Each summer, the 10,000 residents of Buñol like to paint the town red. They are joined in this by thousands of tourists who visit the Valencian town to take part in the world's largest tomato fight, the Tomatina.
What began as a foodfight between neighbours back in 1945 has grown into an international event. But this year one thing has changed.
The Tomatina used to be a free-for-all, but like many other cultural mainstays of the Spanish calendar, it has been hit by the recession. For the first time, this year's visitors have had to shell out at least €10 (£9) for the privilege of pelting each other and random passersby with tomatoes. For €750, you can go even further, and jump onto one of the trucks that carry the tomatoes into the town, thus giving yourself the advantage of launching the first attacks.
The town hall can no longer afford to foot the bill for the truckloads of fresh tomatoes and the police and medical staff needed in case of a tomato-based emergency.
The mayor of Buñol, Joaquín Masmano Palmer, told a press conference the decision to charge visitors was one that "no one wanted to take" but that the growing popularity of the festival, which last year saw around 40,000 revellers join in, left him with no chance. People came from thousands of miles, he said, "without being able even to touch a tomato," and that charging would simultaneously keep numbers down and make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.
"This is the first year we are charging for access to this popular festival due to the need to limit the crowd for safety reasons," the town hall said in a statement.
Whatever the reason for the introduction of an entrance fee, the fact that throwing a tomato is no longer free is being seen as a sign of the times. The Tomatina has become "a great metaphor for the economic crisis that is crippling Spain," according to El País newspaper:"It is an irresistible image: the round, red fruit bursting like a mirror of the bursting of the real estate bubble, the financial bubble, the debt bubble."
