\"La esencia estética de lo nacional: españolada, folklore y flamenco\", in Campo cerrado. Arte y poder en la posguerra española 1939-1953, ex. cat.

Immutable and accepted, the stereotypes associated with the imaginary of “Spanishness” were a powerful element within the artistic narratives of the 1940s. These stereotypes—which were legacy of romanticism, defined on the other side of the Pyrenees—went from being accepted as a cultural construct imposed from the outside to being projected as selfrepresentation within Spain, and were even linked to therecovery and elevation of popular culture as part of the construction of modernity and the avant-garde. In this composite imaginary, the accepted nineteenth-century mix of “Carmens,” toreadors, and bandits by which “Spanishness” had come to be equated with qualities such as passion, violence, sensuality, heroism, and pride found its fullest expression in the type of films that became known as “españoladas.” The incorporation of live action and theatrical aspects boosted the dissemination of these cultural constructs even further, introducing the truth and emotional value of the body through live performance and embracing shared memory by means of folklore. At the same time, the presence of fiction was a constant reminder that the films were mise-en-scènes,  redefined products loaded with meaning about what Spain was.”