The Graves of Francoism (Las fosas del Franquismo) is a project with a public service vocation that aims to promote democratic memory. Society has a moral obligation to undo the base of oblivion in order to never again repeat the most tragic episodes of our history. The project is multidisciplinary in nature, as it is approached from the perspective of archaeology, anthropology and historical memory.

The Diputación de València, with the Historical Memory Delegation, and the Department of Culture, with the Museums of Prehistory and L'ETNO, have produced two exhibitions, a publication and a programme of cultural activities, which aim to contribute to the truth, justice and reparation of the memory of the people shot in the Paterna Cemetery between 1939 and 1956. Special attention has been devoted to the victims and their families.

The exhibitions are: Archaeology of Memory. The Graves of Paterna (Arqueología de la Memoria. Las fosas de Paterna), organised by the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia, and 2238 Paterna. A place of perpetration and memory  (2238 Paterna. Lugar de perpetración y memoria), organised by L'ETNO, Museu Valencià d'Etnologia, which will help to strengthen critical thinking in the face of events that should never be repeated.

2238 Paterna. A place of perpetration and memory.

Approaching the contemporary exhumations of the graves of victims of Franco's regime from the perspective of social anthropology allows us to look beyond these graves. From this discipline, the analytical focus is placed on understanding in depth and in all its dimensions the dynamic social world that surrounds them and endows them with meaning, whether in institutional, associative or family environments.

From this point of view, exhuming involves much more than digging up bones. The view widens and allows us to introduce new agents, to move through time and space and to put ourselves in the place of those people who were murdered and humiliated by Franco's repression, as well as to walk with them along the paths of memory and oblivion.

All these issues are present in one way or another in the exhibition 2238. Paterna, Place of Perpetration and Memory, organised by L'ETNO. Through different spaces and periods, it takes us from the past to the present, from the houses and locked chests of drawers to the cemetery of Paterna and inside the graves, from the experiences of several generations to the suffering of men and women repressed for their way of thinking and living, for defending the legitimate government or for their political militancy.

In the first room (Room 2) we enter a mass grave. From inside, we are led to reflect on its existence and the reasons for the current demands for exhumations, thanks, above all, to the transmission of memory by women.

The first courtyard recreates the Paterna cemetery, showing us the spaces, the small and humble family tributes, the different political demands that have taken place there over time up to the present day.

In the second courtyard we can stop to assimilate all that we have been shown, digest the violence and fear of so many families and share the seeds of hope that encapsulate their demands.

This project is the result of the joint effort and work of many people: the curator, the person responsible for the design, the institution and its workers (restoration, conservation, communication, didactics, administration and management...). And, of course, it is the fruit of the generosity of the families who have selflessly allowed their private and intimate memory to become public heritage and collective memory.
Consult the brochure of complementary activities in the right-hand column.

➔10.00 h
Plantà in Corona street of the falla d'estiu El triunfo del Foot-ball (The Triumph of Football) presented in the exhibition De granotes, gats i palmeres. The Origins of the Levante U.D. de L'ETNO. Reproduction of the falla by Regino Mas and Rafael Albert that was set up on the 18th and 19th March 1923 in Mossen Sorell square, just a few metres from the current location of L'ETNO.

➔22.00h
Dinner at the bar/cafeteria service in the patio of L'ETNO (each person brings their own dinner). Reservation required at letno@dival.es

➔21.00 h
DJ World Music session by Paco Valiente in the courtyard of L'ETNO.

➔23.00h
Cremà de la falla (burning of the falla) in Corona street.

➔23.30h
Verbena (festivity) with Ele DJ in Corona Street.

Las Fosas del Franquismo is a project with a public service vocation that aims to promote democratic memory. Society has a moral obligation to undo the slab of oblivion in order to never again repeat the most tragic episodes of our history. The project is multidisciplinary in nature, as it is approached from the perspective of archaeology, anthropology and historical memory.

The Diputación de València, with the Historical Memory Delegation, and the Department of Culture, with the Museums of Prehistory and L'ETNO, have produced two exhibitions, a publication and a programme of cultural activities, which aim to contribute to the truth, justice and reparation of the memory of the people shot in the Paterna Cemetery between 1939 and 1956. Special attention has been devoted to the victims and their families.

