tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post5442316971811806449..comments2023-02-25T02:35:25.601+13:00Comments on The Fatal Paradox: Of festivals, saints and the aesthetic appeal of the irrationalFatal Paradoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-84793835726425689042010-02-15T13:01:11.522+13:002010-02-15T13:01:11.522+13:00P.S. thanks for drawing my attention to the Garzón...P.S. thanks for drawing my attention to the Garzón petition - have added my name just now!Fatal Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-44972189736746233082010-02-15T12:59:22.759+13:002010-02-15T12:59:22.759+13:00Hi Kathy,
I totally agree with you that most Span...Hi Kathy,<br /><br />I totally agree with you that most Spanish peoples' engagement with Catholicism these days is at a primarily superficial, aesthetic level rather than symbolising some deep spiritual attachment. This is probably no bad thing given (as you rightly point out) the complicity of the Catholic Church in the crimes of Francoism - I am reminded of the fact that even in 2010 it is possible to see Francoist insignia and commemorative plaques in cathedrals such as those in Toledo and Logroño.<br /><br />I guess what I was mainly interested in though (coming from a country that is nominally secular though culturally and historically dominated by Protestantism) was not so much the Catholic religion itself but rather the various indirect, subtle ways in which it has gone about trying to achieve cultural hegemony (as opposed to the direct-marketing approach of evangelical Protestants and many secular leftist groups), and whether perhaps there are some useful lessons to be learned from this...Fatal Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-49682590270382622922010-02-15T05:54:13.117+13:002010-02-15T05:54:13.117+13:00Interesting post, Fatal Paradox. I look forward to...Interesting post, Fatal Paradox. I look forward to exploring your blog (Giovanni sent me the link). <br /><br />I spend so much time thinking about the relationship of the Catholic Church to Franco -- and how those effects are still everywhere -- that it's refreshing to read things from this angle. <br /><br />It's hard to imagine Spain ever embracing the kind of secularism that a country like France enjoys. But I wonder how much these festivals, parades and processions are tied to the secularist tourist economy world, rather than the Church these days, even in Spain. <br /><br />In the States, I think of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. How many people are going to observe Lent the next day?engramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11501139052368634979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-78589560520414606522010-02-13T12:32:16.417+13:002010-02-13T12:32:16.417+13:00Cheers for the links Giovanni - will have to follo...Cheers for the links Giovanni - will have to follow up...<br /><br />And yes Peter, it was certainly very cold in Logroño (and Castilla as well) - kind of like spending winter in the Maniototo!Fatal Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-78005164390857195182010-02-12T21:27:10.123+13:002010-02-12T21:27:10.123+13:00Sorry to barge in here, I couldn't find your e...Sorry to barge in here, I couldn't find your email address on the site... I had just been wanting for a while to point you to two blogs by Kathy Korcheck (one in English, one in Spanish) that I think will be of interst to you:<br /><br />http://memorypolitics.blogspot.com/<br />http://www.seminario485.blogspot.com/Giovanni Tisohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10618534731338616708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-28531660914644630792010-02-12T11:10:11.736+13:002010-02-12T11:10:11.736+13:00Looks like you had a really good trip.
I had to l...Looks like you had a really good trip. <br />I had to look up Logrono, below. You were there in the winter I think, fairly cold i suppose.peterquixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15873112816453062068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-4862311565451488102010-02-06T14:08:53.511+13:002010-02-06T14:08:53.511+13:00I guess it depends which El Cid we are talking abo...I guess it depends which El Cid we are talking about - the historical figure who fought as a mercenary in the service of the Muslim taifa kingdoms before changing sides at an opportune moment - just as the tide was turning against his ertswhile allies - or the mythologised emblem of Catholic 'Holy War' (the so-called 'reconquista' of the Iberian peninsula), 'pura sangre' and Castillian supremacy. <br /><br />The former I can relate to as a human being motivated by normal human impulses, the latter I find somewhat problematic, to say the least...but then I say this as someone to whom patriotism is the worst of all vices, while betrayal of the 'fatherland' is a positive ethical imperative :)Fatal Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412105907767891054.post-11862967243974449542010-02-05T13:19:55.789+13:002010-02-05T13:19:55.789+13:00What's "dubious" about Rodrigo Diaz ...What's "dubious" about Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, aka El Cid Campeador?Cecilio Moraleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283375962527765787noreply@blogger.com