Spain: The 20th Century in Color

Spain is a poor, industrially backward and corrupt country. The proclamation of Alfonso XIII as king changes nothing. His alliances with the army, the church and the upper classes make him a king distant from the people and their needs. There is a high level of illiteracy and infant mortality, there is hunger and lack of resources, there is no running water and diseases spread easily. But in this Spain of scarcity, cultural concerns are born from the hands of figures like Dalí or Alberti, adventurers like the pilots of the Plus Ultra who make the first transatlantic flight, or engineers like De La Cierva and his "Autogyro". The general mobilization of the Spanish people leads to the arrival of change that comes with the proclamation of the Second Republic and the political will to modernize the country.

In July 1936, a group of military officers in Melilla rise up, dissatisfied with the changes that have occurred under the Second Republic. They want a more conservative, religious and traditional Spain. The uprising does not triumph throughout the entire territory and the Republican government also fails to defeat the insurgents. Civil war breaks out. The initial movements of the rebels allow them to secure important territories, but the main cities and industrial areas remain in government hands. The Nationalist faction, with Franco as leader, receives military aid from Nazis and Italians in the form of troops, aviation and weapons. Meanwhile, the Republican army secures an alliance with Stalin's Russia and help from international brigades. The civil war represented the first global clash between fascism and anti-fascism.

The beginning of Franco's dictatorship. The repression by the victors targets the losers of the war and especially women who suddenly lose all their freedoms, returning to a life in service of their husbands and homes. Spain suddenly returns to being a conservative and traditional state in which religion controls education. The post-war period is extraordinarily harsh: hunger, disease and hardships of all kinds plague the population. Rationing cards for basic necessities are imposed, but they are not enough to cover the daily diet. This situation coincides with the outbreak of World War II and Franco wants to take advantage of his friendship with Hitler while the German army has the upper hand. By the mid-decade, World War II turns toward the Allies and pushes Franco to distance himself from his relationship with Hitler and move closer to the United States.

The 1950s begin with a country barely emerging from poverty and international isolation. The end of World War II and the arrival of the Cold War against communism present a unique opportunity to forge new alliances with the United States and the Vatican. The dictatorship remains repressive and the Catholic Church continues to shape Spanish morality. How to dress, how to dance, how to study or what to read will continue to be territory controlled by the church, which is in charge of maintaining a conservative and traditional country. Spaniards are still poor, but they can buy again. This is the decade when Real Madrid wins 5 European Cups, but it is also the decade when Elena Francis's advice column continues to mark the path of repression for women, always in service of their husbands and families. The 1950s see the birth of the labor movement and the first university students who were not in the war and want a future.

The 1960s begin with a country changing at breakneck speed, leaving behind three very complicated decades. The arrival of tourism brings the construction of airports, hotels and tourist infrastructure. The arrival of cars brings the construction of roads, highways and the remodeling of cities that become occupied with four-wheeled vehicles. Trams begin to disappear while the Seat 600 becomes the star of the Spanish brand and becomes a key icon that enables Spanish mobility and the first vacation migrations to beach areas. The massive influx of tourists and foreign currency allows the Spanish economy to emerge from extreme poverty and view the future with a little more optimism. These are times of change with the arrival of new ideas. The electric guitar and the miniskirt are the new icons of youth. Household appliances arrive in Spanish homes and make life a little easier.

The 1970s begin with a Francoist regime that has no clear plan for the future and in which no one really knows what will happen once Franco dies. The lack of freedoms, prohibitions of all kinds and censorship become increasingly absurd, but Francoism has no other way to act. Demonstrations by workers and students or neighborhood residents are repressed with beatings, gunshots and imprisonment. The younger politicians of the dictatorship, with King Juan Carlos at the forefront, know that Francoism without Franco is impossible, but there is no predetermined plan. The political opposition presses for real democratic change and it is in the streets where society shows its opinion. This force is decisive for the Transition pact and for the establishment of a parliamentary regime comparable to that of Western Europe. Spaniards live between the hope of change and the economic problems that severely afflict the working classes.