It may seem like a convention of the icy, but these white-faced characters are taking part in the bizarre flour war of Els Enfarinats. In a Spanish version of April Fool’s Day, a group in Ibi, Alicante, cover themselves with flour and rampage through the streets causing havoc.
First they ‘elect’ a mayor, prosecutor and judge and then take to the streets armed with flour to pelt their foes. Dressed in a slovenly manner, they enter banks and shops stirring up trouble in a good-humoured way, imposing fines on shopkeepers and bankers, mosking local dignitaries and reading humourous speeches. The tradition’s origins are unclear, but it is believed to have grown from the ancient Feast of Fools, or Fiesta de los Locos, once part of the old Roman festival of Saturnalia.
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