In this blog you are to comment on one or more of the assigned articles in relation with any of the topics touched on in the lecture PDFs every week. Your posts should be brief (150 words or the equivalent to 1 paragraph) and, most importantly, a reflection of your preparation for class.
I liked watching the BBC News video report on "Exhuming Spain's civil war graves," especially because I just wrote my final paper on the Spanish Civil War. In fact, this video was simultaneously surprising yet expected, which pretty much characterizes the general ambivalence that Spaniards feel towards the Civil War today. In particular, the video presented two opposing viewpoints of the legacy of the Civil War. The first was a man who said that all he wanted to do was to find the bones of his kin so that he could give the dead a proper burial. A later opinion of a woman said that basically the past doesn't matter anymore and people need to just accept what happened and move on. The two opposing opinions generally represent the country (VERY GENERALLY) and I think it is really interesting that even today, people have such split opinions towards the war just like they did during the actual wartime.
In the lecture, I found it really intriguing that one of the challenges of Spain was terrorist attacks. I didn’t know the attacks were a universal issue that Spain faced as well besides the U.S. In the Al Qaeda article, 198 people died and 1,400 was wounded, it made me think back to our terrorist attacks of September 11th. It’s interesting how both attacks were on the 11th. Many people say it was a government conspiracy but either way, both Spain and the U.S are going through major scares of terrorism. On another note, the video about Spain’s mass graves from the civil war is very important. In lecture we went into depth with the different sides of the civil war. I’m in Spanish 44 as well and they spoke about Chile and their mass grave. It included the movie Nostalgia of the Light, which showed people still looking for the disappeared family members. The video says, there are still people missing and unaccounted for in the Spanish civil war. The world cup and the movida madrilène are more happy toned articles. I’m guessing after the civil war, they needed things to lift their spirits.
Spanish 42 Blog Post Week 10 This week, the article that interested me the most was the one written by Stephen Burgen entitled "World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets." Given the fact that Spain is currently facing many problematic issues (economic, political, and social), I think that the 2010 World Cup victory could not have come around at a better time. In the article, there are various accounts of people expressing their joy over Spain's victory despite the fact that the country is infested with turmoil. Relative to lecture this week, we learned that 21st century Spain is not as unified as it was prior to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco Bahamonde. As assumed from the article, Spain's World Cup victory was significant in that it unified the troubled Spain--even if it was only for a single day. As learned in Post-Franco Spain (1975-2011), the country is facing various challenges today, such as the longing of Catalan and Basque Nationalisms, ETA terrorism, exponential immigration issues, and unemployment. Since Spain is in the current quest of identifying and finding itself, it is quite momentous that the Spanish soccer team rose to victory, thus aiding and reassuring Spanish inhabitants that despite various ideologies lingering in the air, there continues to exist an ounce of unification and of Spanish identity.
Review Questions: -What are the major events that distinguish the First Republic from the Second Republic? -What allowed Francisco Franco Bahamonde rise to power as a dictator? -Did Franco's death in 1975 allow the country to truly progress or do we see a Post-Franco Spain that continues to struggle despite its modernization?
In lecture this week, we took an in depth look at the Franco dictatorship. Professor Torrecilla identified three important periods during his reign: ‘hunger and repression’ in the 1940’s, ‘prosperity and opposition’ in the 50’s and 60’s, and Franco’s final years in the 70’s. The 1940’s were a dark time for Spain; thousands of individuals were killed and imprisoned. Surprisingly, despite political/social repression, the 50’s and 60’s brought prosperity. Tourism, emigration, and foreign investment rejuvenated the Spanish economy. Then, in Franco’s final years, Spain relinquished the remnant of her colonial empire and became a modern country. Relative to this week’s lecture topic, there was one particular article that stood out: “Exhuming Spain’s Civil War Mass Graves”. I found it fascinating that even today, Spain is still reeling from and influenced by the old Franco dictatorship. According to the “Exhuming Spain’s Graves” article, volunteers - with minimal support from the government - have just begun the process of exhuming over 2,000 unmarked, Civil War gravesites across the country. While in theory this endeavor should have widespread support, a good portion of people believe that these mass graves should be left alone. Many people think the past should be left in the past and are not ready to dredge up old memories from the Franco regime. The Franco dictatorship is a very controversial topic for Spaniards and many, in an attempt to avoid conflict, refrain from discussing the issue altogether.
Review Questions: -Review the importance/history of the 5 main christian kingdoms -How did Spain's relationship with France change over the decades?
In the readings for this week my favorite was the one about the 2010 world cup. It was nice to see how the country became together to celebrate winning the cup and being able to forget about the hard times that the country is going through. With high unemployment percentages spaniards still managed to celebrate the world cup like they had to. Similar to Movimiento Madrileño, it's nice to see that after or during hard times people can still come together and try to see the positive in things. After Franco's dictatorship, during the 80s people just tried to see the positive things during those times and that now when people look back they have no regrets and are happy about what happened. Those articles were very inspiring but on the other hand the one about the terrorist attack was very sad. But hopefully like in the other two articles, during hard times for the country is when they all come together.
Review Questions: -How/Why/When did the civil war started and what were the effects? -What are the difference between the first and Second Republic? -How did Franco take power and became the dictator of Spain?
