One town where Hollywood has left a lasting impression is the village of Loja, situated in the mountains between Malaga and Granada.
Although the Marx Brothers were never there, for some reason lost in the mists of time, an image of the village appears at the beginning of the film, supposedly portraying Groucho’s kingdom of Sylvania.
The place from where the photo was taken has since been renamed Mirador (viewpoint) de Sylvania, and metal silhouettes of the Brothers have been erected there to commemorate its brief moment of glory, although for some reason Groucho has been soldered into position ‘biting the dust.’
Curiously, the inhabitants seem largely unaware that this attraction exists in the town and it took us a while to find it, despite the various statues and information panels now in place.