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Article published In: Memory and memorialization
Edited by Eliezer Ben-Rafael and Elana Shohamy
[Linguistic Landscape 2:3] 2016
► pp. 247–274

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The Historical Memory Law and its role in redesigning semiotic cityscapes in Spain

A case study from Granada

 | Oranim Academic College, Israel
 | University of Granada, Spain | Granada Academic College of Communication (ESCO), Spain
Published online: 3 March 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.2.3.03gui
In its Historical Memory Law (October 2007), Spain recognized victims on both sides of its 1936–1939 Civil War and established entitlements for victims and descendants of victims of the war and the Franco regime that followed (1939–1975). The law requires authorities to remove Francoist symbols and signs from public buildings and spaces, rename streets and squares, and cleanse the public space of monuments and artifacts that glorify or commemorate the regime. By allowing exceptions on artistic, architectural, or religious grounds, however, the law triggered persistent public struggles over monuments, memorials, and outdoor sculptures. This article examines the implementation of the law in the city of Granada, via a case study relating to the removal of a sculpture honoring the founder of the Spanish Fascist movement, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The controversy over the statue sparked a debate in Granada about the implementation of the law in the public space and raised questions about the role of text, material and visual culture in redesigning Linguistic Landscape by articulating contested memories.
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