Campos de Níjar (1954), and even La Chanca (1962), of Juan Goytisolo, one of the most prominent literary figures of Spain, are essential reads to understand what the greenhouse planes of Almería were like before the expansion of the current agribusiness model. In Campos de Níjar and La Chanca Goytisolo describes an impoverished land populated by destitute fishermen, farmers and labourers. Both travel narratives are set in a dark postwar Spain where poverty and social inequalities are stagnant and where the only hope left for the people is to migrate to Europe. For Goytisolo Almería is a place of exceptional beauty with a striking resemblance to Africa - not that far away geographically and historically.
Both have been translated into English: Juan Goytisolo, The Countryside of Nijar and La Chanca, Alembic Press. Plainfield, IN, US. 1987. ISBN 0934184194
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