''Raza'' (''English: Race'') is a

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

José Luis Sáenz de Heredia José Luis Sáenz de Heredia (10 April 1911 – 4 November 1992) was a Spanish film director. He was born in Madrid. His film ''Ten Ready Rifles'' was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Filmography * ''Patricio miró ...

, and used as propaganda by the dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

in favour of the regime and against the supporters of the deposed

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

. It is based on a semi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

novel by Spanish ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

under the pseudonym of "Jaime de Andrade." The film won the Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle.

Plot

The film tells the story of four siblings, Isabel, Pedro, Jose and Jaime, children of the ship captain Pedro Churruca and descendants of

Cosme Damián Churruca Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza (27 September 1761 – 21 October 1805) was a Basque Spanish noble, admiral of the Royal Spanish Armada, naval scientist and Mayor of Motrico. During the Battle of Trafalgar, he was the commander of the ...

, "the most wise and courageous sailor of his time." Their father, emulating his illustrious ancestor, dies at the beginning of the film in Cuba, which is still a Spanish colony, in a suicide mission against the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Before leaving for martyrdom, however, Pedro was doing his best to convey to his children the inherent spirit in the family name, Churruca, which is the spirit of the Almogávares: "elected warriors, the best representatives of the Spanish race: firm fighters, agile and determined in manoeuvres." Since his early childhood, Jose has displayed that Almogávar spirit. The same cannot be said for Pedro, in whom we see a constant lust for money and a tendency to lie and cheat. Isabel, for her part, is a model child. Jose goes, like his father, into a military career. Isabel marries a soldier. Pedro, unlike his brother, becomes a deputy Republican and requires his share of the family inheritance quickly, to cover the costs of his political career. The fourth child, Jaime – still a baby when his father died – joins a religious order as a priest. Civil war breaks out. Isabel is with her husband in the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

area. Pedro and Jose are in the embattled

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Pedro has risen to an important post, apparently in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. Jose is captured as a result of his activities as a fifth columnist and sentenced to death, a sentence that his brother, Pedro, worried about himself, does not intend to revoke. Jose was shot by a platoon of ill-spoken and unshaven militiamen, but, by some miracle, he survives. Moved, by a woman who loves him, to the clinic of a doctor who is in favour of Franco, his wounds heal and he acquires a new identity that will allow him to move around the area. Unfortunately, his brother, Friar Jaime, is captured by

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

militiamen in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, a Republican area. He is shot dead, along with the other friars, by a mob of militiamen who attack and destroy the monastery. He has the opportunity to save himself by invoking the name of his brother, Pedro (who has been assigned to Barcelona), but true to his surname and his brothers in religion, refuses any privilege. Jose gets into the Nationalist area, with the help of a dentist who had a "bad past" in leftism, "which gave him influence in that corrupt society." He comes to the Basque front, where he meets his brother-in-law, Captain Echevarría, who feels tempted to desert the Nationalists and cross the lines to meet his wife, Isabel Churruca and his two sons, who are trapped in Republican

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. José avoids this, and soon resolves the situation with a happy ending: Nationalist troops defeat the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed ...

who defend the capital of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

, and the family meets. On the northern front, Franco's army are preparing to attack near

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

. In Barcelona, Pedro, now dressed in a uniform of the Republican army, is preparing the defence against imminent attack. Pedro confronts the prejudices of a man who has a bad appearance and worse manners, who argues that someone with the surname Churruca can not adequately serve the cause of the Republic. Pedro does not know it yet, but moments later prove that the militiaman was right: a woman visiting him, asks him to provide her with a copy of the status of forces on the front lines of Aragon to give to the nationalists. Pedro, shocked, says he cannot betray his own. The woman replies that "it is not possible to have the murderers of your family and many honorable families as your own". Touched by the argument, Pedro gives her the plans. However, the operation is discovered, to the pleasure of the head badly handled militiaman, and the plans do not reach the powers of the nationalists. Faced with death, Pedro seems to recover that Almogávar spirit that had not managed to penetrate him before. "Even without plans and without arms, the reds steadied themselves," and Franco's troops win the battle. The film closes with the surviving Churruca family members attending the parade of victory in Madrid, chaired by Franco.

Cast

Alfredo Mayo Alfredo Fernández Martínez (17 May 1911 in Barcelona – 19 May 1985 in Palma de Mallorca) better known as Alfredo Mayo was a Spanish actor. Biography After studying medicine, in 1929 Mayo made his debut in the theatre with the company of ...

as José Churruca *

Ana Mariscal Ana María Arroyo Mariscal (31 July 1923 – 28 March 1995) better known as Ana Mariscal was a classic Spanish film actress, director, screenwriter and film producer. She also acted in Argentinean films. She was involved in well over 50 films b ...

as Marisol Mendoza *José Nieto as Pedro Churruca * Blanca de Silos as Isabel Churruca *Rosina Mendía as Isabel Acuña de Churruca *Pilar Soler as French spy *Julio Rey de las Heras as Pedro Churruca's father *Luis Arroyo as Jaime Churruca *Raúl Cancio as Luis Echevarría *Manuel Arbó as Señor Echevarría *Juan Calvo as El Campesino *Vicente Soler as Dr. Vera *Fernando Fresno as Padre Palomeque *Antonio Armet as Gen. Vicente Rojo *Pablo Álvarez Rubio as French commander *Fulgencio Nogueras as Adm. Cervera *Domingo Rivas as Engineer Colonel *Manuel Soto as Almirante de la base *Pablo Hidalgo as Don Luis *Ignacio Mateo as Col. Pardo *Antonio Zaballos as Sacerdote *Santiago Rivero as Engineer Captain *Luis Latorre as Dr. Gómez Ulloa *Horacio Socías as Padre prior *Erasmo Pascual as Militiaman #1 *Joaquín Regúlez as Volunteer *Raza Zarnad as Volunteer

External links

Raza (1941)
The film, online at

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service kno ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raza (Film) 1942 films 1940s Spanish-language films Spanish biographical drama films Spanish black-and-white films Films directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia Francisco Franco Falangist works Spain in fiction Spanish Civil War films Spanish war drama films 1940s war drama films 1940s biographical drama films 1942 drama films

Plot

Cast

Further reading

External links