Everything about Cara Al Sol totally explained
Cara al Sol means "facing the sun" in
Spanish. It is the
anthem of the
Falange party. The lyrics were written in December 1935 and are usually credited to the then leader of the Falange,
José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The music was composed by
Juan de Tellería.
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 national anthem of the
Second Spanish Republic) and
A Las Barricadas (a very popular
Anarchist song). The Falange had nothing suitable of its own so it had been borrowing from the German
Nazi and the Italian
fascist repertoire.
To solve the problem,
Primo de Rivera formed a committee
(External Link
), meeting on 2 December 1935 in the home of Marichu de la Mora Maura. Those present included José María Alfaro, Sánchez Mazas, Agustín (
Así) de Foxá, Mourlane Michelena, Dionisio Ridruejo, Agustín Aznar, Rafael Sanchez Maces, and Luis Aguilar. The result of their efforts, following a period of sub-committee review (at the
Cueva del Orkompon, a bar in
Calle Miguel Moya, Madrid) was provisionally entitled the
Himno de Falange Española. It was first performed in
Madrid in
1936.
Its popularity was boosted by
Primo de Rivera's execution on 20 November 1936 and his subsequent glorification by the Spanish Nationalists.
In
Spain under Franco,
Cara al Sol became a semi-official anthem, often played alongside the official anthem, the
Marcha Real, and was regarded as the battle song of the Spanish far right.
The lyrics
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Original lyrics
Cara al sol con la camisa nueva,
que tu bordaste en rojo ayer,
me hallará la muerte si me lleva
y no te vuelvo a ver.
Formaré junto a mis compañeros
que hacen guardia sobre los luceros,
impasible el ademán,
y están presentes en nuestro afán.
Si te dicen que caí,
me fui al puesto que tengo allí.
Volverán banderas victoriosas
al paso alegre de la paz
y traerán prendidas cinco rosas
las flechas de mi haz.
Volverá a reír la primavera,
que por cielo, tierra y mar se espera.
¡Arriba, escuadras, a vencer,
que en España empieza a amanecer!
¡España una!
¡España grand!
¡España libre!
¡Arriba España!
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Translated lyrics
Facing the sun in my new shirt
that you embroidered in red yesterday,
That's how death will find me if it takes me
and I won't see you again.
I'll take my place alongside my companions
who stand on guard in the heavens,
with a hard countenance,
they are alive in our effort.
If they say to you that I fell,
'know that I'm gone to my post up there.
The flags of victory will return
marching merrily along peace
and bringing five red roses:
the arrows of my quiver.
Spring will laugh again,
which we await by air, land and sea.
Onwards, squadrons, to victory,
that a new day dawns on Spain!
Spain united!
Spain (the) great!
Spain (the) free!
Onwards Spain!
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Written by committee
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 shirts relates to the Falangist uniform, a blue shirt which was embroidered with red yoke and arrows upon the chest. "New shirts" doesn't refer to Falangists who joined during the war ("Old shirts" joined before it), since this expression came up only after the song was composed.
- Lines 13-14: The reference to 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.
- Line 22: Falangists use Arriba España ("Onward Spain") instead of the more usual 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"
This version of the song appeared well 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. Velazquez
Trivia
In an amusing coincidence, there's a striking similarity between the first few bars of Cara al Sol and the opening line of the American folk song I've Been Working on the Railroad.Further Information
Get more info on 'Cara Al Sol'.
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