Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1936
Cara al Sol
Buy Cara al Sol now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox anthem
|title = Cara al Sol
|transcription =
|english_title = Facing the Sun
|alt_title =
|en_alt_title =
|alt_title_2 =
|en_alt_title_2 =
|image = File:1976 Blas Piar Carlos Garca Juli.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Blas Piar and Carlos Garca Juli (in Falange uniform) sing in 1976 among a crowd making Roman salutes.
|prefix = Former unofficial
|country = and anthem of Falange
|author = Jos Antonio Primo de Rivera
|lyrics_date = 1936
|composer = Juan Tellera
Juan R. Buendia
|music_date = 1935
|adopted = 1936
|until =
|sound =
|sound_title = Cara al Sol
}}
' (English: 'Facing the Sun') is the anthem of the Falange Espaola de las JONS. The lyrics were written in December 1935 and are usually credited to the leader of the Falange, Jos Antonio Primo de Rivera. The music was composed by Juan Tellera 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) and 'A las Barricadas' (a very popular Anarchist 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 Jos Mara Alfaro, Rafael Snchez Mazas, Agustn de Fox, Pedro Mourlane Michelena, Dionisio Ridruejo, Agustn 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 Espaola'. It was first performed in a rally at the Cine Europa of Madrid on February 2, 1936.
The music was based on a 1935 piece by Juan Tellera, '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 Falange, which was since its inception quite military or paramilitary, like other equivalent youth parties in countries under totalitarian regimes, became an important part of the National Army (or National Movement), both ideologically and militarily, still as an independent organization but strengthening the regular insurgent army in the combat lines, which caused plenty of Falangist casualties, and 'Cara al sol' was their anthem throughout "the war days", the lyrics acquiring an even more special signification for its remembering of the "fallen comrades".
In Francoist Spain, the Falange was merged with other far-right groups to form the "Falange Espaola 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 movement, and the anthem of the Spanish Legion, 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 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: 14 Fox, Primo de Rivera, Alfaro; 510 Fox; 1112 Ridruejo; 1314 Primo de Rivera; 15 Alfaro; 16 Mourlane; and 1718 Alfaro. Lines 1922 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 'Espaa Una, Grande y Libre' was a frequently used slogan in Francoism. The lyrics incorporated a version of a chant that was very common at Falangist/Francoist rallies.
*Line 22: Falangists use 'Arriba Espaa' ("Arise Spain" or "Onward Spain") instead of the more mainstream 'Viva Espaa' ("Long live Spain").
Alternate lines
In Line 5, 'mis compaeros' ("my companions") is sometimes replaced by 'los compaeros' ("the companions") or 'otros compaeros' ("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. Velzquez.
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 ca' is a 1973 novel by Juan Mars (:es:Si te dicen que ca) and its 1989 film version by Vicente Aranda.
*'Banderas victoriosas' is a 1939 documentary film by Jos Ernesto Daz-Noriega.
*'Las flechas de mi haz' is a 1977 book by Jos Luis Martn Vigil.
References
Buy Cara al Sol now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1936