[QODLink]
Witness
Caravan Of Love
Lonely hearts in remote Spanish villages get ready for the bus of love.
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2009 10:35 GMT

Watch part two

Filmmaker: Cecilia Hue

Marisa and Elsa, two Latin American women working as housekeepers in Spain, are looking for romance. Marisa is 38-years-old and believes she can seduce any man with her smile. Elsa is 54-years-old, and is a refugee of love after coming out of an acrimonious divorce.

Both are seeking a kind and tender man who fills their lives with companionship, contentment and love.

In this heart-warming and humorous film, documentary filmmaker Cecilia Hue visits the Spanish town of Cabezuela, the land where her mother was born. She witnesses the revival of Spain's dying villages, where there is a considerable shortage of eligible wives for the lonely farmers.

José and Josito are among a group of men who have heard about a caravan of women that visits villages in search of love. After many discussions with - not to say petitions to - the local town hall, a 'caravan of love' is organised to visit Cabezuela.

Cecilia enthusiastically follows the girls who journey from the capital Madrid to meet the men from Cabezuela. The mens' hopes of finding true love are also high, even if in the immediate they must get up at four o'clock in the morning to tend their flocks of sheep.

The mens' reasons for wanting to settle down are slightly different. Jose comes from a long line of shepherds. Like them, he has lived in the village all his life and he is proud of his work.

"I want a woman to clean my house," he says. "I try to learn. I know how to do it. But it's much easier if someone does it for you. In return I'll have to give her what she wants."

Josito is also looking for love, but acknowledges there is already an important woman in his life: his mother.

Caravan of Love is an intriguing glimpse into Spain's lonely souls - and how they are being used to halt the decline of its rural regions.

Source:
Al Jazeera
Topics in this article
People
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera's exclusive publishing of a key Guantanamo prison military document lays bare the brutality of force-feeding.
Former military official says poverty and anger in indigenous communities mean conditions for an "insurgency" are ripe.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Featured
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Extensive coverage of war crimes tribunals and controversial calls for blasphemy laws.
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Al Jazeera looks at the escalation of military threats between N Korea and geopolitical rivals.
join our mailing list