Postfrancoist Schizophrenia: The Victory Cross at the O Castro Park in Vigo

Abstract

 As many other cities, Vigo also had its Francoist Cross of the Fallen. Since 1981 different initiatives have been taken to re-signify the monument, like a demolition demand, that was subsequently rejected. The cross is still integrated into the urban landscape and, far from having lost its meaning as a Francoist exaltation, it is still subject of social controversy. Despite the fact that it is assumed that the whole has lost its original meaning, the memory thus remains alive and is dynamically shaped in a failed dialogue between the different agents that highlight its value as a Francoist symbol compared to a merely religious one that would transcend political ideas. The Law of Historical Memory has failed in some way in the praxis, first, by leaving in the hands of the municipalities the responsibility of removing the elements of Francoist exaltation, second by not recognising the Francoist symbolic meaning of many of these elements. This has produced ‘schizomemory’, between law enforcement and persistence of the remains.