Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
The Current

Spain's Smurf Village saves a town from tourism blues

When a money tree grew in the Smurf neighbourhood it appeared as if good times had come to the village. And in one small Spanish town their money tree relies on Smurf-themed tourism, complete with Smurf-blue buildings and that bold blue body paint....
CBC Radio ·
The Current19:00Spain’s Smurf Village saves a town from tourism blues - Feb 11, 2014
When a money tree grew in the Smurf neighbourhood it appeared as if good times had come to the village. And in one small Spanish town their money tree relies on Smurf-themed tourism, complete with Smurf-blue buildings and that bold blue body paint.

smurf-insert-wall-560.jpg

Smurf characters adorn many walls in Juzcar in Spain, the world's first "Official Smurf Village."


smurf-insert-subway-560.jpg

Madrid has sold its Sol. Its "Puerta del Sol" metro line and historic plaza.
The buyer: British telecom giant Vodafone. The price: about $2 million for 3 years.


Why a part of Spain is undergoing a blue period

smurf-insert200-reporter.jpg

Smurf reporter Gerry Hadden: Processed
with VSCOcam, with p5 preset

Tough times call for tough measures. And when the times are really tough, some of the measures might be called bizarre.

In Spain, where the unemployment rate is nearly 26 per cent, the economy has rarely been this dreary.

Today, as part of our Project Money, we'll hear about some of the creative and controversial things Spaniards do to make a Euro.

Today freelance journalist Gerry Hadden takes us from Madrid on a road trip around the country, in his documentary The Things We Do For Money.


Vancouver actors Gustavo Febres, Ilianne Robredo and Rodolfo Funes provided the translation and voicing.


Have thoughts you want to share? Have you been to Spain's Smurf village? Would you like to visit?

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Or e-mail us through our website. Find us on Facebook. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366. And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.

More from this episode