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Rafael Gambra Ciudad (21 July 1920 – 13 January 2004) was a Spanish philosopher, a
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
official, a
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, ...
politician and a soldier. In
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
he is considered key representative of late
Traditionalism Traditionalism is the adherence to traditional beliefs or practices. It may also refer to: Religion * Traditional religion, a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group * Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism), a 19th-cen ...
; his works fall also into theory of state and politics. He is best known as author of books focusing on secularisation of Western European culture in the
consumer society Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
era. As a politician he is acknowledged as a theorist rather than as an active protagonist, though after 2001 he briefly headed one of the Carlist branches.


Family and youth

Rafael's paternal ancestors for generations have been related to
Valle de Roncal The Roncal Valley (, ) is a valley and mancomunidad in the very east of Navarre, bordering the autonomous community of Aragon to the East and France to the north. It is part of the Merindad of Sangüesa. The Ezka, a tributary of the Aragón, fl ...
; until today Casa Gambra and Casa Sanz are iconic mansions of the area. The Gambras made their name fighting the French in
1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
. Rafael's grandfather,
Pedro Francisco Gambra Barrena Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
(died 1930), married descendant to a distinguished Carlist military Sanz family; himself he rose to high positions in Ministry of Economy. His son and Rafael's father, Eduardo Gambra Sanz (1878-1964), became an architect. Key Gambra's works are offices of Sociedad Gran Peña along the Gran Vía and refurbishment of Palacio del Marqués de Miraflores, marked by attempt to re-capture the splendor of historical Spanish architecture. In 1915 he married Rafaela Ciudad Villalón (died 1947), born in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
though raised in
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 ...
. She came from a distinguished family of civil servants; her father José Ciudad Aurioles in the early 20th century was a
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
deputy, until the early 1920s a longtime
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, and in 1917-1923 served as President of Tribunal Supremo. The couple had only one child. Born and raised in Madrid, Rafael spent much of his childhood in Valle de Roncal and later cherished his
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
se heritage; in historiography he is referred to as a navarro rather than as a madrileño, sometimes dubbed "maestro navarro", "arquetipo navarro", "buen navarro" or "vasco-navarro roncalés". He was brought up in profoundly Catholic ambience; politically his father sympathized with Carlism and his mother, though coming from a Liberal family, also displayed a conservative penchant. He was first educated at the Madrid Marianist Colegio del Pilar; already during his schoolboy years he was attracted to letters and read books while his colleagues played football; during his early adolescent years he was engaged in Asociación Católica Nacional de Propagandistas. In July 1936 the Gambras were spending their summer holidays in Roncal, where they were caught by the
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. As a 16-year-old Rafael volunteered to the
Requeté The Requeté (; , ) was a Carlist organization, at times with paramilitary units, that operated between the mid-1900s and the early 1970s, though exact dates are not clear. The Requeté formula differed over the decades, and according to its c ...
unit of Tercio de Abárzurza, in few days time taking positions at Alto de León pass and attempting to break through
Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is in Spain, between the systems Sierra de ...
. José Ulíbarri, the Catholic parish priest from Úgar and temporary commander of the unit, remained Gambra's friend and sort of mentor for life. He spent the next 2 years at the stationary frontline in the Sierra, until in July 1938 he left to attend alférez provisional training. In February 1939 he was seconded to Tercio del Alcázar, commanding a
platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
in the 4. Infantry Company. Having reached Lliria at the moment of Nationalist victory, he was decorated with many military awards. Rafael Gambra was married to María del Carmen Gutiérrez Sánchez (1921-1984), translator, scholar and as Miguel Arazuri author of fairly popular novels. She was also the founder and manager of Fundación Stella, an independent radio venture. The couple had three children. Of their two sons, Andrés Gambra Gutiérrez is professor of medieval history and the university official, while
José Miguel Gambra Gutiérrez José Miguel Gambra Gutiérrez (born 1950) is a Spanish philosopher and politician. He is known mostly as the expert in logic and in the Predication (philosophy), theory of predicates; since the 1980s he has been holding various teaching positio ...
is scholar in philosophy, both in Madrid. The two are active Traditionalists, the latter leading the sixtinos Carlists since 2010.


