Cara al Sol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cara al Sol (Spanish for "Facing the Sun") is the anthem of the Falange, the main current of Spanish Fascism. The lyrics were written by the law student and Falange co-founder José Antonio Primo de Rivera, and the music composed by Juan de Tellería, to fulfill the Falangists' need for a rousing song to rival A Las Barricadas, the popular anthem of the Anarchists. The result, following a period of committee review, was titled the Himno de Falange Española. It was first performed in Madrid in 1936. Its popularity was boosted by Primo de Rivera's death and subsequent apotheosis by the Spanish Nationalists, who would later win the Spanish Civil War (compare with the circumstances of the Nazi anthem Horst-Wessel-Lied and its eponymous Brownshirt martyr, Horst Wessel).
During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco "Cara al Sol" was formally one of the official anthems of Spain[citation needed], together with the National Anthem (Marcha Granadera or Marcha Real), the Oriamendi (the anthem of the legitimist Carlists) and the Himno de la Legión (the song of the Spanish Legion). For much of the 20th century, the song served as the unofficial anthem of the Spanish far right.
Contents |
[edit] Spanish 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 grande!
- ¡España libre!
- ¡Arriba España!
[edit] English translation
- Facing the sun in my new shirt
- that you embroidered in red yesterday,
- That's how death will find me
- if I do not return to you.
- I'll take my place alongside my comrades
- 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 place up there.
- The flags of victory will return
- marching merrily along peace
- and bringing five red roses:
- the arrows of my quiver.
- Laughter will return in the springtime,
- by the sky, earth, and sea, we await its return.
- Onwards, squadrons, to victory,
- that a new day dawns on Spain!
- Spain united!
- Spain great!
- Spain free!
- Onwards Spain!
[edit] Writing of the lyrics
The 3 of December of 1935, the composition of the falangista hymn took place. To date, the Phalange had come using hymns and songs taken from German nazism and the Italian fascismo but whose letters had adapted the Castilian. The necessity from an own hymn that was obvious it provided a minimum of unification to the Phalange.
On 2 of December of 1935 in house of Marichu de la Mora. The 3 met in the mentioned place Alfaro, Agustín de Foxá, Mourlane Michelena, Dionisio Ridruejo, Agustín Aznar, Rafael Sanchez Maces, Luis Aguilar and, of course, Jose Antonio. Music already was written by Juan Tellería and it only was, therefore, to add the letter to him. The same one was fruit of the collaboration of diverse authors who distributed the task. Thus Foxá, Jose Antonio and Alfaro wrote up first part:
- 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.
Foxá also took care of second and third parts:
- 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.
As far as fourth, Ridruejo both wrote first verses:
- Volverán banderas victoriosas
- al paso alegre de la paz
and Jose Antonio both seconds :
- y traerán prendidas cinco rosas:
- las flechas de mi haz.
Last part was work of Alfaro:
- Volverá a reír la primavera,
Pedro Mourlane:
- que por cielo, tierra y mar se espera.
and, again, Alfaro:
- ¡Arriba, escuadras, a vencer,
- que en España empieza a amanecer!
[edit] Alteration of the lyrics
In some versiones, lyrics re altered with at least two known alterations:
1. :Formaré junto a los compañeros
- que hacen guardia sobre los luceros,
2. :Formaré junto a otros compañeros
- que hacen guardia sobre los luceros,
translations:
1. (I will) take my place alongside comrades
2. (I will) take my place alongside rest (other) comrades
[edit] References in the lyrics
After the war, Falange members distinguished "old shirts", who joined the movement before the war, and "new shirts", who joined during the war and were suspect of weaker loyalty.
The arrows are an allusion to the yoke and arrows, a symbol of the Catholic Monarchs that Falange adopted as its own.
España Una, Grande y Libre was an official motto during Francoism.
Arriba España was a Falangist slogan opposed to the traditional Viva España. After the war, the choice of Arriba or Viva was just one of emphasis on Falangism.
[edit] Trivia
In an amusing coincidence, there is 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.
[edit] External links
- BBC news story about the removal of the last statue of Franco from Madrid, during which a group of Francoist demonstrators sang Cara al Sol.
- Spanish website featuring lyrics and mp3 files
- MP3 with vocals and instruments
