The Days of the Revolution and the Spanish Republic. The cases of Madrid and Barcelona

di Pere Gabriel
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 34 (2010), p. 17

The long-term establishment of a symbolic, iconographic and ritual framework was essential for the development and maintenance of Republican culture in Spain. The effects and diffusion of this framework were enacted in particular by the celebration of a whole series of commemorative acts of broad scope and varied themes. Thus certain “Republican days” were established, constructing a calendar which acted as an alternative to the Catholic calendar and the official one fixed by the monarchical regime, and which, beyond the simple purpose of any calendar, attempted to mark and modulate the annual activity of the various centres throughout Spanish territory. This essay attempts to analyse the long-term evolution of the forms and impact of these celebrations. The tensions and conflicts of the many “Republican memories” that had been elaborated can be ascertained through the comparison of the cases of Madrid and Barcelona, which presented as many shared elements as essential differences, with special regard to the nationalistic implications of the opposing ideologies. The essay focuses on the multiple conflicts and tensions within these symbolic and cultural constructions, which could not be limited to a single theme.