Revelers paint Spanish town red in 64th annual tomato fight

Tens of thousands of revelers pelted each other with tons of ripe tomatoes in a good-natured battle that filled the streets of a Spanish town with rivers of red pulp.

Bunol’s town hall estimated more than 40,000 people, some from as far away as Japan and Australia, took up arms Wednesday with 100 tons of tomatoes in the yearly food fight known as the “Tomatina,” now in its 64th year.

The event has its roots in a food fight between childhood friends and has become something of a calling card for Bunol, which is 25 miles north of Valencia on Spain’s east coast.

The hour-long battle is so popular that traffic into the town backed up nearly two miles Wednesday morning.