Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In 1901, shortly after Spain’s crushing defeat in the Spanish-American war, José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), Ramiro de Maeztu, and Pío Baroja wrote a manifesto reflecting their dedication to bettering the lives of the wretched across the country through intellectual activity. An intriguing case in point is Azorín’s “La Andalucía trágica,” a series of articles which chronicles his trip to the rural town of Lebrija in 1905 while on assignment for the liberal, Madrid-based newspaper El Imparcial. His task was to document the impact of recent droughts on peasants and farmers in Andalucía, a region whose already severe socioeconomic issues (hunger, poverty, unemployment) stemmed from decades of ineffective governmental practices. Azorín adopted a critical stance in his articles which provoked outrage among El Imparcial’s readers and supporters, and also led to his dismissal. In line with the objectives of the manifesto mentioned above, Azorín shed light on the Andalusian pueblo’s harsh realities, a place where repeated cries for justice and regeneration were continuously ignored. When Azorín was dismissed from El Imparcial, he was also silenced, denied the freedom to report on Lebrija’s dire situation and critique the institutions that perpetuated it. In this paper I suggest that Azorín’s articles represented a political threat that brought out underlying fears among El Imparcial’s public. I ask: What exactly was so threatening about these articles? What does this suggest about journalism and “free speech” in early twentieth-century Spain? What can we learn from these articles about the experience and perception of the Spanish pueblo?