
Don't miss this 1968 documentary about Extra Virgin Olive Oil
We're sharing a 1968 documentary about Extra Virgin Olive Oil, from the Filmoteca Española, produced by NODO. This documentary captures some genuinely fascinating glimpses of 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 music the harvest workers sang as they picked the olives.
I'm also sharing a few stills that have stayed with me. So much has changed since then. The harvest workers today are mostly migrant laborers from Eastern Europe, but if you've ever spent a day out in the grove during harvest, you'll know there's something about the olive groves that still carries that same sense of camaraderie and the pride in doing the work well and caring for the olive trees.
In this image, we see workers hand-beating an olive tree. Today, specialist machinery has made the process faster, but the pole-beaters still strike the branches by hand to bring down every last olive. There's a real skill to it — hitting the tree while doing as little damage as possible.
Another image that will stay with me forever is that of women gathering bundles of olives. It could easily become a painting by Julio Romero de Torres or Picasso, or a poem by García Lorca — much like the cover photo.
Watching this film only deepens our pride in the work we do at Mi Oliva Gourmet, travelling through groves and olive oil mills in search of small, exceptional treasures — full of tradition and the flavors of Andalusia — 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 be sure to leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Watch the 1968 Extra Virgin Olive Oil documentary at the Filmoteca Española
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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