Current situation of the artistic freedom in Spain

by Valerio Rocco Lozano

In recent years, several creators (rappers, writers, artists and playwrights) have been censored in Spain by different political authorities, with some of them condemned and forced to move abroad (i. e. the Valtònyc case, see below). These cases have highlighted the need to reinforce existing legal mechanisms to defend artistic freedom. The cultural and academic sectors have promoted an interesting debate in this regard, which is expected to influence political decision-making in the next years.

Valtònyc case

The Valtònyc case has been one of the most mediatic events related to the artistic freedom that has taken place in Spain, with a great public repercussion. Moreover, it reached an international dimension when this rapper escaped to Brussels, involving Belgian Justice and the Strasbourg Human Rights Court.

José Miguel Arenas Beltrán, also known under the name of Valtònyc, is a 32-year-old Spanish rapper. He defines himself as a pro-independence citizen and his lyrics are based on an anti-fascist, republican and anti-capitalist ideology.  

In August 2012 he was arrested and accused of terrorism exaltation, instigation of hatred, incitement to violence and injuries to the Crown, in the lyrics of 22 different songs, included in three different albums. In 2017 the Spanish National Court sentenced him to three and a half years in jail. A year after, he appeared in a video on Twitter, where he encouraged killing policemen and putting a bomb on prosecutors. A few weeks later, on the 23^rd of May, just one day before he had to go to prison, he fled to Brussels.

At the beginning of June, the Strasbourg Court rejected Valtònyc’s request to delay his imprisonment. Afterwards, the Belgian justice released Valtònyc without bail and decided not to extradite him to Spain on the sole condition that he does not leave Belgium while his case is open.

Other cases of artistic censorship or attacks on freedom of artistic expression in Spain

– Pablo Hasel is a young rapper that was sentenced in 2017 to two years in prison for glorifying terrorism and insults against the Crown. Three years later, upon appeal, the sentence was reduced to 9 months in jail. 

– Puppeteers arrested in Madrid for a script.Two puppeteers were arrested in 2016 accused of glorifying terrorism during the Madrid Carnival. They represented a play in which a small prop banner was shown where the terrorist group “ETA” was mentioned. They were in prison for five days and later they were released. In 2017 they were cleared of all charges. The case was followed with much expectation and indignation and later the play was performed in many cities throughout Spain. 

– Santiago Sierra censored during the Spanish Contemporary Art Fair, ARCO.In 2018 Santiago Sierra, a well-known and internationally acclaimed artist, showed at the ARCO art fair a series of photographic portraits of politicians accused of rebellion and sedition. The project was entitled “Political prisoners in contemporary Spain”. His work was withdrawn by his gallery, Helga de Alvear, at the request of one of the fair organizers (Ifema). The artwork was sold very quickly after this controversial situation. It was a clear case of artistic censorship that was highly criticized by the artistic and cultural sector.The controversy continued during the next edition of the same fair, when the same artist -along with Eugenio Merino, another Spanish artist- presented a four-meter “ninot” of Felipe VI, the king of Spain, a statue to be burned by the buyer of the piece. The “ninots” are individual sculptures that make up a traditional Festival called fallas, in the city of Valencia. These figures are colossal statues made with cardboard, wood, paper and plaster. They are remarkably lifelike and usually depict improper, satirical scenes inspired by current political or public events. 

– The Book “Fariña”.The journalist Nacho Carretero wrote a book about the detailed history of Galician drug trafficking. In response to the petition of a mayor mentioned in the book, a judge agreed in 2018 to the precautionary seizure of the book. The book was sequestered for three months and there was a great social debate about it. Sales of the book skyrocketed after its release. 

– The rise of extreme right parties in many city councils throughout Spain has resulted in the censorship of previously programmed theatre plays across various municipalities. Recently, both a play about a Republican teacher and one by Virginia Woolf addressing homosexuality were targeted by local town councils. El mar. Visión de unos niños que no lo han visto nunca, a renowned play by Xavier Bobés and Alberto Conejero, tells the story of a Republican teacher who promised to take his students to the sea but was executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War before he could fulfil his promise. This play was cancelled by the city council of Briviesca, where the story takes place. The decision was made by representatives of the far-right party “VOX”, citing economic and technical reasons. Similarly, also Virginia Woolf’s play Orlando faced cancellation, with the Valdemorillo city council -again, under the pressure of the party VOX- attributing it to economic concerns. These acts of censorship sparked protests from the Spanish cultural community. Both plays have been performed in other municipalities, and El mar has recently been adapted into a movie: The Teacher Who Promised the Sea. 

In summary, it can be concluded that the main threats to artistic freedom in Spain come currently from two sources: the first is the legislative framework, especially the law punishing offences against the Crown. Recently, the government of Pedro Sánchez has proposed to remove this offence from the Criminal Code, precisely to defend freedom of expression. The second source of problems for artistic freedom comes from the rise of extreme right-wing parties (especially, but not only, VOX), which seek to ban the work of artists in various disciplines. For the moment, it seems that these far right-wing forces are not growing in terms of voting intentions, but the global geopolitical context is worrying and could also affect Spain in this sense.