Ecuadorean townspeople build record pyramid of roses

TABACUNDO, Ecuador (AP) -- The people in this small Andean town are the proud creators of the biggest floral structure ever built - a life-size replica of an indigenous pyramid made from 546,364 roses.

A judge for Guinness World Records took nearly all day Saturday to confirm that Tabacundo had achieved the record.

The blazing red pyramid rises in the town square. Nearly all the flowers are red roses, with 6 percent white, pink and yellow to provide white borders and a dazzling sun.

It took a week to erect, with about 1,500 people pitching in by working an average of 16 hours a day.

One of the organizers, Rosa Cisneros, says the town wanted "to show the world where the most beautiful roses on Earth come from."