Scholarship

In 1939 Gambra enrolled at the faculty of letters and philosophy at
Universidad Central The Central University (''Universidad Central'') is a private institution of higher education established 1966, whose two offices are at Bogotá, Colombia. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the areas of humanities, arts, economic a ...
. Influenced by
Manuel García Morente Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
and Salvador Minguijón Adrián, he graduated in 1942. One year later he entered Cuerpo de Catedráticos Numerarios de Institutos Nacionales de Enseñanza Media. Promoted to Inspector Nacional de Enseñanzas Medias, in 1945 Gambra obtained his PhD laurels as Doctor en Filosofía, his thesis dedicated to post-Hegelian approach to historiographic methodology. The work, promoted by Juan Zaragüeta y Bengoechea, boiled down to highly critical review centred on
Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and
Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; ; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced ge ...
and was published in 1946. Already in the early 1940s Gambra assumed teaching at the Madrid Academia Vazquez de Mella, a semi-official Carlist educational and cultural enterprise; he was giving lectures on Traditionalist theory of philosophy, state and politics. In 1943 he moved to
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
, where he was employed by Instituto Príncipe de Viana, a cultural outpost of Carlism managed by the provincial authorities. During the next 12 years Gambra served in the Institute as professor of philosophy, in the early 1950s apparently hoping to join a would-be Universidad del País Vasco-Navarro, a high-education establishment advocated at the time. However, when
Universidad de Navarra Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...
materialized as a private
Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...
enterprise in 1952, Gambra did not enlist; he rejected also an opportunity to pursue research and possibly scholarship in England. In the mid-1950s he returned to the capital, engaged in governmental attempt to re-shape the secondary education structures. He assumed teaching in newly created "centros modelos de segunda enseñanza", first in Instituto Miguel de Cervantes and in the mid-1960s moving to Instituto Nacional de Enseñanza Media Lope de Vega, becoming its vicedirector later on. As education official he was anxious to prevent "erosión de la espiritualidad", and in the early 1960s he opposed technocratic changes, proposed and eventually introduced in education. He co-operated also with
Universidad Complutense The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...
, particularly with the associated San Pablo CEU college, run by ACdP. Gambra continued collaborating with CEU from the mid-1960s to 1994, also after San Pablo had formally separated from Complutense and became an independent university. Apart from professional engagements, Gambra continued his teaching career also with a number of semi-scholarly institutions. Until the early 1960s Gambra was giving lectures at
Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...
, at that time led by
Florentino Pérez Embid Florentino is both a masculine given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name *Florentino Alfaro Zamora (died 1871), Costa Rican politician * Florentino Álvarez Mesa (1846–1926), Spanish journalist, wr ...
, and Instituto de Cultura Hispánica, an establishment created by Francoist authorities to cultivate the Latin American link. In the press referred to as "catedrático", he was active in once-off conferences, also beyond Madrid, and in periodical Catholic cultural-scientific initiatives, like Conversaciones Intelectuales de El Paular or sessions organized by Hermandad Sacerdotal. In the mid-1960s he commenced engagement in Madrid-based
Centro de Estudios Históricos y Políticos General Zumalacárregu Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Du ...
i, a think-tank set up to disseminate Traditionalist thought and counter progressist designs on Carlism. In the late 1960s he stood as a recognized authority, at least within the Traditionalist realm. He continued giving lectures in the 1980s, as late as 1989 and 1992. In 1998 he celebrated 50 years of teaching.