Al Qaeda Claims Credit for Madrid Blast It seems as though the one of the only times that Spain had a prosperous era, was during the time of al Andalus. Every other time in Spain has been stricken with poverty, war or unrest by the constituents. The article that I read was "Al Qaeda claims credit for Madrid blast", I chose this article because I remember watching the news when this particle story was running. It was difficult for Spain to make the transition from a dictatorship into a democracy because they ran into a lot of problems during the transition. Among the problems that they ran into employment was a huge one, with the unemployment rate after Franco's dictatorship reaching an all time high with 23% unemployment. Another problem that Spain encountered after Franco's dictatorship was that it was not a unified nation, Catalan and Basque chose to be separate on many issues including how they perceive national identity.With all of these factors Spain has become a vulnerable country, making it easier for terrorist organizations,such as Al Qaeda, to attack. Al Qaeda also has motive to attack since Spain is an ally of the United States and backed them up during the invasion of Iraq. Many people thought that the bombing was the result of the ETA, a Basque militant group, but was indeed Al Qaeda. In order for Spain to stand strong there are many issues that they have to improve, otherwise Spain will be tarnished by it's economy, civil unrest and terrorist organizations. What was the importance of the monarchs in France? What are some effects of the Napoleonic wars? What are the importance of the different Spanish identities in the 18th century?
The article about La Mavida was very interesting. It was very understandable that after 40 years of repression and militant rule, Spain would break free into a spontaneous and liberal expression of culture. Under Franco, everything was suppressed and censored, so no one could really express how they felt. The idea of free press or speech were inconceivable for so long, that many Spaniards had pent up emotions about their horrid state. However, with the fall of Franco and the introduction of democracy, these emotions were released, and Spaniards once again created themselves a national identity. Last year, I watched "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" in Spanish 25, and was captivated. Pedro Almodovar is a film genius, and many of his themes are controversial and ridiculous. Sexual promiscuity, homosexuality among others, which were unheard of during the Franco regime. It was great that after so long of being silenced, Spaniards finally created an outlet to release their crazy tensions and feelings. La Movida was a defining movement for post-Franco Spain that still continues today, as it lives on to be distinguished by liberal thinkers and over-the-top ideologies.
The World Cup article also grabbed my attention. I was actually in Salamanca when Spain won the World Cup in 2010. Never before had I seen such excitement and craziness; I could really sense the strong unity that the victory created. As an American, even I felt Spanish that night. My friends and I ran in the massive pacts singing "Yo Soy Espanol, Espanol, Espanol" out of pure adrenaline and ecstasy. Despite everyone's differences, we all felt united and happy that night. The divide between Catalonia and Spain dissolved that night, as everyone cheered for one team, one name "Espana".
All of these week’s articles were quite interesting to read. The two articles that I enjoyed reading the most were the one about the World Cup and the 2004 Atocha terrorist attacks. As the article “World Cup 2010: Spain Unites in Victory With Celebration in the Streets” mentions this “…truly [was a] national victory for a nation that [was] still struggling to find itself-or its several selves-35 years after the end of the dictatorship.” Soccer is a family sport that brings many people together and this is exactly what it did in Spain during the 2010 World Cup. Despite their differences, people were able to unite and celebrate the first cup title of their country and for a moment forget about the economic problems their country was facing. The article about the terrorist attacks also caught my attention because I was not aware that like the US, Spain had also suffered from terrorist attacks. I do remember nine years ago hearing in the news about these attacks but I was too young to comprehend. Since the article was published a day after the attack, it was not clear who had done these attacks but in lecture Professor Torrecilla clarified it was Muslim groups of North Africa who had committed these actions. I understand that the US is a powerful nation terrorists would attack but I do not see why Spain which in that time was still struggling with many problems would get attacked. Nevertheless, violence occurs anywhere and Spain was not an exception to it.
In this week’s lecture, what was really interesting to me was how Spain was able to recuperate as a nation after having suffered during Dictaro Francisco Francos dictatorship. Francos dictatorship brought about political confrontations and thus Spain also lacked political, social, and economical unity. Although Spain went through a rough patch during Franco’s reign, after Francos death, Spain suffered from a delay in cultural revival. It was until King Juan carlos I introduced the democratic political system, which spurred a cultural and national revival of Spain. As stated in this week’s article, “ La Movida Madrilena, the spirit of the Spanish 80’s”, the article states how Spain experienced a cultural revival when King Juan Carlos 1 introduced democracy and thus a first cultural movement of freedom resulted. The articles states how this cultural movement was called La Movida, which was, “an era of expression with pop and underground music, comics, captioned photo-novel strips, blatan marketing, movies and extravagant designs”. The article went on to explain how La Movidas best known figure, Pedro Almodovar, describes la Movida as an artistic movement and states how individuals who didn’t live those years could not fully understand la movida compared to the generation that grew up in those years. To me this is fascinating because prior to this class, I never knew why the 80’s were so popular artistic and musically wise, I never knew the historical reasons as to why Spain became cultural revived and did not know that before this movement, Spain had underwent period of negative times under Francos dictatorship. Makes me realize that Spain is in fact formed and shaped by history itself.
1. What are the 3 national indentities Spanish underwent?
2. How does Goya represent the Enlightment and Romanticism? 3. What is the purpose of the Civil War, who was invovled in it? what did each side represent?
Review Questions; 1. Name the similarities and difference between the First and Second Republic? 2. What are the major characteristics of the major artistic movements in the Iberian Peninsula? 3. How do Spain's and Portugal's histories parallel each other? Discuss the relationship between the 2 countries through out history. 4. What are the major dates we need to know/the events that coincide with them?
