
We're sharing a
1968 documentary about Extra Virgin Olive Oil, from the
Spanish Film Archive, produced by NODO. This documentary captures some truly fascinating moments showing how olive oil was made in the late 1960s — nearly 50 years ago now!
When you watch this short film, you'll be struck — with more than a little nostalgia — by the images themselves, and of course by the songs the harvest workers sang as they picked the olives.
I've also included a few stills that have stayed with me. So much has changed since then. The harvest workers today are mostly migrants from Eastern Europe, but if you've ever spent a day out in the olive grove at harvest time, there's something about the olivar that still carries that same spirit of camaraderie and
pride in doing the work well and caring for the olive tree.

In this image, we see
harvest workers beating an olive tree with poles. Today there's specialist machinery that speeds up the process, but the pickers still beat the branches by hand to bring down every last olive. There's a real art to it — striking the tree while causing as little damage as possible!

Another image that will stay with me forever is that of
women gathering the nets full of olives. It could easily have been a painting by Julio Romero de Torres or Picasso, or a poem by García Lorca — much like the cover photo.
Watching this film only makes us prouder of the work we do at Mi Oliva Gourmet, travelling through olive groves and mills in search of small but extraordinary treasures, steeped in tradition and Andalusian character, so that you can
buy the purest Extra Virgin Olive Oil our land has to offer — and, by extension, the world. Don't miss this wonderful piece of our history, and make sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Watch the 1968 Extra Virgin Olive Oil documentary at the Spanish Film Archive
And remember, if you don't want to miss articles like this one,
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MI OLIVA GOURMET CLUB NOW! ;)
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