White Bread, Black Bread. The Spanish postwar in Granada

The Instituto Cervantes, the official Spanish Government Centre, is a public institution founded in 1991 to promote Spanish language teaching and knowledge of the cultures of Spanish speaking countries throughout the world.

Instituto Cervantes Manchester

Discover the hardships of the Spanish post-war period in Granada with bread as its symbol

The Instituto Cervantes in Manchester presents the documentary Pan blanco, pan negro. La posguerra desde Granada (White Bread, Black Bread. The Spanish postwar in Granada) was created by Peter Anderson, professor at the University of Leeds, Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, professor at the University of Granada and Gustavo Bernal, an expert in communication. After the screening, there will be a short discussion with the authors to understand the research and creative process of the documentary.S﻿ynopsis: White Bread, Black Bread. The Spanish Postwar from GranadaThe documentary uses bread as a lens to examine the harsh post-war Civil War years in Spain. Many Spaniards endured severe hunger in the years 1939–1952 with famine afflicting Spain between 1939–1942 and again in 1946. In this context, bread became a symbol of the different fates of those from the victorious side (Francoists) and the defeated side (supporters of the Second Republic) in the Spanish Civil War. Despite great poverty, shortages and rationing, those from the victorious side enjoyed access to abundant and high-quality white bread. By contrast, those from the defeated side, who often hailed from poorer social groups and had identified with the Second Republic, endured long queues to receive rationed goods often made up of small quantities of adulterated ‘black’ bread of such poor quality it could be impossible to digest.White and ‘black’ bread become the central themes in the documentary that takes us back to the 1940s and two villages in Granada province: Alfacar and Víznar (where supporters of General Franco murdered the playwright Federico García Lorca and 3,000 others). The researchers Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco and Peter Anderson interview people who were involved in the production and distribution of bread in these village and who lived through the post-war years. As we learn about the way bread is made from milling to baking and to distribution, we also begin to uncover the harsh reality of the post-war years silenced by the Francoist dictatorship but which deserves to be told.Peter Anderson is Professor of Twentieth-Century Spanish History at the University of Leeds. He is also co-editor of European History Quarterly and a trustee of the Basque Children of ’37 Association. He has published widely on Francoism and his most recent books are The Age of Mass Child Removal in Spain: Taking, Losing, and Fighting for Children, 1926-1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021) and as co-editor with Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, Franco’s Famine. Malnutrition, Disease and Starvation in Post-Civil War Spain (London: Bloomsbury, 2021).Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco is an associate professor at the University of Granada where he is head of the Contemporary History Department. His research has centred on the study of the civil war, the postwar and fascism and deals with issues such as political outlooks, the Francoist repression, Franco’s famine and memory. He has published in both national and international journals such as the Journal of Contemporary History, European History Quarterly, Contemporary European History, International Journal of Iberian Studies, Ayer, Historia Agraria o Historia Social. His most recent book deals with the memory and forgetting associated with the memorial crosses erected under the Franco regime to the dead in the Civil War. He is currently working on a monograph dealing with the Spanish famine.Gustavo Bernal holds a degree in Audio-visual Communication from the Ibero-American University of Mexico. He has worked for three decades in both the public and private sector and has taken part in over 300 projects in Mexico and Spain producing business, advertising, cultural and social videos. A major part of his work has centred on making documentary series on a wide range of themes including peace and conflict resolution, history, art and migration. He also helps organise cultural festivals in the city of Granada and in Almería province.

