By Guillermo Martinez and Elena Rodriguez
BUNOL, Spain (Reuters) – Thousands of revellers hurled some 130 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes at each other on Wednesday in the eastern Spanish town of Bunol, as the “Tomatina” festival celebrated its 75th edition after a two-year lapse due to the pandemic.
The tomato fight started at midday (1000 GMT), when six trucks loaded with tomatoes drove through the main street, distributing the sappy projectiles for an hour while partygoers threw them and covered each other in red juice.
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 survived to gain popularity across Spain in the 1980s and today draws large crowds of visitors from abroad as well as Spaniards.
Almost a decade ago, the organizers had to limit the capacity and started selling tickets, as the festival was too crowded.
(Writing by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson)
