once upon a time (not that long ago), júzcar was a village just like any other village in the south of spain. sun-bathed, quiet and relaxed, but most importantly, traditional and white.
the houses here were the way people expect them to be in southern spain, with whitewashed, mediterranean façades. traditionally, in andalusian villages people whitewash their houses once or twice a year, for both practical and aesthetic reasons. such goes the fame of these villages that they have become known as ´los pueblos blancos,´ the white towns, or even the new tuscany, pretty as a postcard.
and in the middle of all of these white towns stands up júzcar, now a blue village, somewhat defying its neighbouring towns, at the same time increasing their fame. ´blue´ you might ask? yes, blue, a bright blue that reminds one of the clear sky and the crystal clear summer sea.
júzcar before and after the smurf invasion 2011
only reminds though, because this is the unmistakable smurf blue tint of colour. in 2011, the pretty village of júzcar was chosen to help promote the launch of the new movie from the smurfs franchise. everything was painted in the unique blue, from houses and bars to the town hall and even the church and the cemetery! and even though the village was promised a return to its original white appearance after the end of the promotional campaign, the villagers decided against it, and so júzcar remains until the present day covered in blue.
who knew that this small village of 250 inhabitants would in fact know how to embrace this marketing opportunity and turn itself into a proper touristic destination. not only are all the buildings painted in blue, but they organise special smurf-related kids activities, they have a smurf-market (mercapitufo), and several places that serve smurf-snacks (pitu-tapas). the beer is still beer-coloured, no worries, but of course while in júzcar, one must call it pitu-caña (smurf-beer).
you can find júzcar, the only smurf village in the world, 25 km from ronda and 144 km from málaga.
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