Manuel Rafael Hernández Montoya was born on July 28, 1959
in Los Albaricoques, Nijar, Andalusia, Spain. Manuel grew up in Los
Albaricoques and was a small boy when Sergio Leone and his crew came to town to
film “Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More”. His mother, aunt and
cousin were used as extras in the films. In “For a Few Dollars More” the town
had recently held a funeral for one of the citizens and the women were still
shrouded in black dress which was perfect for Sergio as inhabitants of his
fictional Agua Caliente where the townspeople didn’t like visitors. Manuel
himself would later play a young soldier in “El Condor” (1969).
A former
teacher, today he owns the Hostal Rural Alba and Casa Rural La Minilla. Manuel
has been instrumental in preserving the history of the village. Street names
have been named after Leone, Van Cleef and Eastwood. He was instrumental in
reconstructing the deteriorated ring where the final showdown between Colonel
Mortime and El Indio took place. His Hostal contains many murals and photos
from the days when films were made in the town. He’s even created his own brand
of wine with Clint Eastwood pictured on the label. In 2013 he was a prominent
figure in the TV episode ‘Este es mi
pueblo: El Cortijo de El Fraile y Los Albaricoques’ dressed as Lee Van Cleef
and proudly showing off the town.
As the head of the Nijar Cultural Development
Committee put together an homage for the 25th anniversary of Sergio
Leone’s death and the town had a one day celebration with a staging of scenes
from “For a Few Dollars More” and a showing of the film.
Today we celebrate the 55th birthday, one of
the men who is keeping the dream alive Manuel R. Hernández.
