Friday, March 01, 2019

And now for something completely different

From the BBC:   The 'caravans of love' visiting Spain's empty villages

It starts:
Spain is ground-zero for rural depopulation within the European Union. Over decades, millions have migrated to the cities to find jobs. Those left behind in villages are often elderly - or they are single men working in agriculture. So, how does a lonely Spanish shepherd find love?  

The possible answer:
Then Antonio heard about the Caravan of Women - or Caravan of Love, as it is sometimes known.
This is a commercial initiative bringing coach-loads of single women from Madrid to meet unattached men in the countryside at organised dinner-dances. Manolo Gozalo has been co-ordinating these excursions with his partner, Venecia Alcantara, since 1996.
I'm not surprised no one wants to live in rural Spain - from what I can gather on shows where chefs or other folk travel through the country, its centre looks pretty dry and featureless.   

In Australia, meanwhile, I guess we're more known for a movie about a group of drag queens travelling across the interior.   (I've never watched it - Australian movies are cringeworthy at the best of times, and intense campiness is a frequent reason why.) 

1 comment:

TimT said...

Priscilla was pretty odd, come to think about it. I can't remember being particularly impressed by the script or moved to laughter, though it was a comedy (in that respect it was like every other 'zany' Australian production from that time).

But the visuals were undoubtedly weirdly striking, and strikingly weird.

Couldn't make it now, of course. That image of drag queens climbing Uluru... wouldn't happen.

Is Bill Hunter still making movies?