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A Musical Mirror: Spain's Ever-Changing Political Landscape And Its Reflection In Popular Music, Vera Grek '14

College Honors Program

This thesis examines the governmental changes in Spain from the beginning of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in 1936 until the end of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s first term as Prime Minister in 2008 in order to determine the degree to which politics affects cultural change in Spain, focusing on popular music. The first chapter deals with Franco’s regime and the laws that controlled the country and the adoption of the southern Spanish traditions as the official Spanish culture, repressing the individual characteristics of the other regions. Next, the second chapter compares the transition from dictatorship to democracy aided by King Juan …