Thought

In terms of general inspiration Gambra is broadly defined as fitting within the
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
nic tradition but indebted mostly to
St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...
and occasionally referred to as member of the neo-scholastic school. His views on Christianity were influenced by
Gustave Thibon Gustave Thibon (; 2 September 1903 – 19 January 2001) was a French philosopher. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times by Édouard Delebecque, in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1968. Biography Although essentially self-tau ...
, Etienne Gilson,
Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was an Italian, naturalized German Catholic priest, philosopher and theologian. Life Romano Michele Antonio Maria Guardini was born in Verona in 1885 and was baptized in the Church of San ...
and partially
Max Scheler Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Zacha ...
. He is also often referred to as embracing philosophic threads of
Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...
and other French
existentialists Existentialism is a family of philosophy, philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an Authenticity (philosophy), authentic life despite the apparent Absurdity#The Absurd, absurdity or incomprehensibili ...
, while in theory of politics and state following
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...
,
Karl von Vogelsang Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang (3 September 1818 – 8 November 1890), a journalist, politician and Catholic social reformer, was one of the mentors of the Christian Social movement in Austria-Hungary. Life He was born in Liegnitz in the Sil ...
and especially
Juan Vázquez de Mella Juan Vázquez de Mella y Fanjul (8 June 1861 – 18 February 1928) was a Spanish politician and a political theorist. He is counted among the greatest Traditionalist thinkers, at times considered the finest author of Spanish Traditionalism of al ...
. The principal thread of Gambra's thought is repudiation of rationalism-based civilization and promotion of a Traditionalist outlook. Human life is understood as commitment to divine order and human identity as spanned between own self and community belonging. A man is perceived primarily as a social – not autonomous – being, expressed mostly by his role in society; similarly, life is about contributing to common good, incompatible with individualism or liberalism. The society itself is governed by nature, animality and rationality, though religion as a transcendent factor is indispensable element of social equation. Such a polity is best expressed as a "society of duties", united by common purpose and religious inspiration. As he believed a public organization not based on accepted orthodoxy can never be stable, leading to mere co-existence rather than community, Gambra advocated public embracement of the doctrine with respect for privately held heterodoxy. According to Gambra social self of a human is best expressed by tradition, viewed as accumulated and irreversible evolution that provides a principle governing historical societies and incompatible with revolutionary patterns of change. In case of Spain the tradition is embodied in hereditary monarchy as opposed to elective heads of state, federative structure as opposed to unitary nation states, organic representation as opposed to corruption-prone and individual-centred parliamentarian democracy, Catholic orthodoxy as opposed to secular or neutral regime and generally withdrawn admin structures as opposed to modern, omnipotent state. Politically the guardian of such a tradition was Carlism, not merely political grouping or romantic sentiment but rather the very essence of Spanish self. Recurring thread of Gambra's thought, by some considered its key component, was confronting modern format of religiosity. He held Maritain and
Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theologica ...
responsible for undermining Christianity and turning it into a "new humanist religion", admitting defeat in 150-year-old struggle against secular Revolution. Fiercely critical of
Vaticanum II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for sessions ...
he considered ''
Dignitatis humanae ''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...
'' incompatible with tradition, the innovative effort of Vatican producing demolition of Christianity and reduction of Catholic integrity to mere "Christian inspiration". Indeed, he is often referred to as an
Integrist In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism () is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the ...
. Faced with progressist stance of the Church, Gambra started assuming anti-clerical positions from the far-right perspective. He often combined his critique with onslaught on European idea, considered a euphemism denoting a militant, anti-Christian ideology, and opposed its implementation in Spain. He was not that much anti-democratic as rather opposing deification of democracy, and especially the central if not exclusive position it claimed within public space.


