Santoalla

You're going to do it now? In front of the camera?

Do you know how to seed? Watch!

Santoalla...

here you are free.

It's different air... a different experience.

Because when your children are here, you have everything.

Julio was always everyone's favorite.

Almost every day...

he needs to feed the cows and take them to the mountain.

He loves the countryside and working the fields.

Carlos isn't crazy about working.

But, of course, I've always loved him very much.

Maybe more than the others...

because his mind is a little...

slow.

Manolo...he's eighty some years old now.

He still wants to work but, I tell him not to worry about it.

If you can't, you can't.

We've lived here our whole lives.

And everything was fine.

In Santoalla, there were no problems.

But, when Martin disappeared...

there were a lot of officers here.

I was surprised when I saw them all.

They said, "Have you seen Martin?"

I said, "What are you talking about?"

They said, "Martin's gone."

I said, "I know nothing.

He left...

and he never came back."

Martin, for me that was... I don't know. I don't know.

I don't want to say anything because I don't know.

But, if he didn't go away, somebody took him away.

Santa Eulalia.

They named the village after her, Santa Eulalia.

If you ask from your heart she gives many things.

But, you have to ask the right way.

When Martin and Margo first got here...

we were alone here.

People started to leave...

because men were out of work.

There were no jobs here.

But, I like people coming here, normal people.

The village is big enough for three or four more neighbors

but, you need to get along with everyone.

So, I helped them as much as I could.

"Do good no matter to whom."

That's the proverb.

"Do good no matter to whom."

Galicia has always been a rural region, but during the twentieth century

the number of people living on agriculture has diminished.

It is estimated that in recent years

nearly 300 villages in rural areas have been abandoned.

However, there are some people who are leaving the city for the country

to make their living in agriculture.

They are the new inhabitants of the countryside.

This house used to be a stable but, the walls are very bad...

and we are repairing it to be a good structure.

Our idea is an ecological center, like Noah's Ark.

A few things from different species...

from both plants and animals.

We also expect people to take

organic farming and things like that.

This campsite is for them.

I worked their garden and the first few years were very productive

because I gave them sheep fertilizer.

And they grew huge carrots.

But, you need to work hard for that.

With a small hoe, you can't get that.

Our zucchini this year...like this.

Huge?

Huge. Impossible.

This place has a lot of potential.

All the places around here.

It's very beautiful...for tourism, canoeing, fishing, hiking...

there are a lot of possibilities here.

What do you think of your new neighbors?

I think it's good if they stick it out.

They came from Holland and want to build a house for rural tourism.

And that's what they're doing.

Do you want to see their project succeed?

Yeah. Sure.

If they don't bother me, I won't bother them.

We love our land very much.

If there's a piece of land that's mine, I don't want anyone to touch it.

It must be in our genes.

I used to come here with my parents and my aunt when I was very young.

And now, I have a three year old son.

He's been coming here with me since he was born.

He likes it more than computer games, tablets...more than anything.

He already tells his mother that he doesn't want to go to school

that he wants to go with his father.

But, maybe he won't like it later. Maybe he'll like girls better.

And girls won't come here.

I feel nostalgic about the past because there's no one here now.

But, as long as I'm around Santoalla won't be abandoned.

It's my village.

That's how it is.

What projects are you planning to start here?

Which ones have you started already?

Initially, man...

a few of everything, like Noah's Ark.

But, every year we have to consider if it's possible

I want to do things, but we have a lot of obstructions...

things that block our plans...

like the old neighbor that lives up there.

We have difficulties with everything we want to do here.

If I try to build a water mill, the neighbor says,

"You can't put that there!" Immediately.

When I clean a path and I want to move the stones from the ruins

to build a wall for that same path

the neighbor immediately says,

"Those stones aren't yours!"

Neighbors should be on their own property.

To know that you need to live here and know how things work here.

Everyone on their own property.

They were outsiders and they did what they wanted.

And in a village like this, you need to do as everybody.

Of course.

Their mentality is very closed, absolutely closed.

And I simply can't understand this mentality.

I can't work this way.

Last question...

after being here for five years,

how do you see the future of these villages in the Galician mountains?

Should they be rebuilt?

How do you see the future?

Only two families live in Santoalla,

a situation that should create a bond between them.

But, they haven't talked to each other for the last six years.

We had a good relationship with the neighbors before

but, now we don't. None at all.

The conflict got worse because the Dutch couple

requested to have rights on the common land.

This morning I put a sign in front of the village

that says, "Welcome to Santa Eulalia...

Kingdom of the Moroccans."

I put it there because sometimes

I feel like I'm living in an Arab country.

The old man here thinks he's Sun King of the village.

That it's his village.

I disagree with this idea.

He also says he's the mayor of the village.

And that's not true. He's the mayor of nothing.

But, he is the president of the common land.

And that title not only involves rights but, responsibilities as well.

He doesn't give us the same rights to the land as they have.

And he doesn't fulfill his obligations at all.

He kept all the money

and didn't spend any money... not a cent on the village.

Trial number 27 of the year 2008.

We'll start with the questioning of the president of the common land...

Manolo Rodríguez Fernández.

You've seen the plaintiffs there, living in a house in the village, right?

In the village? He's always in Germany or in...

or in Holland...he only comes for vacation.

They fixed up their house, didn't they?

Fixed?

Yes.

I don't know. I've never been inside.

Martin, isn't it true that you do not live in Santoalla permanently?

No, that's not true.

Until this Saturday, nobody saw you in the village since last November.

That's because there's nobody in the village.

It's only us and them.

They have animals at their house don't they?

They have goats...

They have three pigs and hens...

hens that get into my fields.

You don't really work in agriculture do you?

Our goal, when we came to this country,

was to build a self-sufficient farm.

It's very simple. Go up to the village right now

and see the fields we are working.

Have you received four letters and requests

from my clients, Martin and Margo to be included as part of the common land?

Letters? No.

No letters? No petitions from them?

No letters. The mailman doesn't go to our village.