This retired professor, passionate about western cinema, has just published the second part of Riding Towards Adventure, a work that covers the last fifteen years of filming in Almeria
Diario de Almeria
By Diego Martínez
February 22, 2026
-You have just published the second part of Cabalgando hacia la Aventura (Riding Towards Adventure). With this 850-page volume it can be said that he has already published the total and real history of cinema in Almeria.
-Yes, between the first volume of 2011 and this one of 2025 it can be said that the story of the relationship of this province with industry has been told. Although we cannot forget other important books, such as Almeria, a world of a movie, which can be considered as the basis of everything.
-It covers almost the last thirteen years of filming in Almeria where you have included feature films, short films, documentaries and video clips. Many think that little has been filmed, but according to his book it has not been like that.
-A lot has been filmed, more than people think. The origin of this boom coincides with the filming of “Exodus Gods and Kings” by Ridley Scott. Some 213 shoots between feature films and television series. And short films, video clips or advertising... not to mention.
-In this period, what shootings could you highlight for their particularity or even for the impact they had in Almeria and the province?
-There are many, but I could name: “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, “Terminator 6”, ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Doctor Who’... and Spanish films and series such as “Lejos del mar”, “Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados”, “Amanece”, “Mar de plástico”, “Jaguar”, “Vis a vis” and “Entre tierras”.
-If in the 1960s and 1970s the western genre predominated, with spaghetti western at the forefront. In this period, already in the twenty-first century, which gender is the dominant one.
-All kinds, highlighting adventures, biblical and war focused on Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan or Iraq.
-As a researcher and film historian, you believe that Almeria continues to have the weight it once had for production companies when choosing this land.
-Of course, Almeria is Almeria in the world of cinema and has never lost its prominence. The incredible landscapes, the light and the sun have been and are the fundamental asset.
-You have known most of the towns that were in the province. However, it has also seen the progressive deterioration of many of them. Do you think that something more could have been done to preserve this rich heritage?
"I've known them all, because some of them reached the eighties. It is a pity that they have not been maintained, but the weather, the wind, the rain, the weak materials and the abandonment have done the rest. I have gone so far as to do projects to rehabilitate some, such as El Cóndor, but nothing was ever done.
-In this book I think that apart from filming and curiosities of certain recordings, you have included a section of blunders that you included in the previous volume. With what intention did he do it?
-Since the nineties I have seen that I have been copied a lot, but I was never named. That's why I came up with this game. In this book I have uncovered some of them.
-You also talk about Film Studies and the attempts that have been made on several occasions. But the reality is that nothing was done. Were these studies really necessary in Almeria?
-Years ago, when the possibility arose, I think so. Today, seeing the current technology, there would be no need for large facilities, with medium-sized studios we would get by.
-Although they are beginning to recognize it, but I understand that both the Stars of the Walk of Fame project and routes like Leone's were devised by you.
-Certainly. Since the 70s I started to walk the desert on the back of a fixed-gear bicycle. In the eighties and nineties, the routes were extended. Already in the 2000s I gave away and offered many routes, always selflessly. The Walk of Fame, really Bulevar de las Estrellas is a part of the Almeria Film Project that I gave to the Almeria City Council in 2006, it was executed with the current mayor, formerly Councilor for Tourism in 2008 and was presented at Fitur in 2011, where it cannot be present due to situations that I do not think it is convenient to relate. This part was inaugurated in 2012 with the star to my dear and remembered friend the actor Eduardo Fajardo. By the way, I am never invited to anything and I think that there are not very successful criteria to choose the winners of these "stars" of fame.
-The Casa del Cine is a reality, which has carried out some activities since its opening. What do you think the Casa del Cine lacks to make it a first-class tourist attraction?
-Since it was inaugurated, with the presence of Eduardo Fajardo, the House has been "a ghost house" that offered practically nothing. With the arrival of LaOficina, coordinated by Carlos Vives, things have changed a lot. There are many activities and exhibitions, and it has taken a lot of life, as I tell in this book. Of course, it would have to be provided with material (books, videos, photography, scripts, filming props...) and turned into a real Museum of Cinema.
-What have been the five major productions shot in this land for José Enrique?
-This is very difficult to answer. There are great movies. Perhaps I would choose “For a Few Dollars More”, “The Wind and the Lion” in the first places and then the grandiloquent and monumental “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Patton” and “Conan the Barbarian”.
-In your work you make known the Route 66 project. What is the idea of this project?
-Since I have devised so many routes, I considered offering a special route similar to the Mother Route of the United States. This route would run through part of the province of Almeria, to show the great variety of landscapes that have been portrayed by celluloid: deserts, mountains, forests, beaches, sets. Almeria is more than just a stunning desert.
-What a shame that David Lean died in 1991 when two years earlier he was looking for locations for Nostromo. Do you think it would have been the movie of the story?
-A real shame, as our mutual friend Eddie Fowlie told me, in his hotel in Carboneras. Lean was a genius and had large capitals at his disposal. He got to have everything located and planned for this shoot, mainly focused on the Mojacar area... and even the agreed hotels. A pity, it would have been another boost to the fame of the province.
-I imagine that you are still working on issues related to cinema. What is he focused on now? Will there be more books in the future?
-Indeed. I'm already working on another film book also related to Almeria, of which I have already written 400 pages. It will be something different, novel.
-What do you think could be done to encourage filming in this land more?
-That the Filming Almería and Almería Film Office be transformed into a single Office, highly coordinated and equipped with technical means and qualified professionals with a command of languages and contacts in all the offices of the province. Have a well-located and easily accessible space, such as the Casa del Cine, where spaces could be set up and try to get the private sector involved by creating staff associations (figuration, specialists, horsemen, props, land...) to avoid wasting time in long casting queues.
-I think your house has almost become a museum of the western. What is the most valuable thing you have on a sentimental level about cinema?
-Many years ago, I did not give value to an object that I had with me from 1970 to 1997 and that I got rid of and that I do not stop regretting today: my fixed-gear BH bicycle that accompanied me on so many adventures. Today would be my Jewel, but... I have quite a few things, but what I may have with the most sentimental "value" is the photo that Clint Eastwood sent me from the United States and that I received at Christmas 1994. When I wrote to his agent William Morris, I thought he was going to waste his time, but he listened to the letter and sent me two dedicated photos. Then I wrote to him again and sent him material related to the Conference dedicated to “For a Few Dollars More”, in 2005, but I didn't get a response.
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