The article that was most fascinating to me was the "the world cup 2010" because it showed this common ground that all Spaniards could relate to. Despite Spain's troubled economy, growing separate regional nationalism, and other social differences, it is amazing to see a game of soccer help manifest a sense of Spanish national pride as a whole country. It is these common social events that eliminate all differences and helps restores the national confidence that we are all in this together.
The article that was most appealing to me this week was “Al Qaeda claims credit for Madrid blasts” because it brings up the topic of religion as a main motivator for the supposed actions taken upon by the terrorist group. It is interesting to note that aside from Spain having moved on to an era of modernism and democracy in which religion no longer plays a major role in government, the once influential religion in all aspects of life continues to haunt Spain and its future in one way or another. According to the confessional letter that arrived at the newspaper company, the reason for the attacks was in response to Spain’s promotion against Islam. Taking into consideration Spain’s historical religious intolerance especially against Islam, it was no surprise to me to see that Spain continues to be assumed to be in favor of a campaign that does not favor Islam and have that used as the excuse for targeting Spain with a terrorist attack. It seems to be that Al Qaeda is a group that lingers on the past and possibly views Spain as one of nations in which they can impose revenge for the intolerance of Islam in the past.
I‘m very fascinated by the La Movida Madrileña because everything about the movement is so different from what I normally associate with Spain. We’ve talked a lot about Spain’s cultural identity and stereotypes, but even the image that I have of modern-day Spain does not include punk music, crazy makeup, or experimentation with drugs, alcohol, and sex. I’m not sure where I would place such characteristics; maybe some place New York City—not somewhere in Europe, which is usually considered a formal region of sophistication and high culture. I’ve seen a couple of Almodovar’s films, and I’ll admit that I was a bit taken aback. But the shock value that comes from the films, and the complete absence of inhibitions that seems to have existed during the time, are what I find fun and interesting about it. Especially when I think about the situation that Spain was in a decade earlier during Franco’s dictatorship, the contrast is so stark that it is almost amusing.
My favorite article from this week was “World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets” by Stephen Burgen. It was interesting to read about how important this win actually was for Spain. Burgen states that four million were unemployed, Spain was living beyond its means, and a double dip recession was impending. This win was particularly memorable to me, because during the 2010 World Cup, I was in Costa Rica on a trip with my choir, and literally every restaurant and bar we were at was packed with people, cheering for Spain. In lecture, we have been discussing modern Spain, and how Spain is not as big of a world power as it used to be. Modern Spain’s main source of income is tourism, and the country struggles with unemployment, immigration issues, national identity, and terrorism. Moreover, we have discussed the loss of identity in religion, world power, and imperial strength. If anyone really needed this victory, it was Spain. The author discusses the celebrations in the streets, the Italians, Argentinians, and English people who all rooted for Spain, and the wild response to the win. The Spanish president Zapatero stated, “They have rejected fatalism and pessimism and turned them into confidence and joy. This is the image we want Spain to have in the 21st century” (“World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets”). The victory in the 2010 World Cup was a huge turning point for modern Spain and an event that boosted the morale of the country and unified Spain maybe a little bit more.
Things to Review: - Colonial expansion of the 3 major Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula - Liberal Spanish Identity - Franco's rule and the end of his rule
The World Cup article is an excellent example of what we have been talking about all quarter. In the history of Spain there have been many obstacles and people who have tried to invade and destroy the country. In all these years, Spain has been able to conquer and fight off anyone who has tried to influence them. Though like any country, Spain has had its tension from within each other but when things like the World Cup happen it reminds them of what it is to be a truly Spanish. They all come together and celebrate their nation. I found really interesting what a person said in the article, that this is how they want to be remembered going into the 21st century. Even though there are rough patches, the people of Spain are always able to remember why they are proud to be from Spain.
What I found most interesting this week was the video on the excavation of mass burial sites from the Spanish Civil War. From lecture, we learned that during the Spanish Civil War, thousands of Republicans and Nationalists were killed, as many as up 100 thousand. Furthermore, once the far right won the civil war and the Franco dictatorship was established, no forgiveness was granted to the remaining Republicans, and thus they were put in jail or killed, an additional 37 thousand Republicans dead. The mass burial sites found in Madrid are evidence of the cruel massive killings, of people buried without their names remembered, and of families left without a body to mourn. The news report tells us that the excavation of these sites is precisely to identify the missing bodies of those who were killed during the civil war and early Franco regime. I found it very touching that the news report included a personal narrative, Luis, and 80 year-old man searching for the remains of his father. According to Luis, all he wants is to find his father and give him a proper burial. The findings of these mass burial sites and the excavations are evidence for the civil war’s unhealed wounds and a fragmented Spain. Questions regarding final: 1.What was the significance of Goya’s paintings? 2.Is there a list of names which we must know?
During this week’s reading/video, I found the video “Exhuming Spain’s civil war mass graves.” The end of last week we started to learn about Franco’s dictatorship and the Spanish Civil War, and it is always interesting to see how each country deals with the obstacles that are presented to them after conflicts like this. I know Professor Torrecilla mentioned that the Civil War was divided into three different periods and for the most part oppression happened during the 1940’s. I know that there were many deaths all throughout the dictatorship but I would imagine that many of the mass graves, like the one shown in the video, would have occurred during this time of oppression. If this is true most of these remains are about 70 years old. Many families would like to find their loved ones and give them proper burials, but it was mentioned in the video that there are limited resources and limited funding, and most of the work is done by volunteers, which means that the excavations and process of giving each body and identity would take a lot of time. In the video they show both viewpoints on the excavations, the son who wanted to find his father, and a woman who said this from the past should stay in the past, and I can make up my mind on who I agree with. If my family would be buried there I would want to find them, but at the same time I feel that doing this would bring a lot of old wounds to many people.
