Karl cannot come home

Karl Smith, a 49-year-old British man also known as Charlie, finds himself living on the streets of Arguineguín, a small town on the southern coast of Gran Canaria. Despite holding dual British and Spanish citizenship, Smith is currently unable to return to his home country, the UK.

He resides near a SPAR supermarket, where he often engages in conversations with locals and tourists. Smith survives through the kindness of strangers, who frequently offer him food, drinks, and sometimes even small gifts like a used iPhone. He maintains a critical perspective on British politics, describing the post-Brexit landscape as a "civil war" within the British empire.

Smith, who was born in Manchester, has a Spanish father and a British mother. His Spanish passport lists his name as Karl Frances Cabrera. He carries his worldly possessions in a small bag, with a friend holding onto a suitcase of clothes before being imprisoned. Smith, who has a friendly demeanor and is not physically imposing, occasionally looks after a neighbor's dog outside the SPAR store, sharing a similar restriction of not being allowed inside.