Grandson Claims Grandfather Invented Spanish Nationalist Slogan

Author Máximo Pradera asserts that his maternal grandfather, Rafael Sánchez Mazas, a co-founder of the Falange Española, is the originator of the nationalist exclamation '¡Arriba España!' Pradera, known for his work in 1990s television and his satirical songs, explores his complex family history in his latest book, 'Memoirs of a Confused Grandson.' The book delves into his illustrious and ideologically charged lineage, as he seeks to learn from his relatives' mistakes.

Pradera describes his grandfather, who was a member number four of the Falange and contributed to the lyrics of 'Cara al sol,' as someone who survived a Republican execution during the Spanish Civil War. According to Pradera, a young Republican soldier discovered Sánchez Mazas in the woods but chose not to report him, allowing him to survive. After the war, Franco appointed Sánchez Mazas to the Council of Ministers, though he was frequently late, eventually leading Franco to dismiss him from his post.

Sánchez Mazas spent his later years in bed, dedicating himself to reading, thinking, and writing, even having a special lectern made for his bedside. Pradera recalls visiting his grandfather as a child, receiving coins he left on his desk. Sánchez Mazas died when Pradera was seven years old.

The family's ideological spectrum extends further, with Pradera's paternal great-grandfather, Víctor Pradera, being a significant Spanish traditionalist thinker whose ideas influenced Franco's national-Catholicism. Víctor Pradera was executed by Republican militiamen in 1936. Conversely, Pradera's father, Javier Pradera, was an anti-Francoist and a communist militant who co-founded the newspaper El País after Franco's death.

Despite the stark ideological chasm between his father, a communist, and his father-in-law, a Falangist, Pradera emphasizes that they maintained a good relationship, partly due to a shared "wry sense of humor." He recounts how his father, Javier Pradera, abandoned a doctoral thesis on the Falange, stating, "Between being right and having a family, I chose to have a family!" to avoid upsetting his father-in-law.

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Between being right and having a family, I chose to have a family!