With unemployment and recession lingering, the population of Spain was longing for an awakening to revamp the nation’s sense of pride. In terms of national identity, we have spoken in class about the different identities that Spain has transitioned from to what it is now. Many negative emotions still remained from the years of the Civil War, as it is depicted as one of the most tragic wars in Spanish history, mainly because the protagonists of the war were neighbors, brother, fathers fighting against their neighbors, brothers, and fathers. Division was the root of turmoil among their people during the years of war. Nowadays, division is a part of the usual soccer game around the year, where Spanish players are part of many different teams. It is not until the world Cup that all Spanish players come together to play together for a common goal. To win the coveted World Cup is something that the country looks out for every four years. But what country doesn’t? The difference here is that this longing for a win is for a country who has been hit with a country still trying to find its true self after a recent dictatorship. Also, the occurrences of 2004 were also a low blow to Spanish nationality. The attacks on the transportation system resulted in over 100 deaths and thousands hurt. Six years from these attacks gave Spain a reason to celebrate and come together with the regional autonomies, such as Galicia, to celebrate as one. José Luis Zapatero, the Spanish president at the time, said that the team was capable of forgetting a pessimistic view of Spain and turns it into positive joy and confidence for celebration. The image of Spain was vindicated through this needed uplifting occurrence in time to bring back some of Spain’s identity of passion and free spirit. This is the view of Spain that must remain.
The article that I found to be most interesting this week was the one about Spain winning the world cup in 2010. Spain's soccer team has been extremely dominant in the past few years, winning the Euro Cups in 2008 and 2012 and the world cup in 2010. It was interesting to note that four of the players on Spain's national team are Catalans and seven more players are play for FC Barcelona. Andres Iniesta, the player who scored the winning goal in extra time in fact plays for Barcelona and all the players that scored for Spain in the world cup play for Barcelona. The article cites how important this win is for a country that has been struggling to find a sense of unity, thirty five years after the dictator Franco ruled. Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture how with problems such as high unemployment and high levels of immigration, Spain has been struggling. Spain has also faced significant fiscal problems. Winning on the largest stage in a global competition does provide Spain with a greater sense of unity and something to be proud of in difficult times.
The article, “World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets”, is a very interesting one. The Spanish have arguably the best team ever assembled in any competition including domestic play and even the UEFA Champions league. When u have two of the three top best players in the world(Iniesta and Xavi), it can be very difficult to lose, and even when they do lose,(like they did in that same World Cup against Switzerland), they have the willpower to come back. AS an avid soccer fan, I know how important the World Cup is to the billions of people who watch the event around the globe. In Spain's case, it was a crowning achievement, after winning the EURO Cup two years prior, but more than that, it united a country and it filled the streets with national pride. I was in France when they won the world cup, and there were thousands of Spanish people celebrating their colors on the streets, as it meant a lot to them. The article says that even the Italians, who are always a worthy opponent to Spain since they match up well, were happy to have a neighboring country win the World Cup. The only downside, and hopefully I am not being too critical or envious, it seems like the Spanish let the glory get to their heads after winning the EURO once again in 2012, but is it hard to blame a country for winning three major titles back to back to back? No other team has done that and it will be interesting to see their performance two years form now in Brazil. Regardless of the outcome, Spain finds itself in unity, and their national pride restored, thanks to the greatest game ever played.
The most interesting article this week is the one about Spain's victory in the World Cup in 2010. The victory was key for Spanish moral and unity because as of recent, the country has been experiencing economic recession. The fact that all of the goals from the Spanish national team were from Barcelona players brought all together nationalities within Spain including the Catalans. The victory united all the Spanish people regardless of the fact that it is facing high unemployment levels. The article points out that Spain has never recovered completely since suffering from dictator Francisco Franco's regime. This can be due to the fact that Franco's rule invoked fear in the Spanish population because of all the people that were exiled, tortured, or killed.
The article “La Movida Madrilena, the spirit of the Spanish 80’s” interested me the most because I think there are some parallels with the 80s in the U.S. Although in the U.S. the 60s were more focused on the sexual revolution and the use of drugs, the 80s also was a time of nonconformist and new subcultures emerging. I also found it interesting that this can happen in a country that is more religious. Even though it is said to be less religious now than ever, I’m sure it is still more religiously focused than the U.S. I also found the part that stated “everyone had glitter-covered bodies, exaggerated makeup, leather jackets and crazily styled multicolored hair” interesting because these trends occurred in the U.S. but at different times. I think it goes to show what happens after such a strict regime, Franco’s of course. Once the people get an ounce of freedom they go all the way with it. I also find it interesting that today there are still places you can go to get the feel of La Movida. In the U.S. many fashions and trends from the 60s 70s 80s ad 90s are definitely coming back. I believe this article is interesting because it shows at least one good consequence of Franco’s regime.