Works

Most popular Gambra's works were textbooks in
history of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...
: ''Historia sencilla de la filosofía'' (1961) and ''Curso elemental de filosofía'' (1962); tailored for the beginners, they were reprinted in countless editions and served as immensely popular introductions to philosophy for generations of Spanish students until the early 21st century. The first edition of ''Curso'' was nominally co-authored by
Gustavo Bueno Gustavo Bueno Martínez (1 September 1924 – 7 August 2016) was a Spanish philosopher, founder of a philosophical doctrine dubbed by himself as "philosophical materialism". Pupil of the national-syndicalist Santiago Montero Díaz, Bueno's ph ...
; in the subsequent re-runs the publisher dropped Bueno, who after the fall of Francoism claimed that the result of his own labor had been merely re-edited by Gambra. In 1970 these works were supplemented by ''La filosofía católica en el siglo XX''. Gambra's view on theory of society and state was laid out in three works: his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
dissertation ''La interpretación materialista de la historia'' (1946), ''La monarquía social y representativa en el pensamiento tradicional'' (1954) and ''Eso que llaman estado'' (1958). ''La monarquía'', together with almost simultaneously published similar work of Elías de Tejada, became a cornerstone of Traditionalist theoretical vision, while ''Eso que llaman'' was widely discussed in the press of the era; both earned Gambra prestigious standing in scholarly discourse. The works which made most impact among the wide public were 4 books focusing on contemporary culture: ''La unidad religiosa y el derrotismo católico'' (1965), ''El silencio de Dios'' (1967), ''Tradición o mimetismo'' (1976) and ''El lenguaje y los mitos'' (1983). The first two centred on secularization of Western polities; they confronted Christian-Democratic vision and Vatican II alike, explored roots of perceived cultural decline, tried to re-define tradition versus progress and strove to demonstrate how multifold advances of the last centuries have given man a false sense of mastery. ''Tradición'' turned dramatically out of tune with the
transición The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system, in the form of ...
spirit, withdrawn by the editor and distributed by the author himself. Finally, ''El lenguaje'' deconstructed modern communication; its objective was to prove that the progressist tide manipulated the language and turned it from means of communication into means of promoting cultural revolution. Apart from translations, booklets, compilations and single though some of them original historical attempts, most of 775 titles in digitalized version of Gambra's writings, released in 2002, are contributions to reviews and daily press. Since the 1940s Gambra was moderately engaged in Calvo Serrer directed '' Arbor''. Later he switched to ''La Ciudad Católica'', turned into ''
Verbo ''Verbo'' is a Spanish dark fantasy thriller film written and directed by Eduardo Chapero-Jackson. Plot A 15-year-old, Sara, lives with an apparently normal suburban family. She develops a sixth sense and begins to perceive a series of disturbi ...
'', unofficial review of the Spanish Integrists, contributing also to other Catholic titles like ''Tradición Católica'' or conservative ones like ''Ateneo''. He supplied a number of Carlist reviews and bulletins: ''Siempre p'alante'', ''La Santa Causa'', ''
Montejurra Montejurra in Spanish and Jurramendi in Basque are the names of a mountain in Navarre region (Spain). Each year, it hosts a Carlist celebration in remembrance of the 1873 Battle of Montejurra during the Third Carlist War. In 2004, approximately ...
'' and ''Azada y Asta'', gradually eradicated from the last two by their progressist management. Through many decades he was key author of '' El Pensamiento Navarro''. During late Francoism and afterwards he collaborated with ''El Alcázar'' and ''Fuerza Nueva''. In the 1990s and later he appeared in nationwide press mostly as author of letters to the editor; his last item identified is from 2003. In the 1950s he engaged in private Carlist ventures Editorial Cálamo and Ediciones Montejurra.


Carlist: confronting Franco

Released from the Carlist Requeté unit, during academic years in Madrid Gambra engaged in the Traditionalist Academia Vázquez de Mella. In the increasingly fragmented realm of post-war Carlism, headed by vacillating and hardly contactable regent Don Javier, he seemed leaning towards a candidature of Dom Duarte Nuño; the two had an amicable interview in 1941, but the young Gambra stayed within the limits of loyalty to the regent and eventually abandoned his pro-Braganza penchant, converted to supporter of the Borbón-Parmas. Having moved to Navarre in 1943 he assisted the French monarchists from fleeing the Nazi terror across the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
into Spain. In the late 1940s he gained weight within Navarrese Carlism; in the early 1950s he was already listed among "dirigentes locales" who "tenían en el país vasconavarro una indudable influencia"; in 1953 he formally entered Junta Provincial. Since emergence of pro-Francoist Carloctavista branch in the mid-1940s Gambra was increasingly anxious about protracted regency of Don Javier. Uncompromising towards another collaborative branch, the Rodeznistas, in the early 1950s he concluded that Don Javier should reinvigorate the movement by terminating the regency and declaring his own claim to the throne. When this eventually happened in 1952, Gambra was co-author of ''Acto de Barcelona'', a proclamation issued by the pretender and viewed also as major re-definition of the Carlist dynastical reading. Books on Traditionalist monarchy established his firm position as a recognized party theorist. In 1954 he entered sub-commission of culture within Comisión de Cultura y Propaganda of the Carlist executive, Junta Nacional. When discussing the mid-1950s some authors count him among the immovilistas, non-collaborative followers of Manuel Fal, while others scholars suggest he charged Fal with lack of intransigence and together with other Navarros like the Baleztena
brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...
he opposed him from even more anti-Francoist positions. Once Carlism changed its strategy towards cautious rapprochement, Gambra stuck to his guns and lambasted the official collaborationist path of the new leader, José María Valiente. Uneasy about continuous vacillation of Don Javier, Gambra was cautiously supportive of inviting his son Don Carlos Hugo into the Spanish politics; he first met him in 1955 and though perplexed by unfamiliarity of the francophone prince with the Spanish affairs, it was Gambra who introduced him at the 1957 Carlist gathering at
Montejurra Montejurra in Spanish and Jurramendi in Basque are the names of a mountain in Navarre region (Spain). Each year, it hosts a Carlist celebration in remembrance of the 1873 Battle of Montejurra during the Third Carlist War. In 2004, approximately ...
. In the late 1950s Gambra appreciated his energetic style and focus on dynastic loyalty; he also liked young personalities from Don Carlos Hugo's entourage, especially Ramón Massó, a former Gambra's disciple from Academia Vázquez de Mella. Appreciating him as a young Catalan easily communicating with the crowd, at the turn of the decades Gambra collaborated with Massó and others; he did not realize that they exploited Mellist and federalist threads but considered him a rotten reactionary and approached his teaching highly selectively. It was only in the early 1960s that Gambra realized that Huguistas tried to outsmart the Traditionalists; having failed to prevent their increased presence in the party structures, around 1963 Gambra dissociated himself from Carlohuguismo to launch an openly confrontational bid.


