People in red: thousands hurl tomatoes in Spanish food fight
Revellers throw tomatoes during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino Kalis
BUNOL, Spain (Reuters) - Thousands of revelers hurled some 145 tonnes of tomatoes at each other on Wednesday, celebrating the messy annual Tomatina festival in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol.
A fire cracker signal marked the start of the massive food fight at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) and during the next hour, six trucks loaded with over-ripe tomatoes drove through the small town's main street providing ammunition for festival-goers.
Some wore sunglasses or goggles as protection for their eyes as they covered each other in red pulp.
Revellers play with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino Kalis
The Tomatina is said to have originated from a spontaneous bust-up amongst villagers in 1945. It was banned for a while during the 1950s at the height of General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, but today draws large crowds of locals as well as foreign tourists.
(Reporting By Reuters Television; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Andrei Khalip)
Revellers on a truck throw tomatoes into the crowd during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers on a truck throw tomatoes into the crowd during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisA reveller plays with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers play with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisA reveller plays with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain.
REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers throw tomatoes during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers play with tomato pulp during the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain. REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers throw tomatoes during the annual "Tomatina" festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain, August 29, 2018. REUTERS/Heino KalisRevellers on a truck throw tomatoes into the crowd during the annual "Tomatina" festival in Bunol, near Valencia, Spain, August 29, 2018. REUTERS/Heino Kalis
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