Mothers of Serradilla del Arroyo

I am saddened to report one calendar's story with an unhappy ending. Serradilla del Arroyo is a village of 400 in northern Spain.

Seven middle-aged Spanish mothers who posed for a tongue-in-cheek nude calendar — a fundraiser for their children's tiny, rural school — are now saddled with debt and 5,000 unwanted copies.

Its elementary school has one classroom and one teacher who handles its seven pupils, spanning four grades, and ranging in age from 7 to 11. But it is so cramped, the village matrons came up with the idea of building a recreation center for their kids.

The women acknowledge being rank amateurs in publishing and advertising, and because of a miscue with a distributor they missed out on the Christmas shopping rush. Now, sales of the $8 calendar have dried up and they owe a printer nearly $16,000.

The full story is in the International Herald Tribune and the Sydney Morning Herald: Sample pictures (and an unkind summary of the situation) can be found at CamelTap.