Carlist: confronting Progress

In 1963 Gambra co-founded Centro de Estudios Históricos y Políticos General Zumalacárregui; though affiliated with Movimiento Nacional, it was intended as a think-tank disseminating Traditionalism and countering progressist vision of the Huguistas. Apart from publications and minor events, its activity climaxed in two Congresos de Estudios Tradicionalistas, staged in 1964 and 1968. As supporters of Don Carlos Hugo were gaining momentum, Gambra was leaning towards rapprochement among all Carlist branches separated from the party during the last 20 years: Rodeznistas, Carloctavistas, Sivattistas and the recently expulsed politicians like José Luis Zamanillo or Francisco Elías de Tejada. Parking dynastical issues, they were supposed to be united by loyalty to Traditionalist principles and opposition to socialist penchant. The plan did not work out until the early 1970s, it is until emergence of ephemeral structure styled as ex-Requeté organization. Gambra's efforts of the time were mostly about further refinement of Traditionalist thought in specialized reviews and conferences; they climaxed in ''¿Qué es el carlismo?'' (1971), concise lecture of the doctrine co-authored with de Tejada and Puy Muñoz. Also in the mid-1970s he was very engaged in propaganda war with the Huguistas. The latter lambasted his accord with "ultra-fascist line" of ''El Pensamiento Navarro'' and his "posición ultramontana"; Gambra mobilized Traditionalists to challenge progressist grip on Carlism and prior to the 1976 Montejurra gathering, which effectively produced fatal casualties, called for "asistencia masiva de los verdaderos tradicionalistas, que acallará gestos y voces, 'declaraciones' y 'manifiestos', sencillamente inadmisibles, intolerables". During final years of Francoism and during transición Gambra, always opposed to Falangism and Francoism, neared the post-Francoist búnker when confronting the change; voicing against the 1978 constitution, he sided with Blas Piñar's
Fuerza Nueva New Force (, FN) was the name of a far-right political party in Spain founded by Blas Piñar, director of the Institute of Hispanic Culture and longtime ''procurador'' in the Cortes Españolas during the Francoist period. Originally operating ...
until the party was dissolved in 1982. Embittered by ongoing change he tried to confront it in newspapers; he compared the setting of late transición to that of the mid-1930s, when Spain was struggling infected with deadly political viruses. He remained on the sidelines of politics; when mushrooming Traditionalist grouplets united in
Comunión Tradicionalista Carlista Comunión (, or ) is a village and ''Concejo (Álava), concejo'' located in the municipality of Lantarón, in Álava province, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. It is the capital of the municipality. References Ex ...
in 1986 Gambra focused rather on youth Carlist organizations, his spotlight on cultural heritage and education. His objective was to promote Traditionalist values in the increasingly secular, modern consumer Spanish society. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s Gambra was considered supreme authority on theory of Traditionalism. This was acknowledged during homage celebrations organized in 1998, though formal recognition came 3 years later. In 2001 Don Sixto, the younger son of Don Javier styled as Abanderado de la Tradición (though falling short either of claiming the throne or even claiming the Carlist regency) nominated Gambra chief of his Secretaría Política. Not all the Traditionalists recognized Gambra's authority; the Carloctavistas and Comunión Tradicionalista Carlista - not admitting allegiance to any dynastical line - dissociated themselves from the nomination. Assuming political leadership of the sixtinos Carlists, the 81-year-old considered his elevation another cross to bear, though as an octogenarian Gambra remained fairly active; his last public appearance took place during the
Cerro de los Ángeles The Cerro de los Ángeles (''Hill of the Angels'') is a hill located in Getafe, Spain, about south of Madrid. The site is famous for being the geographic centre of the Iberian Peninsula. On top of the hill there is a fourteenth-century monaste ...
feast in 2002.


