El Valle de los Caídos as space plural of memory

EL VALLE DE LOS CAÍDOS AS SPACE PLURAL OF MEMORY José Carlos Rueda Laffond and Belén Moreno Garrido Complutense University, Madrid

This paper analyzes the evolution of “El Valle de los Caídos” (The Valley of the Fallen) like polemic and plural space of memories in Spain. The monument had been since the mid-twentieth century a memory emphatic, and it has presented a strong sense of historicity linked to the institutionalization of the Franco´s regime. Currently, this site has established itself as a subject of controversy related to news politics of memory. In recent years, the Spanish media have focused on building the Historical Memory using different narratives about it. In 2009, the Spanish TV commercial channel Antena 3 released two documentaries Franco: Operación Caídos (Franco: Operation Fallen) and El Valle de los Caídos: la obsession de Franco (The Valley of the Fallen, Franco's obsession). The paper also analyzes these television programs. They defined a counter-memory practice led to the dismantling of traditional meanings characteristic of authoritarian imagination that still lives in the The Valley of the Fallen.

1. “EL VALLE DE LOS CAÍDOS” AS CONTROVERSIAL MEMORY SPACE IN SPAIN (1939-2006)

El Valle de los Caídos is the most representative memory of Franco’s regime. It is a mausoleum built near to Madrid, crowned by a large cross that is visible for several kilometres. There are buried in it thousands of soldiers and civilians who died during the Spanish Civil War, between 1936 and 1939. In the Basilica are also buried the remains of General Franco, who died in 1975, and the founder of the Spanish Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. Spanish Falange was the only party during the dictatorship of Franco. It was established, with clear ideological influences of Italian fascism and Action Française in 1933. El Valle de los Caídos was designed with a strong symbolic value. It is a clear indication of "patriotic topography," this term had been used by Stephen Daniels. Space

was created as a celebration of victory against the "anti-Spain" (Marxism, liberalism and parliamentary democracy). In this sense, the monument can be read as a excluding the defeated. It was therefore an official historical memory paradigm. But el Valle de los Caídos is also part of the geography of collective traumatic memory. It's a big cemetery, and it was built of political prisoners. From this point of view can be noted as a place of repression and violence. El Valle de los Caídos, today, is also a space for debate and political confrontation. During the first parliamentary government of socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain was aproved the "Law of Historical Memory" (2007). The objetive of this text was try to the full rehabilitation of the defeated in the Spanish Civil War, as well as the location and exhumation of the corpses that it are still buried in open fields or in ditches along roads and paths. Among the measures included in the Law of Historical Memory is the abolition of the public symbols of the dictatorship that still remain. Under the Law, el Valle de los Caídos must be exclusively a religious space, and it is prohibited to do political acts that exalting the Civil War or Franco. Leftist groups have raised the conversion of el Valle de los Caídos in a museum or a lay memorial. However, its future causes an intense political controversy. For the main opposition party (Partido Popular), the Law of Historical Memory is biased, proRepublican, and seeks to artificially re-open old wounds among the Spanish. El Valle de los Caídos is an uniform memory space. Establishes, however, a rather complex relationship between a place historical, a clash between social and political memoirs, and successive present situations. It have reflected, over time, an overlap of values, perceptions and discourses about collective memory. As Pierre Nora said, the memory spaces are not fixed and immutables, and it is constantly open in their new meanings, which depend on the processes of negotiation and conflict between the social, cultural or political. Therefore, el Valle de los Caídos represents the official memory of the dictatorship, and also the uncomfortable memory of Franco.

