Puerto Hurraco : El espectáculo del horror

On August 26, 1990, the remote hamlet of Puerto Hurraco, in the province of Badajoz, was the scene of one of the most brutal crimes in Spanish history. Brothers Emilio and Antonio Izquierdo had planned to exterminate the entire village due to an old family feud. In the dead of night, armed with shotguns, they stormed into the streets and murdered nine people —including two young girls— who were enjoying the last Sunday of their summer vacation. The village would be forever marked by the tragedy. Puerto Hurraco became the emblem of "dark Spain," and a journalistic and literary narrative, rife with falsehoods and clichés, was constructed around the event. It was the first crime to be turned into an audiovisual spectacle, as its unfolding could be followed almost live on the newly established private television channels.