Y Viva España

Remember the search for lyrics for the Spanish national anthem – “La Marcha Real” (the royal march). I spoke about it on 4 October last year (“All Together Now”). The Spanish Olympic Committee has now got some and they are to present a petition (assuming there is enough backing) for parliamentary support. All well and good you might think. You would be wrong.

The chosen lyrics include the line “viva España” (long live Spain) and a reference to “the fatherland”. If the “viva España” line had been combined with lyrics such as “kiss señoritas by the score”, then there might not be a problem. But they are not. The inclusion of the “fatherland” is something else. Not for one moment do I believe that the Olympic Committee sees anything amiss in the reference. It is doubtless meant with the best intention, but it is the potential interpretation that creates an issue.

Other anthems have their fatherlands. The Dutch, the French; the Germans still have one. The origin of the usage is essentially patriotic and romantic. In each of these three cases, it is an allusion to the homeland. But in the case of the German anthem, “Vaterland” became synonymous with something dark. The fatherland of the Nazis may also have been patriotic and romantic, but Hitler’s patriotism and romanticism were at the expense of humanity.

It is the shadow of fascism that casts itself over the word. For the Nazis, read also the Falange, the nationalists and Franco. The lyrics of the anthem during Franco’s time had their own reference to the fatherland as well as the words “viva España”. It is these echoes that create the issue.

The Spanish left is not amused. Yet, insensitive though the choice of words might appear to the left, would they really impact on the vast majority of Spaniards? When for instance the British are singing “God Save The Queen”, they are doing just that – singing. They are not analysing the meaning of the words. By making a fuss, the left is creating a controversy that might otherwise not have arisen. If the Mexicans, with their historical and linguistic links with Spain, can have a “fatherland” (which they do), then what’s good for them is surely also ok for the Spaniards.

Choosing new lyrics for the anthem was never going to be easy. The lyrics have to reflect a national unity, and that is also not easy given regional interests that run counter to such unity. It is perhaps unfortunate that the anthem debate has cropped up so shortly after the navel-gazing that occurred in respect of the martyrdom of clergy who had supported the nationalists during the Civil War.

Perhaps it might just be best to let the footballers and other sportspeople carry on humming along to the anthem’s tune.


QUIZ
Yesterday – “The Pushbike Song”, The Mixtures (Mungo Jerry did cover the song). Today’s title – had to be really, didn’t it. Who sang this and which country was she from? (She wasn’t Spanish).

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All Together Now

National anthems. Musical patriotism, eyes-bulging rugby players belting them out and pumping themselves up or footballers mumbling embarrassedly, searching for words they don’t know. In the case of Spanish footballers, there is good reason. There are no official words to the national anthem, so Torres and the rest just hum the tune. They were talking about all this on Five Live yesterday. Seemingly, there is a drive to get some official words, but that’s where the problem starts. The Spanish anthem is known as the “marcha real” - royal march. As a result, this doesn’t sit that well with certain areas of Spain and certain groups, notably the Catalonians and the Basques. So try getting an anthem that satisfies all these disparate factions and tie it up with the royal tag. Not easy. This all comes at a difficult time for the Spanish royal family. The Catalonians are getting uppity again, a certain ire being directed at the royals, the Basques want independence, there is a case involving a cartoonist who poked fun at Felipe and Letizia (for which there could be a jail sentence; you cannot take the rip out of the Spanish royals). Juan-Carlos retains a lot of support; he is still remembered for his role in quelling the 1981 coup attempt, but the rest of the family - tricky. A bit like the Windsors, I guess.

To compound the problem, most of the regions of Spain have their own anthems, with certain exceptions, e.g. the Balearics. The semi-federalism of Spain does not lend itself easily to unified symbols of nationhood. The Germans manage it well enough, but the history of “Über Alles” is strong. Imposing an anthem seems artificial. Anthems need some substance, which only history truly lends them. And in an era of localisation and regional autonomy, as one has in Spain, it seems an almost impossible task. Maybe they should just let the footballers carry on humming; they’ll never remember the words anyway.


The localisation of politics in Spain does have one big thing going for it, in that it brings politics that much closer to the people. Simon Jenkins in “The Sunday Times” at the weekend observed that the smallest unit of democratic administration in Britain covers an average 118,000 people. He contrasted this with similar units in France, Germany and the USA. Here in Mallorca, Alcúdia, for instance, has a registered population of just over 16,000, Pollensa similar, Muro nearly 7,000, Santa Margalida a bit more than 10,000. Even these are quite large compared to, say, the smallest French communes, but they are manageable. Each municipality has its own mayor, and these mayors are highly visible. Go to Café La Sala in Alcúdia and it is quite possible that Miquel Ferrer will be having a coffee.

Whether one supports or not these mayors or other politicians or indeed whether one even likes them or not is not the point. Localisation of politics aids sense of community, something that Mallorca has in spades. And one hears all too often that, in Britain, community is dead, but, there again, Britain is a centralised political entity.


QUIZ
Top of the class for Anne Marie who got both Right Said Fred and Massive Attack. Today’s title - it is a kind of an anthem anyway (with strong football links). Who? And don’t say The Beatles.

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