The only fruit
Valencia ProvinceArea: 10,812 km2Time zone: GMT+2
Valencia means “valour”, and was given the name by Roman soldiers in recognition of its inhabitants’ bravery. The city of Valencia is also supposedly home to the Holy Grail, after it was brought there in the 15th century by King Alfonso the Magnanimous.
Museros is outside Valencia, just inland from the Balearic Sea, and is home to around 6,500 people. The region is famed for its oranges, which are tangy and have a vibrant-coloured juice. They have become central to Valencia’s sense of character, as well as its economy. In Spanish, the term “mi media naranja”, my half-orange, is used to refer to one’s partner – a version of “my better half”. The images across these pages depict everyday life in Museros, with both workers and local people living in the shadow of the orange groves and processing plant run by Fontestad, one of the world’s biggest orange producers.
Oranges originated in the Middle East, and travelled along the Silk Road to India and then into North Africa, from which the Moors brought them to the Iberian Peninsula, along with lemons and limes. The fertile soil, salty breeze and reliable sun formed the perfect home for the orange, and groves proliferated. This folky history obscures the reality of contemporary agriculture in Spain, however, which is intensive and, in places, overwhelming. In Almería, in the south of Spain, there are so many polytunnels that the region is known as the “Sea of Plastic” – on Google Maps satellite view, it appears as a film of white that, when zoomed in, breaks suddenly into long rectangles. Nearly all of the UK’s tomatoes are grown here year-round, as are one quarter of the world’s jarred olives. “Fontestad is a family company” proclaims the company’s website, just under a picture of a 50,000 m2 warehouse, as far away from the image of a family-style enterprise as you can imagine. The company grows oranges across 900 hectares and produces more than 160 million kilos of fruit a year, selling them across Europe. These are the fragrant navel oranges you might find in baskets outside Notting Hill grocers; here is where they roll off the production lines in their millions.
Mark crept into the orange groves at dusk to capture these images, before site security was awake. The oranges remain in a twilight zone – neither asleep or awake, and somehow both organic and artificial. Around them, the cyclical routines of work and mealtimes continue in a kind of gentle haze.
Between 9 and 11 am, locals partake of esmorzar, a traditional mid-morning meal, ususally a bocadillo. One traditional filling is brascada, made from veal, Iberian ham, and onions.
The season begins with the planting of orange trees. The plastic wraps that protect the young trees from pests are blue, the complementary colour to orange.
After the sandwich, it’s time for cremaet, a coffee drink with rum. The warmth of the rum keeps you energised for work, while the coffee helps you stay active.
A book takes the reader through the history of orange label designs. Now usually stickers, the designs began as paper drawings pasted to wooden crates of fruit.
In Museros, old iron rings protrude from walls where horses were once tied. Some of the oldest ones can be found inside houses.
El Pinelo works in the fields, growing oranges for clients. In the background, smaller plots are filled with vegetables like artichokes. He chews on a sprig of rosemary.
In Valencia, locals hold competitions where horses pull heavy loads, in both a test of strength and a form of exercise for the animals. The owner of one of the horses, named Roche, takes his name from Saint Roch.
No building in the village is allowed to be taller than the bell tower. Bell ringing is alive in Spain; in Valencia, they are “full circle rung”, where the bell swings all the way round and returns to its starting position.
Orange trees are painted with lime to protect them from the intense summer sun and winter cold. The coating also helps prevent insects and pests due to its high alkilinity.
As evening falls and the air cools, Valencians sit outside to chat at the end of the day – making use of the white plastic outdoor chairs favoured by a la fresca conversationalists across the world.
Saint Roch, the patron saint of Museros, is often depicted carrying a dog by his side. Here, a languid retriever lies on the cool tiles.
Late at night, the fields are empty and the trucks have left. The irrigation system, acequia, inherited from the Arabs, tirelessly supplies the thirsty fruits with water all through the night.