(English: Facing the Sun) is the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

of the

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS; ), was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JON ...

. The lyrics were written in December 1935 and are usually credited to the leader of the Falange,

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish politician who founded the falangist Falang ...

. The music was composed by Juan Tellería and Juan R. Buendia. The circumstances of its creation are unusual. The Falangists needed a stirring song of their own to counter the popular appeal of '' El Himno de Riego'' (the official anthem of the

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 ...

) and ''

A las Barricadas "A las Barricadas" ("To the Barricades") was one of the most popular songs of the Spanish anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. "A las Barricadas" is sung to the tune of "Whirlwinds of Danger" ("Warszawianka"), composed by Józef Pławiń ...

'' (a very popular

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 ...

song). To solve the problem, Primo de Rivera formed a committee meeting on 2 December 1935 in the home of Marichu de la Mora Maura. Those present included José María Alfaro,

Rafael Sánchez Mazas Rafael Sánchez Mazas (18 February 1894 – October 1966) was a Spanish nationalist writer and a leader of the Falange, a right-wing political movement created in Spain before the Spanish Civil War. Sánchez Mazas received a law degree at the R ...

, Agustín de Foxá, Pedro Mourlane Michelena,

Dionisio Ridruejo Dionisio Ridruejo Jiménez (12 October 1912 – 29 June 1975) was a Spanish poet and political figure associated with the Generation of '36 movement and a member of the Falange political party. He was co-author of the words to the Falangist anthe ...

, Agustín Aznar, and Luis Aguilar. The result of their efforts, following a period of sub-committee review (at the ''Cueva del Orkompon'', a Basque bar in Calle Miguel Moya, Madrid) was provisionally entitled the ''Himno de Falange Española''. It was first performed in a rally at the Cine Europa of

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 ...

on February 2, 1936. The music was based on a 1935 piece by Juan Tellería, ''Amanecer en Cegama'' ("Dawn at

Zegama Zegama, popularly known as "The shadow of Aizkorri", is a town and municipality in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. Nature and culture Zegama's main characterist ...

") The song was registered with number 75 027 between 1936 and 1937 with the lyrics at the name of Juan Ruiz de la Fuente. Its popularity was boosted by Primo de Rivera's execution on 20 November 1936 and his subsequent glorification by the

Spanish Nationalists Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. 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 ...

the Falange, much like other youth parties under totalitarian regimes, became an important part of the National Army (or National Movement) both ideologically and militarily. It remained as an independent organization but strengthened the regular insurgent army in the combat lines, suffering casualties as a result. ''Cara al sol'' was their anthem throughout the war, due in part to the lyrics' homage to "fallen comrades". In

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

, the Falange was merged with other far-right groups to form the "

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

", the only legal political party. ''Cara al Sol'' became a '' canto nacional'' ("national song") together with the Oriamendi, the hymn of the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – o ...

movement, and the anthem of the

Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pen ...

, often played alongside the official anthem, the Marcha Granadera, and was regarded as the battle song of the Spanish far right. A decree from 1942 orders that, in official events, the national songs must be saluted with a Roman salute or, in exclusively military events, a

military salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

. Since the

Spanish transition to democracy 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, Ca ...

, the song has frequently been played at far-right rallies.

Writing of lyrics

The lyrics were a collaborative effort, under the editorship of Primo de Rivera. Authorship of individual lines are attributed as follows: 1–4 Foxá, Primo de Rivera, Alfaro; 5–10 Foxá; 11–12 Ridruejo; 13–14 Primo de Rivera; 15 Alfaro; 16 Mourlane; and 17–18 Alfaro. Lines 19–22 were existing Falange slogans.

Imagery in the lyrics

*Line 1: The reference to the "new shirt" relates to the

Falangist Falangism ( es, falangismo) was the political ideology of two political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS) and afterwards the Fal ...

uniform, a working-class, plain blue shirt which was their most distinctive sign and was embroidered upon the heart position in the left side of the chest with the party symbol in red colour, a yoke uniting in its center an array of five arrows pointing upwards, meaning strength, sacrifice and union. *Lines 13-14: The reference to the arrows is an allusion to the Falange "

Yoke and Arrows A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

" symbol and to the Falangist youth movement. *Lines 19-21 ''España

Una, Grande y Libre The mottos of Francoism are mottos which encapsulate the ideals of the Francoist dictatorship. Although the regime had many ideological influences (Traditionalism, National Catholicism, Militarism and National syndicalism), it employed Falangism ...

'' was a frequently used slogan in

Francoism Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. The lyrics incorporated a version of a chant that was very common at Falangist/Francoist rallies. *Line 22: Falangists use ''Arriba España'' ("Arise Spain" or "Onward Spain") instead of the more mainstream ''Viva España'' ("Long live Spain").

Alternate lines

In Line 5, ''mis compañeros'' ("my companions") is sometimes replaced by ''los compañeros'' ("the companions") or ''otros compañeros'' ("other companions").

"Amanecer" ballad version

This version of the song appeared after the civil war, and is a slow-motion version of "Cara al Sol", sometimes sung by a female voice, almost a ballad. This is a very different version, given the fact that "Cara al Sol" was originally a battle song, and "Amanecer" is almost a love ballad. It was produced and conducted by A. Velázquez.

Further influences

* After the war, Falangists could be classed as "old shirts", early believers who joined the party before the war, and "new shirts", a reference to the anthem hinting at "bandwagon followers" who joined during the war or later. *''Si te dicen que caí'' is a 1973 novel by

Juan Marsé Juan Marsé Carbó (8 January 1933 – 18 July 2020) was a Spanish novelist, journalist, and screenwriter who used Spanish as his literary language. In 2008, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, "the Spanish-language equivalent" to the Nobel P ...

( :es:Si te dicen que caí) and its 1989 film version by

Vicente Aranda Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a f ...

. *'' Banderas victoriosas'' is a 1939 documentary film by José Ernesto Díaz-Noriega. *'' Las flechas de mi haz'' is a 1977 book by José Luis Martín Vigil.

References

External links

BBC news story
about the removal of the last statue of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

from

, during which a group of Francoist demonstrators sang ''Cara al Sol''.
Spanish website
featuring lyrics and

mp3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

files
Cara al Sol
in digital transfer from original Italian gramophone disk in

*
Cara al sol y sus derechos de autor
' . Blog post about the copyright of the song. Referenced in

', Mónica Zas Marcos, El Diario, 23 October 2019. {{authority control Falangism Political party songs 1936 in Spain 1936 songs Fascist songs Cantos nacionales Falangist works