The Projection of the Concept of "Hispanidad" on the Architectural Activity of the First Francoism

Abstract

Franco’s regime gave a relevant place to the idea of «Hispanidad», a term related to the idea of Hispanicity, intimately linked to its imperial vocation. This idea could contribute to strengthen the identity as a country, and in an outward face would maintain the illusion of an international projection the regime did not have. In our study, we will approach the historical sources in which the idea developed, the theoretical reflection on «Hispanidad» (or Spanishness) in the early years of Franco’s regime, and the way the myth is projected in architecture.

Such a concept would be associated with with numerous of places, dates, celebrations, images, etc. with a strong symbolic charge, which became very much part of all cultural manifestations, and therefore in art, popularizing conceptions, images, and clichés. Thus, the main buildings, monumental complexes, and cities linked to the story of the discovery of the New World acquired a special value: Granada, La Rábida, Guadalupe or Trujillo, demonstrating the ideological appropriation of the historical heritage by the new State.