2. EL VALLE DE LOS CÁIDOS, THE OFFICIAL MEMORIAL OF FRANCO (1939-1975)

 Furthermore, not even during the Franco regime's el Valle de los Caídos presented a meaning unique or closed. Its symbolic nature was altered in relation to the evolution of the dictatorship. The design and construction of el Valle de los Caídos was extended during very long time, devoting twenty years, between 1939 and 1959. Throughout this period the politicals, diplomatics and strategics interest of Franco's regime changed. The cult of the "fallen" became an ideological key ritual in dictatorship, assuming that the tribute to the dead will act on the living as a model of heroism, patriotism and religious faith. This idea sums up well the values of the authoritarian regime of Franco, a mixture of military cult, traditional Catholicism and nationalist fervor. El Valle de los Caídos is a great architectural work, and was initially conceived as a metaphor of unchanged power. It is close to Madrid, and seeks to strengthen the idea of national centralism. It is also near the El Escorial Monastery, where Spanish kings have been buried. Its design was influenced by the great public works carried out in Germany and Italy during the Nazi and fascist regimes. It may therefore be considered as an example of "totalitarian art" in Europe. Its inauguration in 1959, was done to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Civil War. But shortly before was made the decision to bury in the great pantheon not only the fighters of Franco's side, but also some hundreds of Republican deads. The reason for this decision was twofold. On the one hand, by the very urgent rush to fill the vaults of the enclosure, even if was with the remains of former enemies. But also influenced by the new political interests and changes in public policy of memory. Indeed, in the late fifties Spain was a loyal U.S. ally in the context of the Cold War. Spanish propaganda emphasized the memory of the Civil War as a battle against communism. This idea allowed to present the Valle de los Caidos not as a fascist memorial, but as a place of reconciliation for those who did not discuss the authority of Franco. Later, the Valley of the Fallen drifted to be a place of contradictory resonances away

from

Franco’s

socialization.

During the last years of the dictatorship became the setting for sporadic acts of official memory, even though it was rarely used as a venue for large public gatherings. However, already during the democratic period, in the last third of the twentieth century has been primarily a tourist attraction. It has also been the site where have been meeting nostalgically on the anniversary of the death of Franco, the Spanish extreme right groups.

3. REPRESENTATION OF EL VALLE DE LOS CAIDOS ON TV TODAY: THE COUNTERMEMORY AGAINST THE FRANQUISM

Faced with the image given by the dictatorship of crusade, victory and partial reconciliation; and of the Spanish Transition, where a kind of official silence reigned. Documentaries El Valle de los Caidos. Franco’s obsession and Franco: Operation Fallen have highlighted the character of the monument as a place of violence and trauma. ……………………………………………………………………………………………. In   2009   was   the   fiftieth   anniversary   of   the   inauguration   of   the   Valley   of   the   Fallen.   That   commemoration   justified   the   making   of   a   television   documentary   by   the   Spanish   producer   Mediapro.   The   documentary   would   focus   on   the   historical   circumstances  surrounding  the  construction  and  burials  in  the  Valle  de  los  Caidos.   Considering   the   amount   of   information   found,   it   was   decided   to   make   two   complementary  programs,  which  were  issued  by  private  broadcaster  Antena  3.   Franco:  Operation  Fallen  aimed  to  investigate  complaints  about  what  happened  to   a   group   of   bodies   (known   as   "those   from   Aldeaseca").   Since   that   case,   the   film   developed   a   broader   narrative   framework,   focusing   on   the   mass   transfer   of   corpses  to  the  Valle  de  los  Caidos  during  the  stages  immediately  before  and  after   its  inauguration.   Franco's  obsession  set,  meanwhile,  a  more  general  perspective,  and  focused  on  the   history  of  the  monument,  from  its  formulation  and  project  to  the  circumstances  of   its  construction.  

The   first   documentary   was   broadcast   in   late   January   2009,   at   late-­‐night   hours.   It   was  one  of  the  most  watched  TV  spot  in  its  timeslot,  and  got  1,  3  million  viewers.   On  March  30,  was  set  Franco's  obsession,  at  at  late-­‐night  hours  too.  This  time  it  was   the  third  most  watched  program,  with  1,  2  million  viewers.  The  two  documentaries   audience  got  the  objetives  set  by  the  broadcaster. ………………………………………………………………………………………   Both   documentaries   were   led   by   journalist   Fernando   Gonzalez,   Gonzo,   a   popular   face  on  the  small  screen  thanks  to  its  reports  of  public  complaints.  It  is  a  figure  that   can  be  identified  by  the  viewer  as  a  defender  of  the  weak  and  as  a  journalist  with   informative     rigor.   These   ideas   were   developed   in   the   scripts   of   both   documentaries  as  they  were  presented  as  public  complaints  and  protests,  aimed  at   revealing  transcendent  hidden  truths.   This   journalist   developed   a   dual   role   as   narrator   and   interviewer.   As  the  interviewer  was  close  and  impartial,  simply  ask  the  questions  politely,  and   did   not   reveal   his   personal   position,   acting   as   a   mere   conduit   for   information.   However,   as   voice-­‐over,   was   clear,   forceful   and   concise,   with   short   and   accurate   sentences,   that   highlighted   these   dark   episodes   potentially   unknown   by   the   general  audience. ……………………………………………………………………………………………. To  achieve  its  objectives  the  documentary  used  the  narrative  clarity. Franco's   obsession   presented   a   chronological   line   from   the   Civil   War   to   the   present.   The   main   characters   were   two   former   inmates   who   had   worked   in   the   construction  of  the  mausoleum.  That  narrative  clarity  is  also  reflected  in  the  use  of   actual   informatives   resources,   typical   of   the   investigative   report   or   chronic   in-­‐ depth. Operation   Fallen   presented,   however,   an   investigation   that   started   from   the   present,  from  the  symbolic  and  ideological  meaning  of  the  Valle  de  los  Caidos  at  the   beginning   of   XXI   century.   In   its   first   sequence   offered   an   accurate   exposition   of   files  of  summary  .  Without  solution  of  coninuity,  flows  into  a  battery  of  questions: The   main   purpose,   then,   was   to   reveal   "what   hides   the   greatest   monument"   of   Spain.