Reception and legacy

Gambra emerged as a notable Traditionalist theorist in the mid-1950s. In the late 1960s he was already a recognized authority within the movement and beyond, with first homage sessions organized in 1968; at that time his books on culture and Christianity earned him name also among wider national audience. With the commencing transición of the late 1970s his works went out of fashion up to the point of withdrawing them from bookstores. Following the 1983 publication of ''El lenguaje y los mitos'' he started to disappear from public discourse, publishing either in specialized reviews or partisan press titles. Within Traditionalism he grew to an iconic figure, honored by 1998 homage session and a monograph by Miguel Ayuso, published the same year. Though he gained a number of prizes, all of them were awarded by conservative institutions. His 2004 death was noted by some though not all nationwide newspapers and acknowledged by monographic issue of ''Anales de Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada''.
Taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
of Gambra's work is unclear. Today he is usually vaguely referred to as "thinker", an application used also by the Spanish press during his lifetime, alternating with "publicista", "catedrático", "profesor" or "ensayista". When it comes to detailed designation his work is usually classified as philosophy, though some see it as part of historiography or political science. In general Spanish encyclopedias he usually merits very brief notes. Some philosophy-dedicated dictionaries ignore him, some just mention his name and in few he is treated at length. In some manuals he appears in entries dealing with Traditionalism, though featured as a secondary theorist who failed to provide original contribution and was rather a renovator of earlier thought. As a historian by some he is denied sound credentials, counted among pseudo-scientific "historiografia neotradicionalista", others challenge this approach. As education official he is considered opponent of modernising technocratic changes. He is sometimes counted among members of " generación de 1948". Within Traditionalism Gambra remains one of the all-time greats. His opus is applauded as grand contribution, a synthesis and a holistic "cosmovisión católica y española", though few authors consider his input an update rather than an original contribution. Gambra's followers see him as "pensador tradicionalista contemporáneo más importante", "esencia del tradicionalismo" or even "el más grande y el más fiel filósofo español de la segunda mitad del siglo XX", himself and counter-revolution being one and the same thing. However, also within the Traditionalist realm he found some of his concepts – especially his intransigence - challenged, like in case of a 2003 polemics with Alvaro d'Ors. During the 2014 conference on Traditionalism Gambra was dedicated one paper and featured prominently in a number of others; apart from that, both his sons acted as speakers. In the 2015 synthesis of Traditionalist thought he is the second – after Elías de Tejada - most featured author. Some of Gambra's essay books are being re-published, especially ''El Silencio de Dios'' enjoyed a number of editions and was translated into French and English. A new book was released posthumously.''El Exilio y el Reino. La comunidad de los hombres y sus enemigos'', Madrid 2009,


See also

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Carlism 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, ...
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Traditionalism (Spain) Traditionalism () is a Spanish political doctrine formulated in the early 19th century and developed until today. It understands politics as implementing Catholic social teaching and the social kingship of Jesus Christ, with Catholicism as the s ...
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Integrism (Spain) Integrism was a Spanish political philosophy of the late 19th and early 20th century. Rooted in ultraconservative Catholic groupings like Neocatólicos, Neo-Catholics or Carlists, the Integrists represented the most right-wing formation of the R ...
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Francisco Elías de Tejada y Spínola Francisco Elías de Tejada y Spínola Gómez (April 6, 1917 – February 18, 1978) was a Spanish scholar and a Carlist politician. He is considered one of top intellectuals of the Francoist era, though not necessarily of Francoism. As theorist ...
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José Miguel Gambra Gutiérrez José Miguel Gambra Gutiérrez (born 1950) is a Spanish philosopher and politician. He is known mostly as the expert in logic and in the Predication (philosophy), theory of predicates; since the 1980s he has been holding various teaching positio ...


