1 September 2005

Tomatina "warriors" threw tomatoes at each other nonstop for the better part of an hour and emerged covered in bright red "blood".

Minutes after the start, the streets of Buñol were packed with people preparing, each in his own way, to join the fray.

After fortifying themselves with wine and cakes provided by city hall, participants slowly congregated in the main square to await the arrival of five trucks loaded with the fruit.

The mayor of Buñol, Fernando Giraldos, told the press that many revelers chose to go back to an old tradition by which you went into battle dressed in white and came out all in red sixty minutes later.

The presence of visitors and media from around the world made the curious battle in the Mediterranean province of Valencia an international festivity.

Buñol's La Tomatina, which the city government opposed for many years but then started sponsoring in 1980, was declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest in 2002.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news