Thousands descended on Buñol, Spain, on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, painting the small town red with tons of overripe tomatoes.
The messy melee drew more than 20,000 expected participants, with roughly 40% of attendees over the past three years being tourists from outside Spain, according to Spanish news agency EFE reporting this week. Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at revelers, who in turn hurled them at one another until their white shirts turned pink and red.
Pop songs blasted from speakers throughout the hour-long battle, while buildings across the town were covered with protective tarps ahead of the festivities. At one point, police appeared to use pepper spray to disperse an area of the crowd, though a festive vibe quickly resumed.
The festival’s origins trace back to a spontaneous food fight in 1945, held annually on the last Wednesday of August. La Tomatina became a recurring tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped transform it into a national event and eventually an international attraction.
There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”), in which three friends take a road trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.
The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, 27, from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.
Mazhar and Sanya Khan, both 40, were likewise inspired by the film.
“It was fantastic, absolutely well-managed,” said Mazhar Khan. “We are from India, and this is our first time being in La Tomatina. It has been a dream for over a decade.”
The movie’s appeal isn’t limited to Indians. It also drew Joanna Wytrzyszczewska from Poland.
“Way more crazy than we expected,” said Wytrzyszczewska, 32. “We came because we were inspired by a movie. It was better than the movie.”
Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.
Once the hour was up, the sound of a cannon blast marked the end of festivities and crowds washed off at communal showers nearby. The town’s streets were later hosed down. Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes’ citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.
Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.
La Tomatina will return to Buñol on the last Wednesday of August next year.