Streets of Buñol run red with juice of 150 tons of tomatoes as ‘Tomatina’ kicks off
Buñol, Spain, Aug 30 (EFE).- The streets of Buñol in eastern Spain were soaked in the red juice of 150,000 kilos of ripe tomatoes on Wednesday for the iconic Tomatina festival.
Nearly 20,000 people descended on the Valencian town for one of the world’s most famous food fights.
As tradition dictates, the town, located about 40 kilometers from the Valencian capital, was transformed into the world capital of tomatoes for the internationally-renowned festival, images of which are beamed across the world on television and social media.
At noon, the festival kicked off with a slow parade of trucks loaded with 150 tons of ripe, juicy tomatoes – while they are not fit for consumption, they make the perfect ammunition for this pitched battle.
There was again no lack of diving goggles, the best protection for the eyes against the acid of tomatoes, among the thousands of attendees who took over the streets.
Visitors from India, the United States, Australia and Japan, among other countries, descended on Buñol for the famous food fight.
A helicopter and more than 200 agents of the Guardia Civil, in addition to other security forces, were deployed to monitor and attend to any incident.
The president of the Valencian Community, Carlos Mazón, followed the celebration from the balcony of the Town Hall and stressed that “a hooliganism” like this has become a party that is “not for us, but for everyone”.
The mayor of Buñol, Virginia Sanz, confirmed that this edition saw more than 2,000 additional participants than last year, adding that some 18 nationalities were represented. EFE
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