BUÑOL, Spain — Thousands gathered in the small town of Buñol on Wednesday to participate in the annual La Tomatina festival, a lively tomato-throwing event that transforms the streets into a sea of red pulp. The tradition, held on the last Wednesday of August, attracted a mix of locals and international visitors, including many from India, drawn in part by popular culture.

Participants were drenched in squashed tomatoes as trucks loaded with overripe fruit slowly made their way through the crowd, with people aboard hurling tomatoes at those below. Revelers, many wearing white shirts rapidly stained red and pink, engaged in spirited food fights set to the backdrop of upbeat music. While the festivities were largely celebratory, authorities intervened at one point using pepper spray to disperse a congested area of the crowd before order was quickly restored.

La Tomatina has its roots in a spontaneous food fight that occurred in 1945 and was formally established as an annual event before being banned by Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco in the 1950s. The festival resurfaced in the 1980s following increased media coverage, eventually gaining international recognition and drawing tens of thousands each year.

This year, organizers anticipated more than 20,000 participants, with nearly 40% estimated to be tourists from outside Spain in recent years. Notably, the festival has seen a significant rise in visitors from India, a trend attributed to the 2011 Bollywood film "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" ("You Only Live Once"), which depicted the La Tomatina celebration during a road trip sequence. The film has served as a cultural bridge, inspiring many Indian travelers to experience the event firsthand.

Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, was attending the festival for the third time and cited the movie as his initial motivation. Similarly, Mazhar and Sanya Khan, both 40 and visiting from India, described their participation as a long-held dream made possible by the film’s influence. “It was fantastic, absolutely well-managed,” Mazhar Khan said.

The festival’s appeal extends beyond Indian visitors. Joanna Wytrzyszczewska, 32, from Poland, also credited the Bollywood movie for her decision to attend. “Way more crazy than we expected,” she remarked. “It was better than the movie.”

As tradition dictates, the streets were covered with protective tarps before the event to facilitate cleanup. After more than an hour of raucous tomato-throwing, the town returned to its usual quiet, marking the end of one of Spain’s most colorful summer celebrations.