Cinema and National Imaginary: The musical representation of Andalusia in films at the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

At the end of 19th century, Cinema and Music Theatre become rival and complementary shows, therefore sharing technical, artistic and economic strategies and resources (Arce, 1997). The popularity of zarzuelas adaptations offered a series of advantages and benefits of which film industry promptly took advantage in order to present the cultural identity of different Spanish regions and thus to express Spanish National Identity (García Carrión, 2011; Archilés, 2006; Núñez Seixas, 2008). Andalusia was one of the regions most frequently exhibited in zarzuelas and in films based on lyrical-musical heritage (Claver Esteban, 2012). Its artistic representation and exploitation dated from the 18th century but the region had become the most typical metonym for Spanish identity during the last quarter of the 19th century (Egea Fernández-Montesinos, 2006; Alonso, 2011; Young, 2012). As a result, its presence on screen during the following century was a guarantee not only of economical success, but also of the conservative vision of Spanish identity that Spanish film production companies desired (Pérez Perucha, 1997). This text aims to study the musical and cultural identity of Andalusia as expressed in a series of Spanish films dating from 1920 to 1939 To this effect, it examines their scripts and music, completing the arising data with other coming from contemporary periodic press and pertinent scientific literature on the issue. The results inform about the ways in which music contributed, through different mass entertainment means and formats, to the construction of Spanish identity construction in the years in which the country negotiated its modern identity.