Almeria is well-known as the rugged landscape behind the iconic westerns of Sergio Leone, but one little town in Nijar is a place of pilgrimage for fans of the spaghetti west.
When most people think of spaghetti western locations they instinctively think of the Oasys theme park in the heart of the Tabernas desert. There visitors can wander around the film sets built by Italian filmmakers in the early 60s, and enjoy an authentic western show.
However, the ubiquitous white-washed town, that made actors such as Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef famous, is called Los Albaricoques (The Apricots) and is home to around 300 people.
Cinematic history
At the approach to the town, a giant silhouetted cowboy, six-shooter in hand, heralds visitors’ arrival, with a sign that reads, ‘BIENVENIDOS A LOS ALBARICOQUES ES DE CINE,’ which roughly translates to ‘Welcome to The Apricots, from the movies.’
The town is quite rightly proud of its cinematic history, as the street names, written in authentic western font, bear witness. Visitors will find themselves walking along Calle Lee Van Cleef, Calle Clint Eastwood, Avenida Sergio Leone or Calle Ennio Morricone, the inspirational Italian composer behind countless westerns of the 60s and 70s.
Los Albaricoques has now been modernised with tarmacked roads and new houses. However, keen spaghetti western aficionados will still recognise the few untouched buildings that were featured in films such as A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965).
In the second film, Los Albaricoques was renamed ‘Agua Caliente’ when the bounty hunter, played by Eastwood, finds himself in ‘hot water’ with the bandit gang.
At the time of filming the second of Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, (The good, the Bad and the Ugly being the third) the director even recruited some of the locals in the area to play extras in what was to become a blockbuster that put Almeria on the map as a great place to make a movie.
On the edge of the town lies the circular stone-paved arena (representing a bullring) that served as the setting for the final shootout in For a Few Dollars More, where Van Cleef gets his revenge on ‘El Indio’ to the chime of a pocket watch.
And, every year Los Albaricoques hosts a ‘Crazy for Western’ event played by actors who recreate some of the films’ most memorable scenes.
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