The project Las Fosas del Franquismo. Archaeology, Anthropology and Memory, of the Diputación de València will include a programme of complementary activities throughout 2023 and the first months of 2024: conferences, round tables, presentation of publications, musical performances, scenic arts and cinema, and the inauguration of two exhibitions: Archaeology of Memory. Las fosas de Paterna, organised by the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia, and 2238 Paterna. Lugar de perpetración y memoria, organised by L'ETNO, Museu Valencià d'Etnologia, which will help to strengthen critical thinking in the face of events that should never be repeated.

Carmen Calvo Poyato (Cabra, Córdoba, 1957) Constitutional lawyer, university professor and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. She was Vice-President of the Spanish Government between 2018 and 2021, and previously held several ministries. She is currently a Member of Parliament and President of the Equality Commission of the Congress of Deputies since September 2021. 
As Minister of Culture, she favoured the creation of the Historical Memory Documentary Centre. She has also been the main driving force behind the current Law of Democratic Memory, in force since October 2022.

This conference is part of the programme of cultural activities Las fosas del Franquismo.

On the island of Ostrov in the Caspian Sea, the inhabitants have been abandoned by the Russian state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They survive by poaching fish. Ivan often goes out to sea, risking his life and freedom. He struggles, laughs, dances, fights, and hopes that one day Putin will address the island's misery and help them.

On the island of Lahou, in Costa d'Ivori, Aya and her mother are victims of global warming caused by the northern countries. The sea level is gradually rising and forcing the inhabitants of the island to abandon their land. On the island there is only a village, some fishing boats and a cemetery, condemned to disappear under the water. A universal story with a magnificent and lively protagonist.

On the banks of the mouth of the Xúquer River, researchers discover archaeological finds that prove the existence of an important commercial centre connected to other Mediterranean ports. The documentary, a fluvial road movie, travels through the natural and human landscapes that surround the Xúquer, one of the most polluted rivers in Spain, linked to our identity, with which we have lived and which we have feared and esteemed.

In the 1948 war, hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated. Israel calls it "The War of Independence". Palestinians refer to it as the "Nakba". The documentary examines the history of the village of Tantura and why the Nakba is a taboo in Israeli society. 

Full premiere of the film in Spain

Lina, Angry and Edith are relatives of missing persons. They train as forensic experts in order to participate in the exhumation of more than 200 bodies that the Morelos Prosecutor's Office buried in secret, without investigating what happened to them or who they were. The documentary accompanies the work of these women in the process of disinterment, the supervision of which reveals a harsh reality: what is a government that, without investigating, buries more than two hundred people in hidden graves covering up?

Discussion after the screening of the film.

"L'Incontrolat" is a cycle that explores the relationship between documentary film and ethnography. The programme aims to promote the capacity of documentaries as a tool for analysing contemporary societies and cultures. It does so through a series of documentaries that range from works directed by anthropologists to audiovisual pieces with a marked ethnographic inspiration.
The approach of the cycle is based on a contemporary ethnographic perspective that does not focus exclusively on native peoples or isolated rural communities, but rather investigates the cultural practices and social conflicts of contemporary societies. Along these lines, this year's cycle addresses the phenomenon of mass graves in different countries and contexts, within the framework of the programme THE GRAVES OF FRANCOISM. Archaeology, Anthropology and Memory of L'ETNO, Prehistory Museum of Valencia and the Delegation of Historical Memory of the Provincial Council of Valencia.
The works screened in "L'Incontrolat" are recent productions that are premiering for the first time in the Valencian Community, and are not easily accessible on digital platforms. Therefore, it is a unique opportunity to enjoy them when the summer sun goes down.

Every Sunday of the months of the exhibition (July 2023 - April 2024) our guides will conduct free guided tours for all audiences to the temporary exhibition 2238 Paterna. Place of perpetration and memory, as part of the activities that will be carried out as part of the programme Las Fosas del Franquismo. Archaeology, Anthropology and Memory.

This programme, carried out jointly with the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia and the Delegation of Historical Memory of the Provincial Council of Valencia, includes another temporary exhibition organised by the Museum of Prehistory and which can also be visited at the La Beneficencia Museum Centre. It is called Archaeology of Memory. The graves of Paterna. The timetable can be chosen, i.e. you can see the Prehistory exhibition first (for example at 11 a.m.) and then the Ethnology exhibition (at 12:30 p.m.) or the other way round. They do not have a specific order, you can visit them as you see fit. 

Those who wish to visit the aforementioned exhibition should inform the information point at the Centro Museístico La Beneficencia, where groups of visitors will be formed.