Venceréis pero no convenceréis

An Analysis of historical memory and Spanish political Identity in contemporary
Spanish literature and Culture.
Salvador García
Sonoma State University
Advisor: Parissa Tadrissi
Table 1. Attitudes on preferred territorial organization for the
Spanish state in Spain at large, Basque Country, Catalonia and
Galicia, 1977–1982
“Venceréis pero no convenceréis”
-Unamuno
This research is an analysis of
historical memory and Spanish
national identity in
contemporary literature and is
complemented with an
analysis of articles and news
reports regarding the historical
memory phenomena such as
the disinterment of mass graves
from the Spanish Civil war
(1936-39).
—Y dime…, Joaquín…
¿Harías algo por España?
Muy importante… Algo heroico.
Por tu patria… y por mí.
Ganar la guerra.
Cielo Abajo, Fernando Marías
Clip from Soldados de Salamina, 2003 film inspired by Javier Cercas’s
historical memory novel Soldados de Salamina.
Discussion
Canonical ideas of National
Identity have continued to
influence the Spanish National
Identity; encompassing
historical memory, literature,
and culture.
Contemporary forms of literature offer
a cultural depiction of how the
Spanish identity conflates with a
national identity. Literary works like
Javier Cercas’ Soldados de
Salamina, Almudena Grandes’ El
corazon helado, and Fernando
Marías’ Cielo abajo are pioneer
literary works depicting historical
memory that allow for an
understanding of old and new
national identities.
References
Cercas, J. (2001). Soldados de Salamina (1a. ed.). Barcelona:
Tusquets.
Grandes, A. (2007). El corazón helado (1. ed.). Barcelona:
Tusquets Editores.
Linz, Juan J. 1985. ‘De la crisis de un Estado unitario al Estado
de las Autonomías’, in Fernández Rodríguez (ed.), La España
de las Autonomías. Madrid: Instituto de Estudios de
Administración Territorial.
Marías, F. (2005). Cielo abajo (1a ed.). Madrid: Anaya
Trueba, D. (Director). (2003). Soldiers of Salamina [Motion
picture]. Spain: LolaFilms.
"EAAF." EAAF. Version Spain . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.eaaf.org/eaaf/>.