during the annual 'tomatina' festivities in the village of Bunol, near Valencia on August 26, 2015. Some 22,000 revellers hurled 150 tonnes of squashed tomatoes at each other drenching the streets in red in a gigantic Spanish food fight marking the 70th annual 'Tomatina' battle. AFP PHOTO / BIEL ALINO (Photo credit should read BIEL ALINO/AFP/Getty Images)
No comments:
Post a Comment