RIP Rafael Molina

 

Farewell to Rafael Molina, the film specialist from Valencia who dedicated his life to Fort Bravo in Tabernas

The owner and manager of the town of El Oeste died on Tuesday at the age of 74

La Voz de Almeria

By Evaristo Martinez

9/29/2026

 

The world of Almeria cinema and the universe of action actors from the towns of the West of Tabernas are in mourning after losing one of the most important figures of the audiovisual population of the province: the businessman Rafael Molina Perales, owner and manager of the town of Fort Bravo-Texas Hollywood, died this Tuesday at the age of 74.

He was also one of the co-founders and co-organizers of the Almería Western Film Festival (AWFF), whose management mourns his death. "Rafa Molina is part of the history of the western in Almeria. His passion, his dedication and his commitment to cinema and to the Tabernas desert leave an indelible mark on our festival and on the entire Almeria film family. He will always be with us," they say in a statement in which they convey their condolences to his family, friends and all the people who shared his passion for cinema with him.

At the express wish of his family, the management of the AWFF communicates that the wake will begin this Wednesday, September 30 from 1:00 p.m. and that the funeral mass will take place at 9:00 p.m. at the Sol de Portocarrero Funeral Home in Almeria.

A life out of a movie

Born in the Valencian town of Enguera in 1952, Rafael Molina arrived at the cinema in the mid-seventies, where he developed for 25 years a career as a stuntman, horseman and stunt double.

His filmography includes titles shot in Almeria locations such as the television series and 'The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones' and films such as 'Conan, the Barbarian' and 'The Adventures of Baron Münchausen'. His career was not limited only to Spain, but he also worked for audiovisual productions shot in Europe.

In 1981 he acquired, together with Paco Ardura, coordinator of semovantes, what was then known as the town of Juan García (its original owner), created in the mid-sixties. A year later they founded the company Decorados Cinematográficos Almería with the aim of continuing to host filming in their facilities. Soon after, the town opened to the public (the entrance cost 25 pesetas) and in 1984 they began to hold specialist shows for visitors.

At the beginning of the nineties, the venue was renamed Texas Hollywood and continued to grow with new services (restaurant, souvenir shop) and facilities (the military fort and the Indian camp). And since 2008 it has added Fort Bravo to its name. Recently, Molina bought his share from Ardura and was left as the sole owner and manager of the town.

During his years linked to the town, Fort Bravo-Texas Hollywood has served as a setting for the filming of titles such as 'Those Crazy Rustlers', 'A Dollar for the Dead', 'The Return of the Coyote', 'The Daltons vs. Lucky Luke', 'Blueberry, the Secret Experience', 'The Sisters Brothers' and '800 Bullets'. It has also been localized for music videos and advertising.

"Rafa was much more than a specialist and a businessman linked to cinema. He was one of the people who worked to keep the memory of the western alive in Almeria and a fundamental figure in the birth and growth of the Almeria Western Film Festival", they point out from the festival.

His career allowed Rafael Molina to become friends with great figures of cinema, such as Sancho Gracia and Terence Hill, who returned to the town last summer to shoot an advertisement.

MOLINA, Rafael (Rafael Molina Perales)

Born: 6/21/1952, Enguera, Valencia, Spain

Died: 9/29/2026, Almeria, Almeria, Spain

 

Rafael Molina’s westerns stuntman, actor, himself:

Silver Saddle - 1978 [stunts]

Sons of Trinity – 1994 (gambler)

El Fantasmo de Fort Bravo (TV) – 2014 [himself]

Spaghetti Western – 2014 [himself]