(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 sho ...
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 JO ...
. 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 GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...
. 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 democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
) and ''
A las Barricadas
"" () is a Anarchism in Spain, Spanish anarchist anthem, popularised during the Spanish Civil War as the official hymn of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, National Confederation of Labour (CNT). The lyrics, written by Valeriano Orob� ...
'' (a very popular
Anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
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,
Agustín de Foxá,
Pedro Mourlane Michelena,
Dionisio Ridruejo,
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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
on February 2, 1936.
The music was based on a 1935 piece by
Juan Tellería, ''Amanecer en Cegama'' ("Dawn at
Zegama")
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.
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
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 (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
, the Falange was merged with other far-right groups to form the "
Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS", the only legal political party. ''Cara al Sol'' became a ''
canto nacional''
("national song") together with the
Oriamendi, the hymn of the
Carlist
Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...
movement, and 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 Penal la ...
, 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.
Since the
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...
, 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 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" symbol and to the Falangist youth movement.
*Lines 19-21 ''España
Una, Grande y Libre'' was a frequently used slogan in
Francoism
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. 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 (
: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 producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
.
*''
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 storyabout the removal of the last statue of
Franco from
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, during which a group of Francoist demonstrators sang ''Cara al Sol''.
Spanish websitefeaturing 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 under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
files
Cara al Solin digital transfer from original Italian gramophone disk in
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 under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
*
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