Introduction

The purpose of Spain’s PD: a golden circle of public diplomacy analysis

“…In 1936, the Ministerio de Propaganda was created to regulate the information disseminated abroad about Spain. Due to the concentration of propagandistic and political communication in the tourism industry, PD activities were also regulated through the Dirección General de Turismo until 1951, and through the Ministerio de Información y Turismo since its creation that same year (Correyero Ruiz 2004 ; Pack 2006 ). Despite some engaging and collaborative programs during this period, taking as an example the Fulbright exchanges between Spanish and American scholars (Rodríguez-Escobar and Rodríguez-Jiménez 2019 ), the majority of PD efforts were unidirectional from Spain to the rest of the world, as it happened with the tourism industry, the film industry, or Spanish-language teaching (León Aguinaga 2006 ; Rosendorf 2014 ; Delgado Gómez-Escalonilla 2014 ).…”

“…According to Manuel Lejarreta, Ambassador of Spain to Angola and Former Secretary General of Fundación Consejo España-EEUU , during the first years of the Franco dictatorship the image of Spain was that of a backward country, traumatized, closed and poor; however, there was a shift in this image thanks to a closer alliance with the United States and the whole public diplomacy strategy behind “Spain is different” (M. Lejarreta, personal communication, October 17, 2022). This slogan highlighted the unique way of life and being of Spanish society, known as the Spain of the pandereta —a folk tambourine commonly featured during Spanish celebrations and traditionally associated with a rural country of toros, fiesta y siesta (bulls, party and nap) (Pack 2006 ). Some clear depictions of the Spain of the pandereta —a Spain of Andalusian folklore, bullfighting, gypsies, good wine, and españoladas —are Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises of 1926 and Luis Berlanga’s movie Bienvenido Mr. Marshall of 1953 (Pritchett 1954 ; Pack 2006 ).…”

“…This slogan highlighted the unique way of life and being of Spanish society, known as the Spain of the pandereta —a folk tambourine commonly featured during Spanish celebrations and traditionally associated with a rural country of toros, fiesta y siesta (bulls, party and nap) (Pack 2006 ). Some clear depictions of the Spain of the pandereta —a Spain of Andalusian folklore, bullfighting, gypsies, good wine, and españoladas —are Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises of 1926 and Luis Berlanga’s movie Bienvenido Mr. Marshall of 1953 (Pritchett 1954 ; Pack 2006 ). This perception of Spain was also reflected in the Fulbright Program, the exoticism of Spain was used to promote studies related to history and social sciences, whereas it represented a barrier inhibiting the attraction of American scientists and researchers (Delgado Gómez-Escalonilla 2009 ).…”

“…Therefore, there was a split between the promoted moral purpose and the actual behavior of the country, a split of Spain’s WHY and WHAT. This incoherence affected the perception of foreign publics, taking as an example the “anti-Franco displays” in Italy to “boycott travel to Spain” and the anti-Spanish campaigns “Don’t travel to Spain” in Scandinavia during the 1960s (Pack 2006 , p. 112).…”