The serial killer of Olvera

A false start

If you clicked on this post hoping for a blood-soaked thriller, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. No corpses, no detectives, no dark alleys. And yet …our “serial killer” does sneak onto the stage for a brief cameo.

Olvera, a white village with a wild soul

First, let’s set the scene. Perched on a rocky hilltop in the beating heart of Andalusia, Olvera looks like something lifted from a painter’s dream. At sunrise, the castle glows golden, and the church bells echo through the valleys as mist curls up from the olive groves. But don’t be fooled by its sleeping charm. Olvera is anything but ordinary.

This little village of just 8000 souls shelters people from 42 nationalities – yes you read that right.

About 500 brave spirits have chosen this sleeping beauty as a stage for a brand new chapter in their lives. A colorful mix of spirited Latinos, digital nomads, war refugees from Ukraine and lucky souls basking in their retirement sunshine.

A festival is born

At the heart of it all stands Remedios Palma Zambrana, our indomitable mayor. She’s a fierce believer in multicultural living. And when something excites her...she throws a party. So on October 11th and 12th, 2024 she proudly gave birth to “Hi Olvera Nations Fest”. A vibrant two-days festival where immigrants showed off their finest cooking skills and treated everyone to delicious bites from their home country. Of course, the whole thing was topped of with a killer soundtrack, an eclectic mix of genres:

Latino rock Andaluz, jazz, African beat, cumbia…even the soulfaul wail of a Scottish pipe band echoed through the winding streets of Olvera.

The guiris of Olvera

Now, among the newcomers – sometimes cheekily labeled “guiris” by the locals – the Brits are the most visible tribe. They came with umbrellas and stayed for the sun. Yet despite their best intentions, the language barrier remains a stubborn companion. So they build their own little island in the sea of Spanish chatter: afternoon teas and once a month they host a hearty “Meet&Eat” to keep the social wheels turning. Last june, Kathy – the undisputed queen bee of the British clan – asked me a favor. She had organized a group dinner in Torre Alhaquime, a picture-perfect hamlet three kilometers from Olvera, and needed me to give someone a ride.

The hitchhiker and the killer

No big deal, I thought. I pulled up, expecting nothing out of the ordinary, Until my passenger slid into the car, looked me dead in the eye, and delivered the most unforgettable icebreaker of the year:

“You’re not a serial killer, are you?”

My reply was equally fitting:

“Well, since you ask…I’ve just done ten years behind bars. Bienvenue á bord ma petite chérie!

And just like that, our drive turned into the beginning of a story that could only happen in Olvera, a village where the world meets, cultures collide and even a “serial killer” can get a laugh.