Music, power and violence in NO-DO: folcloric cultures in 1940s Francoist cinema

Abstract

During the Spanish Civil War and the years immediately after it, the Franco regime established its structures of political, ideological, moral and cultural governance using formulas that were characteristic of a colonial state: violence, invasion of territory, purging of all opposition and control and surveillance of the population. Folkloric music traditions acquired an important role in the achievement of the aims of state policy, as they were placed at the service of both domestic and international legitimation of the regime at times of serious crisis. This chapter analyses the rhetorical and narrative strategies and the ways the regime used and represented Spain's musical heritage, which was objectified and folklorised in the cinematic propaganda of the NO-DO newsreels throughout the 1940s and served as an instrument of legitimation to ensure public acceptance of Francisco Franco's long rule over Spain. At the same time, it offers an epistemological reflection from the perspective of gender and feminist anthropology, considering how women and the feminisation of Spanish folkloric traditions constituted an essential part of the regime's strategy.