I liked watching the BBC News video report on "Exhuming Spain's civil war graves," especially because I just wrote my final paper on the Spanish Civil War. In fact, this video was simultaneously surprising yet expected, which pretty much characterizes the general ambivalence that Spaniards feel towards the Civil War today. In particular, the video presented two opposing viewpoints of the legacy of the Civil War. The first was a man who said that all he wanted to do was to find the bones of his kin so that he could give the dead a proper burial. A later opinion of a woman said that basically the past doesn't matter anymore and people need to just accept what happened and move on. The two opposing opinions generally represent the country (VERY GENERALLY) and I think it is really interesting that even today, people have such split opinions towards the war just like they did during the actual wartime.
ReplyDeleteIn the lecture, I found it really intriguing that one of the challenges of Spain was terrorist attacks. I didn’t know the attacks were a universal issue that Spain faced as well besides the U.S. In the Al Qaeda article, 198 people died and 1,400 was wounded, it made me think back to our terrorist attacks of September 11th. It’s interesting how both attacks were on the 11th. Many people say it was a government conspiracy but either way, both Spain and the U.S are going through major scares of terrorism.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, the video about Spain’s mass graves from the civil war is very important. In lecture we went into depth with the different sides of the civil war. I’m in Spanish 44 as well and they spoke about Chile and their mass grave. It included the movie Nostalgia of the Light, which showed people still looking for the disappeared family members. The video says, there are still people missing and unaccounted for in the Spanish civil war.
The world cup and the movida madrilène are more happy toned articles. I’m guessing after the civil war, they needed things to lift their spirits.
Spanish 42 Blog Post Week 10
ReplyDeleteThis week, the article that interested me the most was the one written by Stephen Burgen entitled "World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets." Given the fact that Spain is currently facing many problematic issues (economic, political, and social), I think that the 2010 World Cup victory could not have come around at a better time. In the article, there are various accounts of people expressing their joy over Spain's victory despite the fact that the country is infested with turmoil. Relative to lecture this week, we learned that 21st century Spain is not as unified as it was prior to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco Bahamonde. As assumed from the article, Spain's World Cup victory was significant in that it unified the troubled Spain--even if it was only for a single day. As learned in Post-Franco Spain (1975-2011), the country is facing various challenges today, such as the longing of Catalan and Basque Nationalisms, ETA terrorism, exponential immigration issues, and unemployment. Since Spain is in the current quest of identifying and finding itself, it is quite momentous that the Spanish soccer team rose to victory, thus aiding and reassuring Spanish inhabitants that despite various ideologies lingering in the air, there continues to exist an ounce of unification and of Spanish identity.
Review Questions:
-What are the major events that distinguish the First Republic from the Second Republic?
-What allowed Francisco Franco Bahamonde rise to power as a dictator?
-Did Franco's death in 1975 allow the country to truly progress or do we see a Post-Franco Spain that continues to struggle despite its modernization?
José Alberto Rojas
In lecture this week, we took an in depth look at the Franco dictatorship. Professor Torrecilla identified three important periods during his reign: ‘hunger and repression’ in the 1940’s, ‘prosperity and opposition’ in the 50’s and 60’s, and Franco’s final years in the 70’s. The 1940’s were a dark time for Spain; thousands of individuals were killed and imprisoned. Surprisingly, despite political/social repression, the 50’s and 60’s brought prosperity. Tourism, emigration, and foreign investment rejuvenated the Spanish economy. Then, in Franco’s final years, Spain relinquished the remnant of her colonial empire and became a modern country. Relative to this week’s lecture topic, there was one particular article that stood out: “Exhuming Spain’s Civil War Mass Graves”. I found it fascinating that even today, Spain is still reeling from and influenced by the old Franco dictatorship. According to the “Exhuming Spain’s Graves” article, volunteers - with minimal support from the government - have just begun the process of exhuming over 2,000 unmarked, Civil War gravesites across the country. While in theory this endeavor should have widespread support, a good portion of people believe that these mass graves should be left alone. Many people think the past should be left in the past and are not ready to dredge up old memories from the Franco regime. The Franco dictatorship is a very controversial topic for Spaniards and many, in an attempt to avoid conflict, refrain from discussing the issue altogether.
ReplyDeleteReview Questions:
-Review the importance/history of the 5 main christian kingdoms
-How did Spain's relationship with France change over the decades?
In the readings for this week my favorite was the one about the 2010 world cup. It was nice to see how the country became together to celebrate winning the cup and being able to forget about the hard times that the country is going through. With high unemployment percentages spaniards still managed to celebrate the world cup like they had to. Similar to Movimiento Madrileño, it's nice to see that after or during hard times people can still come together and try to see the positive in things. After Franco's dictatorship, during the 80s people just tried to see the positive things during those times and that now when people look back they have no regrets and are happy about what happened.
ReplyDeleteThose articles were very inspiring but on the other hand the one about the terrorist attack was very sad.
But hopefully like in the other two articles, during hard times for the country is when they all come together.
Review Questions:
-How/Why/When did the civil war started and what were the effects?
-What are the difference between the first and Second Republic?
-How did Franco take power and became the dictator of Spain?