Footnotes


Further reading

* Julio César Alvear Téllez, ''La comprensión del Estado laico y de la secularización del poder político según Lellinek, Gauchet, Schmitt y Gambra'', n:''Revista de Derecho de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso'' 43 (2014), pp. 765–799 * Julio Alvear Téllez, ''Drama del hombre, silencio de Dios y crisis de la historia. La filosofía antimoderna de Rafael Gambra'', Madrid 2020, * Julio Alvear Téllez, ''Rafael Gambra: una denuncia profética, la libertad religiosa, la tradición de los clérigos y la agonía de la ciudad humana'', n:''Verbo'' 473-474 (2009), pp. 225–242 * Gabriel de Armas, ''Rafael Gambra y la unidad católica de España'', n:''Verbo'' 39 (1965), p. 551-556 * José de Armas, ''Fidelidad a los principios y lealtad a las personas Rafael Gambra en mi personal "Camino de Damasco"'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 169–171 * Miguel Ayuso Torres, ''In memoriam. Álvaro D'Ors y el tradicionalismo (A propósito de una polémica final)'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 183–197 * Miguel Ayuso Torres, ''Koinos: el pensamiento politico de Rafael Gambra'', Madrid 1998, * Miguel Ayuso Torres, ''Rafael Gambra en el pensamiento tradicional español'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 162–164 * Miguel Ayuso Torres, ''El tradicionalismo de Gambra'', n:''Razón española: Revista bimestral de pensamiento'' 89 (1998), pp. 305–311 * Jacek Bartyzel, ''Libertades concretas y libertad cristiana en el pensamiento de los maestros del tradicionalismo: Francisco Elías de Tejada, Rafael Gambra y Álvaro d'Ors'', aper delivered at ''Maestros del tradicionalismo hispánico de la segunda mitad del siglo XX'' conference Madrid 2014 * Jacek Bartyzel, ''Nic bez Boga, nic wbrew tradycji'', Radzymin 2015, * Francisco Canals Vidal, ''Rafael Gambra y la deformación nacionalista'', n:''Verbo'' 421-422 (2004), pp. 24–30 * Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, ''El naufragio de las ortodoxias: el carlismo, 1962-1977'', Pamplona 1997, * Emilio Castillejo Cambra, ''Mito, legitimación y violencia simbólica en los manuales escolares de historia del franquismo (1936-1975)'', Madrid 2014, * Juan Luis Ferrari Cortés, ''El pensamiento político de la revista "Verbo"''
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Madrid 2015 * Edualdo Forment, ''Rafael Gambra'', n:Manuel Garrido, Nelson R. Orringer, Luis M. Váldes, Margarita M. Váldes (eds.), ''El legado filosófico español e hispanoamericano del siglo XX'', Madrid 2009, , pp. 422–424 * Pedro Carlos González Cuevas, ''El pensamiento político de la derecha española en el siglo XX'', Madrid 2005, * Juan B. Vallet de Goytisolo, ''In memoriam. Rafael Gambra. La luz que agradezco a Rafael Gambra'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 179–181 * Luis Hernando de Larramendi, ''Los Gambra y los Larramendi: una amistad carlista'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 171–174 * Víctor Ibáñez, ''Rafael Gambra y las Juventudes Tradicionalistas'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 2004 (10), pp. 164–166 * Carmelo López-Arias Montenegro, ''Rafael Gambra y el sentido del tiempo'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 10 (2004), pp. 166–169 * Ángel Lorente Lorente, ''Cincuenta años de regulación de las formas de coordinación docente en los institutos de educación secundaria'', n:Guillermo Vicente y Guerrero, (ed.), ''Estudios sobre la historia de la Enseñanza Secundaria en Aragón'', Zaragoza 2011, , pp. 401–416 * Manuel Martorell Pérez, ''La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil'' hD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia Valencia 2009 * Ramón María Rodon Guinjoan, ''Invierno, primavera y otoño del carlismo (1939-1976)'' hD thesis Universitat Abat Oliba CEU Barcelona 2015 * Manuel Santa Cruz lberto Ruiz de Galarreta ''Rafael Gambra. un hombre cabal'', n:''Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada'' 2004 (10), pp. 174–179


External links


''¿Que es el carlismo?'' by Gambra and others

Rafael Gambra's digitized works





in memoriam Rafael Gambra by Anales de la Fundación Francisco Elías de Tejada
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''sixtinos'' Carlists, official site

''Por Dios y por España''; contemporary Carlist propaganda

Catholic Integrism 1980s, Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambra Ciudad, Rafael Carlists Corporatism Integralism People from Francoist Spain Leaders of political parties in Spain Military personnel from Madrid Politicians from Madrid Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) 20th-century Spanish essayists 20th-century Spanish male writers Spanish monarchists Spanish Roman Catholic writers Catholic philosophers 20th-century Spanish historians 1920 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century Spanish philosophers