(click to enlarge photos)My guitar playing friend Loli had invited me to sign up with her as an extra in a movie being made by a German film company in Palma . I never did see that picture and still have no idea what it was called, but it seemed to be a promotional film for Mallorca, Los Valldemosa, a local singing group from the village of Valldemosa and Salomé, another popular singer who would represent Spain the following year in the Eurovision song contest.
This was quite an entertaining venture, since at that time there was no internet, no video cameras or colour television. The apartment I stayed in with friends didn't have even a black and white television but that was quite normal. So to see even promotional movies, one went to the cinema, watched the NO-DO black and white news followed by a movie short and then a main feature movie. That's the way things were in Palma de Mallorca in 1968. And so we were going to be working with this crew and I was looking forward to it.
Our first day we were taken in buses to the bullring, where Salomé would be standing down in the centre (no bulls were there, luckily) with a few red carnations at her feet. We were arranged in the stands and given a white square of cloth which we were to wave at her. In a bullfight, the waving of white handkerchiefs by the spectators indicates that the matador has pleased the crowd. So we waved our hankies at Salomé and it was filmed.
Another scene for the movie was taken at the entry gates of the Pueblo Español, the walled enclosure where the guitar factory was located among the replicas of Spanish buildings. We were all given balloons with long strings and were told to stand on either side of the door just outside the gates. Salomé would then come running out the door with arms outstretched, grabbing some of the balloon strings from our hands.
So we did what we were told to do. She did what she was told to do and it was filmed. At the end of each day we lined up at a table and were paid our daily salary. I was thrilled to be earning money as a movie extra, even though it wasn't very much.
That was quite an entertaining day!
Continue on to Chapter 23......A Night in Tagomago
Go back to Chapter 21......Loli
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