Antena 3 TV has announced a new national drama series to be set in the greenhouses of Almería, but the local farmers have united to demanded it be scrapped amid fears it may “bring the industry into disrepute”. Demonstrations and legal challenges to follow!
Well, quite. If anyone actually sees what goes on inside those greenhouses – a level of slavery, sexism and racial oppression not seen since the cotton picking days of the US south – we’ll be having even more riots on the streets of El Ejido.Antena 3 says the first season of the new drama series, with a working title of “Mar de plastico” (Sea of plastic) will be based around the murder of an illegal immigrant, and a love affair between a racially prejudiced young local farmer and an immigrant farm worker.
The press release says that the show aims to “show how the life of the illegal immigrant changes whilst working here, how they live alongside the newly enriched farmers of the area, the new trend of marriage between locals and eastern people (Russian mail order brides I assume, there are a lot of them around), a portrait of the rapid changes experienced by what used to be one of the poorest parts of Spain, now transformed by these people into one of the richest”.
Antena 3 adds that it has as consultants on the series a number of locals, including representatives from immigrants groups and charities that work with illegal immigrants, to ensure an accurate representation of “life under the plastic”.
Farmers are out on the streets in fury, and demonstrations are planned if the series goes ahead. La Voz de Almeria took a poll, which I though was interesting.
Francisco Vargas, head of ASAGA, the farmers cooperative, has already announced he is studying plans to take Antena 3 to court and have the series banned. Manuel Galdeano, head of rival Coexphal, is in full agreement. I will not appear on national TV looking like a modern day slave trader, whip in hand, he told La Voz. Fair enough, nobody asked you to.
Roque García from Hortyfruta adds we don’t have to be afraid of what we are, of what we have done, if they are fair, this could be very good for us, as long as no exaggeration is carried out.
And Juan Enrique Vargas from Ecohal had the last wise words: Not everybody here has been with a Russian, you have be up to the expectations. Not sure where he’s going with that one.