Al Qaeda Claims Credit for Madrid Blast
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though the one of the only times that Spain had a prosperous era, was during the time of al Andalus. Every other time in Spain has been stricken with poverty, war or unrest by the constituents. The article that I read was "Al Qaeda claims credit for Madrid blast", I chose this article because I remember watching the news when this particle story was running. It was difficult for Spain to make the transition from a dictatorship into a democracy because they ran into a lot of problems during the transition. Among the problems that they ran into employment was a huge one, with the unemployment rate after Franco's dictatorship reaching an all time high with 23% unemployment. Another problem that Spain encountered after Franco's dictatorship was that it was not a unified nation, Catalan and Basque chose to be separate on many issues including how they perceive national identity.With all of these factors Spain has become a vulnerable country, making it easier for terrorist organizations,such as Al Qaeda, to attack. Al Qaeda also has motive to attack since Spain is an ally of the United States and backed them up during the invasion of Iraq. Many people thought that the bombing was the result of the ETA, a Basque militant group, but was indeed Al Qaeda. In order for Spain to stand strong there are many issues that they have to improve, otherwise Spain will be tarnished by it's economy, civil unrest and terrorist organizations.
What was the importance of the monarchs in France?
What are some effects of the Napoleonic wars?
What are the importance of the different Spanish identities in the 18th century?
The article about La Mavida was very interesting. It was very understandable that after 40 years of repression and militant rule, Spain would break free into a spontaneous and liberal expression of culture. Under Franco, everything was suppressed and censored, so no one could really express how they felt. The idea of free press or speech were inconceivable for so long, that many Spaniards had pent up emotions about their horrid state. However, with the fall of Franco and the introduction of democracy, these emotions were released, and Spaniards once again created themselves a national identity. Last year, I watched "Todo Sobre Mi Madre" in Spanish 25, and was captivated. Pedro Almodovar is a film genius, and many of his themes are controversial and ridiculous. Sexual promiscuity, homosexuality among others, which were unheard of during the Franco regime. It was great that after so long of being silenced, Spaniards finally created an outlet to release their crazy tensions and feelings. La Movida was a defining movement for post-Franco Spain that still continues today, as it lives on to be distinguished by liberal thinkers and over-the-top ideologies.
ReplyDeleteThe World Cup article also grabbed my attention. I was actually in Salamanca when Spain won the World Cup in 2010. Never before had I seen such excitement and craziness; I could really sense the strong unity that the victory created. As an American, even I felt Spanish that night. My friends and I ran in the massive pacts singing "Yo Soy Espanol, Espanol, Espanol" out of pure adrenaline and ecstasy. Despite everyone's differences, we all felt united and happy that night. The divide between Catalonia and Spain dissolved that night, as everyone cheered for one team, one name "Espana".
All of these week’s articles were quite interesting to read. The two articles that I enjoyed reading the most were the one about the World Cup and the 2004 Atocha terrorist attacks. As the article “World Cup 2010: Spain Unites in Victory With Celebration in the Streets” mentions this “…truly [was a] national victory for a nation that [was] still struggling to find itself-or its several selves-35 years after the end of the dictatorship.” Soccer is a family sport that brings many people together and this is exactly what it did in Spain during the 2010 World Cup. Despite their differences, people were able to unite and celebrate the first cup title of their country and for a moment forget about the economic problems their country was facing. The article about the terrorist attacks also caught my attention because I was not aware that like the US, Spain had also suffered from terrorist attacks. I do remember nine years ago hearing in the news about these attacks but I was too young to comprehend. Since the article was published a day after the attack, it was not clear who had done these attacks but in lecture Professor Torrecilla clarified it was Muslim groups of North Africa who had committed these actions. I understand that the US is a powerful nation terrorists would attack but I do not see why Spain which in that time was still struggling with many problems would get attacked. Nevertheless, violence occurs anywhere and Spain was not an exception to it.
ReplyDeleteIn this week’s lecture, what was really interesting to me was how Spain was able to recuperate as a nation after having suffered during Dictaro Francisco Francos dictatorship. Francos dictatorship brought about political confrontations and thus Spain also lacked political, social, and economical unity. Although Spain went through a rough patch during Franco’s reign, after Francos death, Spain suffered from a delay in cultural revival. It was until King Juan carlos I introduced the democratic political system, which spurred a cultural and national revival of Spain. As stated in this week’s article, “ La Movida Madrilena, the spirit of the Spanish 80’s”, the article states how Spain experienced a cultural revival when King Juan Carlos 1 introduced democracy and thus a first cultural movement of freedom resulted. The articles states how this cultural movement was called La Movida, which was, “an era of expression with pop and underground music, comics, captioned photo-novel strips, blatan marketing, movies and extravagant designs”. The article went on to explain how La Movidas best known figure, Pedro Almodovar, describes la Movida as an artistic movement and states how individuals who didn’t live those years could not fully understand la movida compared to the generation that grew up in those years. To me this is fascinating because prior to this class, I never knew why the 80’s were so popular artistic and musically wise, I never knew the historical reasons as to why Spain became cultural revived and did not know that before this movement, Spain had underwent period of negative times under Francos dictatorship. Makes me realize that Spain is in fact formed and shaped by history itself.
ReplyDeleteFinal Review Questions:
ReplyDelete1. What are the 3 national indentities Spanish underwent?
2. How does Goya represent the Enlightment and Romanticism?
3. What is the purpose of the Civil War, who was invovled in it? what did each side represent?
Review Questions;
ReplyDelete1. Name the similarities and difference between the First and Second Republic?
2. What are the major characteristics of the major artistic movements in the Iberian Peninsula?
3. How do Spain's and Portugal's histories parallel each other? Discuss the relationship between the 2 countries through out history.
4. What are the major dates we need to know/the events that coincide with them?
The article that was most fascinating to me was the "the world cup 2010" because it showed this common ground that all Spaniards could relate to. Despite Spain's troubled economy, growing separate regional nationalism, and other social differences, it is amazing to see a game of soccer help manifest a sense of Spanish national pride as a whole country. It is these common social events that eliminate all differences and helps restores the national confidence that we are all in this together.
