ESSA Madrid: Valle de Cuelgamuros

In the rocky folds of the Sierra de Guardarrama mountains near Madrid lies a massive, marble monument with a troubled past. A huge cross sits near the peak and beneath it lies the entrance to a basilica. Inside is a deep, tunnel-like chamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Two winged guardian angels flank the entrance with their swords pointed down. The curved walls are lit by only a few gas lamps (now electric) and there are no windows at all. An alcove shelters a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patron saint of the Navy. On the central altar stands Christ crucified on the cross and dwarfed by the immensity of the room and the four looming angels looking down from their alcoves high above your head. 

Christ enthroned in mosaic beckons to fallen souls and they approach Him led by hooded angels. Angels of victory point their swords at you. You can see the Savior but not any exits. The arches have no obvious keystone. The natural, disorderly stone is held back by symmetrical ribbed vaulting and this place dedicated to spiritual light is oppressively dark. It was commissioned by dictator Fransisco Franco himself--and it was beautiful. 

Needless to say, this place has a complicated cultural impact. 

Known as el Valle de Cuelgamuros or, perhaps more accurately, el Valle de los Caídos, this structure has been bored into the side of the mountainside to act as a Catholic basilica as well as a monument to the fascist casualties of the Spanish Civil War. It was excavated by the slave labor of prisoners of war and though its origins are thoroughly dubious, the Spanish government has kept the location open to the public. Even though it is a monument to Franco's ego far more than a Christian basilica, it is an important piece of Spanish history and, therefore, Spanish culture. 

The question is this: why keep such a divisive monument? Why keep what many Christians, myself included, might view as a perversion of Christian beliefs? In a country where many are still alive who suffered--or profited--under Franco's reign, why keep a monument to his hateful ideology? In the end, I think it's about historical honesty. If you look closely enough, all countries have dark pasts, but how a country navigates its past shows in its current culture. Just as an opera house shows how a country values the arts, a country that pays to maintain dubious monuments shows a willingness to confront its past. This perspective helps an individual develop a sense of cultural identity just as much as the arts do, so it makes sense why Madrid would strive to maintain sites such as this.