The   narrative   clarity   used   in   both   documentaries   can   also   be   seen   on   the   remoteness   of   tone   of   academic   specialization   or   excessive   scholarship.   Both   programs   used   what   we   might   call   "affordable   introspection   forms",   as   from   a   popular   history   nearby,   characterized   by   the   simplification   of   processes   and   relationships   of   past,   through   agile   products   and   with   a   strong   visual   appeal.   All   this  led  to  a  sense  of  credibility  and  objectivity.   But   this   character   of   objectivity   had   some   limitations,   such   was   the   confusion   between  the  sources,  or  the  shows  of  testimony  and  evidence  known,  as  original  or   exclusive. …………………………………………………………………………………………… The  plots  of  the  two  documentaries  highlighted  the  painful  experiences.  Their  base   was   direct   traumatic   memory,   the   memories   still   open,   and   all   testimony   presented   a   coral   tone.   The   protagonists   of   the   documentarys   were   shown   as   a   dramatic  television  community.   This   question   shows   a   certain   contradiction.   The   argument   of   the   documentary   highlighted   the   still   latent   wounds   from   the   past.   However,   television   remembering  policies  also  need  to  socialize  the  pain,  and  "tame"  it,  in  front  of  the   possible  emotional  dyscontrol  due  to  its  update  to  the  present. …………………………………………………………………………………………… Both,   Franco's   obsession   and   Franco:   Operation   Fallen   offered   a   narration   that   combined  past  and  time  present,  value  of  the  testimony,  research  and  journalistic   introspection.  Both  discussed  issues  of  political  of  remembrance  at  national  level,   analyzing   and   picking   up   one   of   the   apparent   "forgotten"   most   notable   of   Transition:  The  Valle  de  los  Caídos.   Their  portrayal  of  this  monument  got  away  from  the  official  franquist  memory.  It   was   presented   as   a   space   that   remained   in   2009   as   an   unpunished   tribute   to   the   dictatorship.   And   as   a   sample   of   "media   amnesia",   of   ignorance   about   the   circumstances  of  its  construction,  or  the  conditions  of  the  burials  in  there. Both   documentaries   reflect   what   Joseph   Loshitzki   defined   as   the   culture   of   the   claim  embodied  in  the  "hybrid  victims."  Those  who  make  up  a  second  generation   of   memory,   the   descendants   of   the   repressed,   or,   as   the   creative   team   and   production   of   these   films,   did   not   experience   the   toughness   of   repression.   This   question   allows   to   relate   both   television   embodiments   to   a   wider  

international  

stage,  

such  

as  

Latin  

American  

or  

the  

Balkans.  

In   these   geographical   areas   as   well   we   could   talk,   -­‐as   in   Spain   nowadays-­‐about   a   "saturation   of   memory,"   using   the   Regine   Robin’s   expression.   This   is   reflected   in   the   proliferation   of   television   programs.   But   it   also   points   a   phenomenon   of   collective  rewriting,  made  from  new  generations.  It  presents  mediatic  memory  as  a   social  function  and  as  a  claim  of  democratic  citizenship.  Also  as  a  claim  for  roots,   more  or  less  submerged,  on  the  specifics  in  an  era  of  globalization. …………………………………………………………………………………………… THANK  YOU  VERY  MUCH