Online EventIn English (simultaneous interpretation into Spanish)D﻿ocumentary with English subtitles.More information: cultman@cervantes.es

El Instituto Cervantes de Mánchester presenta el documental Pan blanco, pan negro. La posguerra desde Granada que ha sido realizado por Peter Anderson, catedrático de la Universidad de Leeds, Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, profesor de la Universidad de Granada y Gustavo Bernal, experto en comunicación.  Tras la visualización del documental se abrirá un pequeño coloquio con los autores para comprender la investigación y el proceso creativo que ha dado como resultado el documental. S﻿inopsis: Pan negro, pan blanco. Las posguerra desde GranadaEl documental rescata la realidad de la posguerra española a través del pan. Fue este un elemento esencial en la hambruna española (1939-1942 y 1946) y en los “años del hambre” (1939-1952). Un elemento simbólico que marcó una línea clara entre los vencedores y los vencidos en la guerra civil española. Los vencedores, en tiempos de escasez, racionamiento y miseria, tuvieron acceso a un pan blanco, abundante, de buena calidad. En cambio, los vencidos, identificados con las clases más bajas con un pasado republicano, tuvieron que hacer frente a las largas colas de racionamiento, para recibir míseros suministros de pan negro, de menor peso, adulterado y en ocasiones imposible de digerir.A través del pan blanco y el pan negro como argumento central, regresamos a la posguerra de los años cuarenta en dos pueblos de Granada: Alfacar y Víznar. De hecho, fue en esta última donde serían asesinados casi 3.000 personas y el poeta Federico García Lorca. A partir de ahí, entrevistamos a diversas personas relacionadas con el oficio de la panadería que vivieron la posguerra. De la mano de los investigadores (Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco y Peter Anderson), reconstruyen todo el proceso de elaboración del pan, desde la llegada del cereal a los molinos de la zona (que tenemos identificados), a la elaboración del pan, y a la distribución del mismo en los municipios y en la ciudad de Granada. Mientras que reconstruimos la fabricación del pan desentrañamos la realidad de unos años silenciados por la dictadura franquista y que merecen ser recuperados.Peter Anderson es catedrático de Historia de España del siglo XX en la Universidad de Leeds. También es coeditor de European History Quarterly y trustee de la Asociación de Niños Vascos del 37. Ha publicado numerosos trabajos sobre el franquismo. Ha publicado numerosos trabajos sobre el franquismo y sus libros más recientes son The Age of Mass Child Removal in Spain: Taking, Losing, and Fighting for Children, 1926-1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021) y, como coeditor con Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, Franco's Famine. Malnutrition, Disease and Starvation in Post-Civil War Spain (Londres: Bloomsbury, 2021). Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco es Profesor Titular en la Universidad de Granada, donde es director del Departamento de Historia Contemporánea. Ha centrado sus investigaciones en el estudio de la guerra civil, la posguerra y el fascismo, abordando temas como las actitudes políticas, la represión, la memoria o la hambruna franquista. Sus trabajos han aparecido en revistas científicas nacionales e internacionales como Journal of Contemporary History, European History Quarterly, Contemporary European History, International Journal of Iberian Studies, Ayer, Historia Agraria o Historia Social. Su último libro es Cruces de memoria y olvido. Los monumentos a los caídos de la guerra civil española (1936-2021) (Crítica, 2022). Actualmente está trabajando en una monografía sobre la hambruna española.Gustavo Bernal es licenciado en Comunicación Audiovisual por la Universidad Iberoamericana de México. Durante tres décadas, ha trabajado tanto para el sector público como para el privado. Ha realizado mas de 300 proyectos en México y España, desarrollando vídeos publicitarios, de formación empresarial y difusióncultural y social. Buena parte de su labor se ha centrado en la realización de seriesdocumentales sobre diversos temas, entre los que cabe destacar la cultura de Paz, la historia, el arte o las migraciones. Colabora asimismo en la producción de festivales culturales en la ciudad de Granada y en la provincia de Almería.

Actividad en línea y en inglés (con interpretación simultánea al español). D﻿ocumental con subtítulos en inglés.Más información: cultman@cervantes.es

W﻿ant to learn Spanish?W﻿e have online and in-person language classess for all levels. <a href="https://manchester.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/spanish_courses.htm" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">﻿See our schedule here</a>.

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White Bread, Black Bread. The Spanish postwar in Granada

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