Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe

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Theatre : Spanish

  • Literature (poetry/verse)Literature (fictional prose/drama)Spanish
  • Cultural Field
    Texts and stories
    Author
    Salgues, Marie
    Text

    Patriotic theatre is generally agreed to have begun in Spain in 1808, coinciding with the national uprising that led into the War of Independence (anon., El triunfo de la religión y patriotismo, 1808; Félix Enciso Castrillón, La comedia de repente, 1814). Echoing the events of war, it served as an important propaganda medium in a widely illiterate country. Although playwrights rarely wrote at the request of the authorities, they always had to avoid the constraints of censorship, which is even harder during a war. Used by both sides during this first conflict of the 19th century, this theatre would later be successively exploited by others depending on the period: for the absolutists during the first and second Restoration of Ferdinand VII, for liberals throughout the Triennium and the first Carlist War (Bautista de Arriaza, Realidad en ilusión, 1823;  Antonio García Gutiérrez & Isidoro Gil y Baus, El sitio de Bilbao, 1837). From the Isabelline period onwards, it served to extol the war and colonial ventures pursued by the monarchy, with a particular frenzy during the African War (1859-60), undoubtedly the most widely supported conflict of the entire 19th century (Pedro Niceto de Sobrado, La playa de Algeciras, 1859; Joseph Antoni Ferrer Fernández, ¡Al Africa, minyons!, 1859; Antonio Rodríguez López, Los bereberes del Riff / Tetuán por España, 1860). More than 80 theatrical works then served to heap praise on the Spanish soldiers and obloquy on their Moroccan enemies. If the revolution of September 1868 abolished censorship (José Julián Cabero, El puente de Alcolea, 1868), the outbreak of the Ten Years’ War in Cuba (1868-78) immediately thwarted any attempt to criticize the government. Until the end of the century, in the succession of conflicts – the second Carlist War, the Spanish-American War and the renewed fighting in Morocco in 1893 and again from 1909 – the same pattern was repeated (Rafael del Castillo & Juan J. Uguet, Maldita sea la guerra, 1874; Vicente Tafalla Campos, Un defensor de Melilla, 1893; Rufino Cortés, A Cuba y ¡¡Viva España!!, 1895; Eduardo Navarro Gonzalvo, ¡Aún hay patria, veremundo! (zarzuela), 1898; Manuel Vigo, Andrés el repatriado, 1899).

    The vast majority of this theatre was written in Castilian, although we also find works in Catalan, and it appears that there were also dramatic works in Galician from the outset. As for Basque, this only emerges (very tentatively) as a language for this type of production in the last quarter of the century, around the abolition of the fueros and the emergence of Basque nationalism. The works in Catalan do not fundamentally differ in their approach, except by sometimes striking a more sardonic note. Things changed in the aftermath of 1898, because the loss of Cuba had serious repercussions on the Catalan economy.

    Although there are few openly reactionary works after the death of Ferdinand VII, the majority have a (very) moderate liberal tone, with a paternalistic implication that the nation needs an elite to guide it. The historical view presented by these works is a carbon copy of the history-writing of Modesto Lafuente, the most popular historian of the century, harking back to Spain’s imperial grandeur, and crying out for its revival. The national character and identity is presented as an invariable, constant essence, to such a degree that certain texts, written for a specific conflict, could be reused years later for different ones. There is a cyclical understanding of history, according to which events repeat themselves.

    The playwrights who produced this theatre, with very few exceptions, have all been forgotten. Most of them were theatre professionals, but there were also writers motivated by the circumstances who brought unique works to the stage, as a result of their patriotic enthusiasm. As was usual at this time, many playwrights had fairly overt links with the authorities, as employees, pensioners or protégés. The works respond, sometimes with great speed, to passing circumstances, and may fall into oblivion as times change; their theatrical effects, comic or otherwise, are obtruded on the public because to reject them would be unpatriotic.

    The Disaster of 1898 rendered the genre obsolete; it was even blamed for the country’s false sense of confidence. However, the first resurgence of conflict in Morocco, in 1909, created new patriotic pieces which were very similar to those that had come before.

    Word Count: 709

    Article version
    1.1.3.1/a
  • Larraz, Emmanuel; Théâtre et politique pendant la Guerre d'Indépendance espagnole (1808-1814) (Aix-en-Provence: U de Provence, 1988).


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    © the author and SPIN. Cite as follows (or as adapted to your stylesheet of choice): Salgues, Marie, 2022. "Theatre : Spanish", Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, ed. Joep Leerssen (electronic version; Amsterdam: Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms, https://ernie.uva.nl/), article version 1.1.3.1/a, last changed 04-04-2022, consulted 19-03-2024.