Whose Camino Is It?: Franco, Santiago, and the

Way of St. James

Lynn Talbot Roanoke College

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Battle of Clavijo – 844 CE

•  King Ramiro I •  Dream in which St. James appeared and

promised victory in battle against the Moors

•  Santiago Matamoros •  Voto de Santiago – tribute to the

Cathedral in Santiago

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Juan Carreño de Miranda – 17th C. https://www.wikiart.org/en/juan-carreno-de-miranda/santiago-en-la-batalla-de-clavijo

20th century Spain

•  Monarchy (1902 – 1931) •  Monarchy and Military Dictatorship (1923 –

1930)

•  Second Republic (1931 – 1939) •  Secular state, St. James removed as patron saint

•  Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) •  St. James reinstated as patron saint

•  Franco Dictatorship (1939 – 1975)

•  Constitutional Monarchy (1975 – present)

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Battle of Brunete (1937)

•  July 21, 1937 – St. James reinstated as patron saint of Spain by Franco

•  July 25, 1937 – Franco’s forces are victorious •  Franco commented publicly that the

night before the final battle he had dreamed about St. James

•  “The Apostle has granted me victory on his feast day.”

•  Santiago Matarrojos

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Archivo Histórico Militar Arturo Reque Meruvia “Alegoría de Franco y la Cruzada” 1948-49

https://www.flickr.com/photos/iesluisvelez2006-2007/8611161396

Mural – Monastery of Guadelupe, 1972

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Francisco Franco •  Astute manipulator •  Goal: regain Spain’s former imperial glory

•  Ferdinand and Isabel •  Santiago

•  Political party – Movimiento – pulled together differing supporters – monarchists, Carlists, Falange, army, church

•  Santiago de Compostela •  United the political and religious ideas of the

dictatorship •  Mass gatherings – political spectacle with religious

overlay •  Pilgrimage as destination

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without

attribution

1938

La Vanguardia – “historic photo”

National Pilgrimage of the Falange to Santiago

La Vanguardia 25 August 1943

1954

ABC 27 July 1954

La Vanguardia 27 July 1954

1954

1954 http://manelodaxurreira.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

The Falange

•  Fascist party – founded in 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera – similar to Italian Fascism

•  José Antonio executed at the beginning of the Civil War

•  Franco unified the Falange with other political groups and closely controlled them during and after the Civil War

•  The Falange developed youth organizations to instill party values in Spanish youth

•  Frente de Juventudes (1940 – 1960) •  Organización Juvenil Española (OJE) (1960 -)

1948 http://elcalamoafilado.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Marcha-Peregrinación de la OJE 1965 http://www.laoje.org.es/camino/65/documentos/documentos_65.htm

OJE 1965

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Economic Development

•  1954-1973 •  Growth of tourism – package tours to Spanish

coastal areas •  Ministry of Information and Tourism – search

for more “cultural” destinations as an alternative (early 1960s)

•  Camino de Santiago – as a motorized route •  Improved infrastructure •  Tourist brochures •  Signage along the route •  Pilgrim “card”

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

Created for 1965 Holy Year; reused in 1971

Non-governmental efforts

•  Growing interest in Spain and Europe about the pilgrimage route in late 1940s and 1950s

•  1943 – book prize announced for “Las peregrinaciones jacobeas”

•  1950 - La Société Française des Amis de Saint Jacques de Compostelle

•  1957 – Walter Starkie: The Road to Santiago

•  In 1960s and 1970s, interest grew in reviving the route for walking pilgrims

•  Los Amigos del Camino de Santiago de Estella •  Elías Valiña Sampedro

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without

attribution

http://www.sasua.net/estella/articulo.asp?f=santiago2

1963

Los Amigos del Camino de Santiago de Estella - 1962

1971

Elías Valiña Sampedro – Parish Priest in O Cebreiro

Father of the yellow arrow

Recent Efforts

Sociedade Anónima de Xestión do Plan Xacobeo

•  Organized in 1991 to plan for Holy Year 1993 •  Created to promote the Camino de Santiago in

Galicia •  Albergues •  Monte de Gozo

All Materials in this presentation are the work of Lynn Talbot and cannot be used without attribution

2016 278,041

Vestiges of the Spanish Civil War

Albergue – Puente la Reina

Azofra

Villambistia

Logroño - Cathedral

Santiago de Compostela Praza da Quintana – across from the Puerta Santa

Between Villafranca Montes de Oca and San Juan de Ortega

Caldas de Reis – Camino Portugués

Whose Camino Is It?