Mercedes built the first greenhouses of San Agustín with her own two hands. She is now an old lady, and Andalusia has long since become Europe’s vegetable plantation, with 90% of the sweet peppers in our supermarkets coming from the so-called plastic coast. It’s a lucrative business – but not for the farmers of San Agustín, whose share of profits is miniscule. This results in many of them taking on cheap labour from illegal African immigrants. A mysterious virus that threatens to destroy the crop further compounds the situation – with the affair dubbed the “cucumber crisis”. In this portrayal of a village and its people, three filmmakers highlight in nine chapters the deeper workings of industrialised agriculture – presenting another side to Southern Spain, far from its image as a beach filled, party Mecca. Like the holiday industry, vegetable growing receives criticism for its excessive exaggeration. But who are the real black sheep?
7.5