Smurf Village

…. or Júzcar, as it is more traditionally known, is a town situated in the province of Andalusia in Spain. It was one of the typically white washed towns/villages found in this region of Spain. However, in the spring of 2011, the buildings in the town (including the church and gravestones) were painted smurf-blue by Sony Pictures to promote the premiere of the Smurfs movie.

Sony chose this small sleepy village of Júzcar as it has a long mycology tradition and the Smurfs are known for their craving for mushrooms! Each autumn, the area surrounding the village is brimming with all kinds of delicious fungi making it a paradise for mycologists and nature lovers.

Sony offered to repaint the town white, however, the residents voted to leave the buildings painted blue as an estimated 80,000 tourists visited the town in the six months following the repainting. The town would have normally seen approximately 300 tourists a year.

It was interesting to see, but I have to be honest and say that I much prefer the traditional white-washed villages that this area is known for and it may have boosted their tourism initially, but it seemed pretty quiet the day we were there!