01.01.70
It's still tenebrous when the women of Sodeto, saying the rosary, walk through the village in an beginning-morning procession. There is an icy wind, and Olga Bonet hopes that the people here will not give up to the sin of self-indulgence. They are celebrating the feast of St. Agatha, the patron saint of women, which seems fit, since it was the women who brought the money to Sodeto.
The inhospitable village on the lip of the Monegros, a hilly region of northern Spain, is home to only 250 people. It has never been a abode of luxury, at least until a few weeks ago, when a 120-million ($158-million) bonanza hailed down on Sodeto and the bordering villages. They had won "El Gordo" -- the Fat One -- the main prize in the civil Christmas lottery. Roughly 700 million in prize scratch was paid out in the entire province of Huesca.
But Sodeto is unique, because all of its families were winners. As a issue, a small village of farmers became synonymous with good luck at a then of economic crisis in Spain . And even as the Fitch rating agency in London lowered the territory's credit rating by two points to A, the champagne was still flowing in Sodeto.
Source: Spiegel Online