Music and Power: Juventudes Musicales de España as an instrument of foreign policy for the international recognition of the Franco Regime: Florentino Pérez– Embid

Abstract

After the end of World War II, and as a result of the sanctions derived from the Potsdam Conference and Resolution 39 of the United Nations, the Spain of Franco is going to be subjected to a tough stage of international ostracism (“Spanish Question”). The Regime will undertake a series of political and diplomatic maneuvers to break this isolation. Many of these efforts have been analyzed in depth by specialized historiography; this is not the case, however, in what refers to the use of Culture and Music when, in view of the research developed, its role did not turn out to be less. This article demonstrates this reality, with particular emphasis on the use of Juventudes Musicales de España as a cultural diplomacy instrument. This is the Spanish national organization of Jeunesses Musicales International, an institution strongly linked to UNESCO. This justified its use as a tool capable of alleviating the difficulties inherent in the admission of Spain by this international organization. Once the admission to UNESCO was achieved, and after the ratification of the Concordat with the Holy See and the Madrid Pacts, the incorporation of Spain into the United Nations Organization, the great objective to conquer, seemed already more than affordable.