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Food fight! Tomato battle paints Spanish town red (pics)

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Thousands of people have pelted each other with tons of ripe tomatoes, creating a red, mushy mess in the annual “Tomatina” street battle in eastern Spain.

At the fiesta in Bunol on Wednesday, 160 tons of tomatoes were offloaded from six trucks into the crowd packing the town’s streets for the hour-long battle that attracts many foreigners.

The fight leaves the participants — many donning swimming goggles to protect their eyes — and the town’s streets drenched in red pulp. Organizers then hose the streets down within minutes of the event ending at noon, while participants can use public showers.

The paid-entry event was inspired by a food fight between local children in 1945 in the tomato-producing region.

Some 20,000 people were expected to take part in this year’s fight.

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. The streets of an eastern Spanish town are awash with red pulp as thousands of people pelt each other with tomatoes in the annual "Tomatina" battle that has become a major tourist attraction. At the annual fiesta in Bunol on Wednesday, trucks dumped 160 tons of tomatoes for some 20,000 participants, many from abroad, to throw during the hour-long morning festivities. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. The streets of an eastern Spanish town are awash with red pulp as thousands of people pelt each other with tomatoes in the annual "Tomatina" battle that has become a major tourist attraction. At the annual fiesta in Bunol on Wednesday, trucks dumped 160 tons of tomatoes for some 20,000 participants, many from abroad, to throw during the hour-long morning festivities. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. The streets of an eastern Spanish town are awash with red pulp as thousands of people pelt each other with tomatoes in the annual "Tomatina" battle that has become a major tourist attraction. At the annual fiesta in Bunol on Wednesday, trucks dumped 160 tons of tomatoes for some 20,000 participants, many from abroad, to throw during the hour-long morning festivities. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

The Associated Press contributed to this article. 

About the Author

Stephen is a U.S. Army veteran with over a decade of combined experience in political commentary, economics, and news.

Comments

  2. Arthur Hartsock says

    At least this gross way of having fun doesn’t harm anyone. The real fun for those of the right age group is cleaning up afterwards, and peeling off the wet clothes. Wish I was young enough to consider joining them.