Lola Almudevar

Almudevar was born in London, England to a Spanish father, a psychiatrist, and a British-born mother, the child of emigre German Jews who survived the Holocaust.[2][1] Almudevar grew up in Nottingham[1] and appeared as a child actress in the BBC's The Rainbow (1988). She graduated from the University of Leeds in 1999 with a degree in European Studies.[1] While attending the school, she wrote for the university newspaper, the Leeds Student (now known as The Gryphon).[1]

Almudevar moved to Brussels, Belgium, following her graduation, where she worked for the European Union.[1] She was subsequently awarded the Schwarzkopf Foundation's Young European of the Year prize in 1999 for her work in promoting unity among diverse young people through her journalism.[1]

She was first hired by the BBC in 2002.[1] She initially worked for BBC Midlands. Almudevar also worked on radio and television programs while working at BBC Midlands, including Midlands Today and Inside Out.[1] She also created "docu-dramas" for the network before becoming an overseas reporter and correspondent for the BBC.[1]

She took a sabbatical leave from the BBC in 2006, when she travelled to several Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.[1] She produced a number of news pieces while on sabbatical which focused on issues facing the region, including street children and a campaign to legalize the production of the coca leaf.[1]

Almudevar won an award for her work on Alexandra Road, a ten-part series that followed the lives of residents of a street in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, which she co-produced with fellow BBC journalist Brady Haran.[1]

In 1999, she won the Young European of the Year award, given by the Heinz-Schwarzkopf Foundation and the European parliament, for her work in promoting understanding among young people from different cultures.[2]

Almudevar was killed going out to cover a story for the BBC. The taxi she was travelling in collided at night with the wreckage from a previous collision between lorries which had not been cleared off the main highway. The accident happened near the Bolivian village of Calamarca on 25 November 2007.[1] She was 29 years old.[1]

Almudevar and another journalist were travelling to the Bolivian city of Sucre to cover a story about political unrest in the city due to the approval of a new regional draft constitution.[1] Flights had been suspended to Sucre so Almudevar was forced to take the taxi.[1]

Their taxi collided with the wreckage from two trucks which had been involved in an earlier accident.[1] Lola Almudevar was killed, along with the two truck drivers, and Clotilde Fernandez, the wife of the taxi driver who was accompanying him.[1] Spanish Reuters reporter Eduardo Garcia, who was traveling with Almudevar to Sucre, was seriously injured in the accident.[1]

Almudevar was posthumously awarded BBC Programme Maker of the Year by the BBC World Service in 2008, in recognition of her documentary work.

• The Guardian: Lola Almudevar obituary
• Lola Almudevar memorial site
• BBC News: Our own correspondent, Lola Almudevar
• Lola Almudevar at IMDb
• Journalisted - Articles by Lola Almudevar