The myth of Carmen has functioned in modern Spanish culture as a privileged symbolic vehicle to negotiate and suture the tensions of a national identity that has been frequently imposed by hegemonic forces. It has also been an instrument to create an exportable image with international currency. In this presentation I will examine the process of re-making Carmen in several key Spanish films, as a double process of re-nationalization of the Carmen myth, and its parallel re-internationalization, according to the changing climate of cultural and political conditions.