ReplyDeleteThe article that was most appealing to me this week was “Al Qaeda claims credit for Madrid blasts” because it brings up the topic of religion as a main motivator for the supposed actions taken upon by the terrorist group. It is interesting to note that aside from Spain having moved on to an era of modernism and democracy in which religion no longer plays a major role in government, the once influential religion in all aspects of life continues to haunt Spain and its future in one way or another. According to the confessional letter that arrived at the newspaper company, the reason for the attacks was in response to Spain’s promotion against Islam. Taking into consideration Spain’s historical religious intolerance especially against Islam, it was no surprise to me to see that Spain continues to be assumed to be in favor of a campaign that does not favor Islam and have that used as the excuse for targeting Spain with a terrorist attack. It seems to be that Al Qaeda is a group that lingers on the past and possibly views Spain as one of nations in which they can impose revenge for the intolerance of Islam in the past.
ReplyDeleteI‘m very fascinated by the La Movida Madrileña because everything about the movement is so different from what I normally associate with Spain. We’ve talked a lot about Spain’s cultural identity and stereotypes, but even the image that I have of modern-day Spain does not include punk music, crazy makeup, or experimentation with drugs, alcohol, and sex. I’m not sure where I would place such characteristics; maybe some place New York City—not somewhere in Europe, which is usually considered a formal region of sophistication and high culture. I’ve seen a couple of Almodovar’s films, and I’ll admit that I was a bit taken aback. But the shock value that comes from the films, and the complete absence of inhibitions that seems to have existed during the time, are what I find fun and interesting about it. Especially when I think about the situation that Spain was in a decade earlier during Franco’s dictatorship, the contrast is so stark that it is almost amusing.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite article from this week was “World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets” by Stephen Burgen. It was interesting to read about how important this win actually was for Spain. Burgen states that four million were unemployed, Spain was living beyond its means, and a double dip recession was impending. This win was particularly memorable to me, because during the 2010 World Cup, I was in Costa Rica on a trip with my choir, and literally every restaurant and bar we were at was packed with people, cheering for Spain. In lecture, we have been discussing modern Spain, and how Spain is not as big of a world power as it used to be. Modern Spain’s main source of income is tourism, and the country struggles with unemployment, immigration issues, national identity, and terrorism. Moreover, we have discussed the loss of identity in religion, world power, and imperial strength. If anyone really needed this victory, it was Spain. The author discusses the celebrations in the streets, the Italians, Argentinians, and English people who all rooted for Spain, and the wild response to the win. The Spanish president Zapatero stated, “They have rejected fatalism and pessimism and turned them into confidence and joy. This is the image we want Spain to have in the 21st century” (“World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets”). The victory in the 2010 World Cup was a huge turning point for modern Spain and an event that boosted the morale of the country and unified Spain maybe a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteThings to Review:
- Colonial expansion of the 3 major Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula
- Liberal Spanish Identity
- Franco's rule and the end of his rule
The World Cup article is an excellent example of what we have been talking about all quarter. In the history of Spain there have been many obstacles and people who have tried to invade and destroy the country. In all these years, Spain has been able to conquer and fight off anyone who has tried to influence them. Though like any country, Spain has had its tension from within each other but when things like the World Cup happen it reminds them of what it is to be a truly Spanish. They all come together and celebrate their nation. I found really interesting what a person said in the article, that this is how they want to be remembered going into the 21st century. Even though there are rough patches, the people of Spain are always able to remember why they are proud to be from Spain.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting this week was the video on the excavation of mass burial sites from the Spanish Civil War. From lecture, we learned that during the Spanish Civil War, thousands of Republicans and Nationalists were killed, as many as up 100 thousand. Furthermore, once the far right won the civil war and the Franco dictatorship was established, no forgiveness was granted to the remaining Republicans, and thus they were put in jail or killed, an additional 37 thousand Republicans dead. The mass burial sites found in Madrid are evidence of the cruel massive killings, of people buried without their names remembered, and of families left without a body to mourn. The news report tells us that the excavation of these sites is precisely to identify the missing bodies of those who were killed during the civil war and early Franco regime. I found it very touching that the news report included a personal narrative, Luis, and 80 year-old man searching for the remains of his father. According to Luis, all he wants is to find his father and give him a proper burial. The findings of these mass burial sites and the excavations are evidence for the civil war’s unhealed wounds and a fragmented Spain.
ReplyDeleteQuestions regarding final:
1.What was the significance of Goya’s paintings?
2.Is there a list of names which we must know?
During this week’s reading/video, I found the video “Exhuming Spain’s civil war mass graves.” The end of last week we started to learn about Franco’s dictatorship and the Spanish Civil War, and it is always interesting to see how each country deals with the obstacles that are presented to them after conflicts like this. I know Professor Torrecilla mentioned that the Civil War was divided into three different periods and for the most part oppression happened during the 1940’s. I know that there were many deaths all throughout the dictatorship but I would imagine that many of the mass graves, like the one shown in the video, would have occurred during this time of oppression. If this is true most of these remains are about 70 years old. Many families would like to find their loved ones and give them proper burials, but it was mentioned in the video that there are limited resources and limited funding, and most of the work is done by volunteers, which means that the excavations and process of giving each body and identity would take a lot of time. In the video they show both viewpoints on the excavations, the son who wanted to find his father, and a woman who said this from the past should stay in the past, and I can make up my mind on who I agree with. If my family would be buried there I would want to find them, but at the same time I feel that doing this would bring a lot of old wounds to many people.
