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Monday 19 December 2011

Villagers Vote To Keep 'Smurf Village' Blue

The inhabitants of a Spanish village painted blue for the filming of The Smurfs movie have voted to keep their houses the vivid shade, instead of returning to traditional white.
Residents of Juzcar, in Andalucia were promised by Sony Pictures that their dazzling white homes would be repainted once shooting had finished.
But in a referendum, the 221-strong population decided to keep the town in bright blue after enjoying a huge boost in tourism.
Numbers are up from around 300 a year to an estimated 80,000, and guided tours now also take place.
Extra police have had to be drafted in to help control traffic, a Smurf fair has been set up in the village square and even the town's mayor, David Fernandez, has been nicknamed Papa Smurf.
There are even Smurf-themed weddings and events such as a Smurf moonlight fun run.
Around a dozen painters had to use 1,000 gallons of paint to transform the ancient village into a place suitable for the famous little blue people.
Even the church and gravestones were daubed in the hue.
Mayor Fernandez said: "It has given a boost to the local economy, it has increased our happiness, our dreams and our levels of employment.
"Thanks to being painted blue we are known throughout the world."

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