This Is Mexico's Biggest & Most Chaotic Firework Festival

If you’re a pyromanic, you would be in utter heaven at the National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico. The region itself is the largest manufactures of fireworks in the country and to celebrate, each year they hold a 9 day festival. Local and even international Pyrotechnicians create stunning firework displays, competing with each other to see who can create the most spectacular. Every year around 100,000 people visit the festival, the most popular event by some distance is the “pamplonas” (translation – Running Of The Bulls) and it’s one where literally anything can happen. Anywhere between 250-300 large bull-shaped wagons loaded with thousands of fireworks travel down cobbeled street firing off explosive fireworks. Not only do you have to move out of the way damn fast you won’t be getting much sleep either – the entire sequence can last up to seven hours. One such brave individual who took to the streets dodging rockets, flares, roman candles, catherine wheels and fire crackers was photographer Thomas Prior. He decided it would be the perfect event to capture on film, despite all the very obvious risks of being around live fireworks and gunpowder. But it was a risk clearly worth taking, his images are nothing short of dazzling, showing just how intense the entire spectacle truly is. You can experience the full range of his work via his official website.