April’s Fools
April’s Fools In July 1936, General Francisco Franco led a military coup against the duly elected Second Spanish Republic. The resulting Spanish Civil War left over a million dead, destroyed the infrastructure of Spain and ended with Franco’s victory 80 years ago today: April 1, 1939. What followed was 36 years of a fascist dictatorship under “El Caudillo.” The ghosts of Franco still haunt Spain, not unlike the miasma of the U.S. Civil War that still tortures our body politic in America. However, here in Spain, they have moved on quicker: a Spanish trait to “get over it” or as the Spanish phrase says “barrer debajo de la alfombra” — sweep it under the rug and just pretend there's nothing there. Here in my husband's hometown of Santander once stood the country’s last statue of the dictator: quietly relegated to a museum warehouse over 10 years ago. 150 years after the fall of Richmond, the equestrian monolith of “Lee” still bestrides the Confederate-heavy...