It’s a Spanish Christmas tradition and very rarely does the average Spanish family not take part; especially when times are tough; we’re talking about El Gordo de Navidad, which is drawn on the 22nd of December.

This time the second prize, worth one million euros fell to Vélez Benaudalla, just above Motril; a village of just around 3,000 inhabitants. All told, 55 million euros was distributed around the municipality, turning a small village in the economic doldrums into a village of economic relief.

Funnily enough the winning number 00147 was considered ‘feo’ and nobody was buying it, but the lass who runs the village lottery office, Violeta Amate, convinced the local co-ordinator of the left-wing party, the IU, to buy 280 decimos of the 600 the lottery office had, as a favour, as she was having trouble selling them.

They in turn convinced their working-class members, farmers and labourers (many of whom are out of work), to buy them, each decimo eventually winning 100,000 euros for its holder – quite a few bought more than one at 23 euros each…
But it wasn’t only the IU who bought decimos from the lottery office, but also the village head teacher and the village priest, who said that he would distribute his winnings amongst the needy of the village.

This Christmas draw landed in a village, where even a little is a lot.