Staged Memories: Spanish Drama and Cinema, Andalusian Identity and Flamenco Music in Argentina and Mexico

Abstract

Culture, particularly cinema, drama and music, played a key role in order to keep and reinforce the identity of Spanish migrants in Argentina and Mexico during the first part of the 20th century. For decades, these countries had received thousands of migrants from Spain, and by the period following the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) a notable colony of them settled in Buenos Aires and Mexico City. At the same time, several artists arrived to these places escaping from the war, political repression or, simply, looking for new work opportunities. For instance, famous singers, actors and flamenco players and dancers (v.g. Miguel de Molina, Angelillo, Niño de Utrera, or Sabicas) achieved overwhelming successes in Buenos Aires and Mexico City’s theatres. Even more, they created a parallel Spanish stardom abroad. Hence, this proposal summarizes the contribution of some of these artists and the fusion between theatre and cinema, and typical Andalusian music as flamenco to preserve and evoke the collective memory of such a faraway motherland. Since Andalusia (the Southern region of Spain) and its culture acted as a metonymic resource to represent that country during that period, migrants from different regions could recognize a common notion of the Spanish identity in them. In this sense, ‘home’ could be staged, remembered, fictionalized and, obviously, idealized.