Ibi, in Eastern Spain’s Valencia region, was a battlefield Monday as two “armies” fought each other for control of the town, using flour, eggs and firecrackers as weapons. It’s hard to say who won.
The mock battle takes place every Dec. 28, which is Dia de los Inocentes, roughly equivalent to April Fools’ Day in effect. In the 200-year-old tradition, the insurgents seizing the town under the slogan of “New Justice” served as “Enfarinats,” or “flour police,” levying fines under a mock system of laws they decree.
They are opposed by another army called…wait for it…La Oposicio, which attempts to restore the normal rules. At the end of the day, the town is a mess, but a significant amount of “fines” has been collected for charity.
It’s not Spain’s only annual mock food fight, by the way; one of the most famous others is the summertime “Tomatina” which involves an entire town and visitors pelting each other with tomatoes. For Gumbo’s coverage of that, click HERE. For more details—and more pictures—of the egg-and-flour fight from TheLocal.es, click HERE
