nowhere else are food fights as loved as they are in spain!

surely the most famous one, the mother of food fight festivals, is la tomatina in buñol, valencia. but leave it to the spaniards to find fighting potential in many other foods, and even drinks (from wine in haro, la rioja, to grapes in pobla del dec, valencia, to meringues and candies in vilanova i la geltrú, catalonia).

one less known spanish food fight festival, but at least equally ´dirty´ and fun, is els enfarinats, the flour fight in ibi, near alicante. it takes place on the 28th of december, which is perhaps the reason why there isn´t so big of a tourist crowd as for the summer festivals la tomatina or the haro wine fight.

the enfarinats is a game, a charade, a ludic battle between two opposing teams in a reenactment of the political situation of the region. one team, the enfarinats, acts as the government, while the other represents the opposition, and they fight for the control of the town. of course it is all playful fun, as the weapons used are merely flour and eggs, and the occasional firecracker.

the flour war starts between the two gangs, but spectators get quickly involved too. they are required to obey all the silly rules imposed by the ´government´, otherwise they will receive a floury punishment. no wonder nobody cares too much about obeying any rules, since everyone is there for some good laughs and fun!

showing that some traditions cannot and should not change, the group of enfarinats is always made up of married men (absolutely necessary that they are married), usually 14, men that are friends in the ´real life,´ which means that it is not easy for an outsider to become an enfarinat. led by the pretense town mayor, the group collects ´taxes´ from all shops, trades and banks as a charity for the elders care home, which gives the whole day a meaningful scope in its playfulness. during all of this tax collection the epic street battles between the two groups don´t stop, which means that by the end, everybody is left looking the same, powdery white.

perhaps unlike the tomatina, the flour food fight is more organized, it follows a plot, and participants play a certain role in the storytelling. it is thus a different type of fun: while the end result is the same (food covered faces and a distinguishable smell on the streets), els enfarinats is more about following, or even breaking, certain rules, rather than just getting the others and oneself buried under a mountain of flour (or tomatoes).

so if you find yourself on the eastern coast of spain during the winter holidays, stop in ibi on the 28th of december and admire these fighters carrying on some old traditions, or dare to participate and throw a fistful of flour in the face of the authorities!

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