ReplyDeleteWith unemployment and recession lingering, the population of Spain was longing for an awakening to revamp the nation’s sense of pride. In terms of national identity, we have spoken in class about the different identities that Spain has transitioned from to what it is now. Many negative emotions still remained from the years of the Civil War, as it is depicted as one of the most tragic wars in Spanish history, mainly because the protagonists of the war were neighbors, brother, fathers fighting against their neighbors, brothers, and fathers. Division was the root of turmoil among their people during the years of war. Nowadays, division is a part of the usual soccer game around the year, where Spanish players are part of many different teams. It is not until the world Cup that all Spanish players come together to play together for a common goal. To win the coveted World Cup is something that the country looks out for every four years. But what country doesn’t? The difference here is that this longing for a win is for a country who has been hit with a country still trying to find its true self after a recent dictatorship. Also, the occurrences of 2004 were also a low blow to Spanish nationality. The attacks on the transportation system resulted in over 100 deaths and thousands hurt. Six years from these attacks gave Spain a reason to celebrate and come together with the regional autonomies, such as Galicia, to celebrate as one. José Luis Zapatero, the Spanish president at the time, said that the team was capable of forgetting a pessimistic view of Spain and turns it into positive joy and confidence for celebration. The image of Spain was vindicated through this needed uplifting occurrence in time to bring back some of Spain’s identity of passion and free spirit. This is the view of Spain that must remain.
ReplyDeleteThe article that I found to be most interesting this week was the one about Spain winning the world cup in 2010. Spain's soccer team has been extremely dominant in the past few years, winning the Euro Cups in 2008 and 2012 and the world cup in 2010. It was interesting to note that four of the players on Spain's national team are Catalans and seven more players are play for FC Barcelona. Andres Iniesta, the player who scored the winning goal in extra time in fact plays for Barcelona and all the players that scored for Spain in the world cup play for Barcelona. The article cites how important this win is for a country that has been struggling to find a sense of unity, thirty five years after the dictator Franco ruled. Professor Torrecilla mentioned in lecture how with problems such as high unemployment and high levels of immigration, Spain has been struggling. Spain has also faced significant fiscal problems. Winning on the largest stage in a global competition does provide Spain with a greater sense of unity and something to be proud of in difficult times.
ReplyDeleteThe article, “World Cup 2010: Spain unites in victory with celebration in the streets”, is a very interesting one. The Spanish have arguably the best team ever assembled in any competition including domestic play and even the UEFA Champions league. When u have two of the three top best players in the world(Iniesta and Xavi), it can be very difficult to lose, and even when they do lose,(like they did in that same World Cup against Switzerland), they have the willpower to come back. AS an avid soccer fan, I know how important the World Cup is to the billions of people who watch the event around the globe. In Spain's case, it was a crowning achievement, after winning the EURO Cup two years prior, but more than that, it united a country and it filled the streets with national pride. I was in France when they won the world cup, and there were thousands of Spanish people celebrating their colors on the streets, as it meant a lot to them. The article says that even the Italians, who are always a worthy opponent to Spain since they match up well, were happy to have a neighboring country win the World Cup. The only downside, and hopefully I am not being too critical or envious, it seems like the Spanish let the glory get to their heads after winning the EURO once again in 2012, but is it hard to blame a country for winning three major titles back to back to back? No other team has done that and it will be interesting to see their performance two years form now in Brazil. Regardless of the outcome, Spain finds itself in unity, and their national pride restored, thanks to the greatest game ever played.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting article this week is the one about Spain's victory in the World Cup in 2010. The victory was key for Spanish moral and unity because as of recent, the country has been experiencing economic recession. The fact that all of the goals from the Spanish national team were from Barcelona players brought all together nationalities within Spain including the Catalans. The victory united all the Spanish people regardless of the fact that it is facing high unemployment levels. The article points out that Spain has never recovered completely since suffering from dictator Francisco Franco's regime. This can be due to the fact that Franco's rule invoked fear in the Spanish population because of all the people that were exiled, tortured, or killed.
ReplyDeleteFinal Review Questions:
ReplyDelete1) Franco's regime
2) Causes and Consequences of Civil War
3) The impact of Enlightenment and Romanticism in the arts and literature
The article “La Movida Madrilena, the spirit of the Spanish 80’s” interested me the most because I think there are some parallels with the 80s in the U.S. Although in the U.S. the 60s were more focused on the sexual revolution and the use of drugs, the 80s also was a time of nonconformist and new subcultures emerging. I also found it interesting that this can happen in a country that is more religious. Even though it is said to be less religious now than ever, I’m sure it is still more religiously focused than the U.S. I also found the part that stated “everyone had glitter-covered bodies, exaggerated makeup, leather jackets and crazily styled multicolored hair” interesting because these trends occurred in the U.S. but at different times. I think it goes to show what happens after such a strict regime, Franco’s of course. Once the people get an ounce of freedom they go all the way with it. I also find it interesting that today there are still places you can go to get the feel of La Movida. In the U.S. many fashions and trends from the 60s 70s 80s ad 90s are definitely coming back. I believe this article is interesting because it shows at least one good consequence of Franco’s regime.
ReplyDelete