‘It’s a question of humanity’: how a small Spanish town made headlines over its immigration stance

Villamalea, a municipality of little more than 4,000 people, but an agricultural heavyweight. Photograph: Pablo Garcia/The Guardian

Flanked by farmland and nestled among the deep valleys of central Spain, few in Villamalea, a town of 4,200 people, expected to find their tranquil home splashed across Spanish media this summer.

“I’ve never been contacted by so many media outlets in my life,” said José Núñez Pérez, the conservative mayor of Villamalea. With a laugh, he added: “It made me question, just what have we done here?”