"¡Ay Carmela!" is one of the most famous songs of the Spanish Republican troops during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. It had originally been a nineteenth century folk song, ''El Paso del Ebro'', commemorating the routing of Napoleonic troops across the river Ebro in 1807, during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...

. During the Spanish Civil War, in common with many older folk songs, the melody was reused with new lyrics by the Republican side, in various versions (''El Ejército del Ebro'', ''El paso del Ebro'', ''¡Ay, Carmela!'', ''¡Ay, Manuela!'', ''Rumba la Rumba,'' and ''Viva la XV Brigada''). A less well-known version was also coined by Nationalists (''El Rîo del Nervión'').

Variants

The most popular lyrics to this Republican song have two variants known as El Paso del Ebro and Viva la XV Brigada. The first one is related to the Battle of the Ebro and the second mentions the

Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and ...

, two of the main confrontations of the Civil War. The sentence ''Luchamos contra los moros'' (We fight against the Moors) refers to the ''

Regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas (" Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantr ...

'', the feared Moroccan units fighting as the

shock troops Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...

of the Nationalists. A Croatian singer and songwriter

Darko Rundek Darko Rundek (Zagreb, January 30 1956) is a Croatian rock singer, songwriter, poet, and actor. His music career started in the early 1980s, as the frontman of the world music influenced rock band Haustor. He emigrated to France after the Yug ...

released a version of the song with

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

and anti-

oppressor Oppressor was a technical death metal band from Chicago, Illinois, which formed in 1991 and disbanded in 1999. They released three albums. Three of the band's members went on to form alternative metal band Soil. History Oppressor was starte ...

lyrics in his 2000 album ''U širokom svijetu''. The song enjoyed widespread support among populations in the Serbian capital of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

, especially during the 2018–2020 Serbian protests.

Lyrics

Viva la Quince Brigada

References

External links

Miguel Ángel Gómez Naharro - Song ¡Ay Carmela! with lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ay Carmela! (song) Songs of the Spanish Civil War Spanish-language songs Anti-fascist music Second Spanish Republic Spanish anthems 1930s songs Songwriter unknown