BUNOL, SPAIN - Thousands of revelers hurled tons of tomatoes at each other on Wednesday, cavorting in the red pulp beneath their feet in the Spanish town of Bunol.

OrganiZers of the annual Tomatina festival tossed 145 tons of over-ripe tomatoes into the crowd from six large trucks, quickly converting the town into a sea of pink and red.

Some revelers wore goggles to protect their eyes and some buildings were draped with tarpaulin to preserve their walls, while others got soaked with the pulp, creating a scene worthy of a modern art painting.

The Tomatina is said to have originated from a spontaneous bust-up among 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.

The town hall distributed more than 20,000 tickets to the festival this year. -Reuters