Traveling theaters in the Second Spanish Republic

Abstract

The Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936) founded Misiones Pedagógicas (Pedagogical Missions)with the intention of spreading culture even in the most
backward small villages of the country. These missions played a very important cultural role (educational events, film screenings, travelling libraries) and paid
special attention to theatre. Among the organizers of these initiatives we can find quite important playwrights, such as Alejandro Casona (Pájaro Pinto,
Teatro del Pueblo), Federico García Lorca (La Barraca), or Max Aub (El Búho), who toured the peninsula with their amateur groups of university students and
presented classical plays in even the most distant parts of the country. Although, due to the outbreak of the Civil War, this activity could not accomplish its goals completely, it had significant results in the cultural development. The aim of this paper is to present the activity of these cultural missions.