Montejurra was a Spanish monthly magazine, published between 1960 and 1971. Based in Pamplona it was distributed mostly in Navarre and Northern Spain, though pre-paid copies sent by mail reached recipients in the entire country. Its circulation is not clear; at one point the editors hoped to have 20,000 subscribers. The monthly was formatted as a political magazine and evolved from a 4-page text-only bulletin to a 44-page partially color illustrated review; altogether there were 106 issues published. Politically Montejurra was clearly identified as a Carlist periodical. Its launch was related to Carlism adopting a conciliatory position towards Francoism; following first ambiguous and then increasingly critical stand, since the mid-1960s the monthly suffered from censorship interventions, eventually to be forcibly closed by administration. Montejurra's editorial board was dominated by members of the Progressist faction and the monthly proved vital in their bid for control of the movement; its dominant thread was promotion of the Borbón-Parma dynasty, and especially prince Carlos Hugo.
General background
Montejurra was set up as a private monthly, though it is not clear whether its owner, Eugenio Arraiza Vilella, from the onset acted as a front-man for semi-legal Carlist structures; at later stages ownership was transferred to a dedicated company. Initially the periodical operated with rather vague authorization on part of the administration, later it was granted a formal license from the censorship office. Having assumed professional and technologically advanced shape, since the mid-1960s Montejurra entered regular distribution channels. Its commercial performance is not clear; the monthly most likely operated at the verge of profitability. Management was composed of local Pamplona journalists; most among some 200 authors recorded provided few contributions, yet some of them stand out for their systematic writings. The title "Montejurra" referred to a mountain near the Navarrese city of Estella, site of battles during the 19th-century Carlist wars and since then an icon forming part of the Carlist mythical imagery.
Ownership Some scholars claim that the predecessor of Montejurra was a bulletin El Fuerista, issued in Pamplona in the late 1950s, though there are no details provided.Manuel Martorell Pérez, La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil [PhD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Madrid 2009, p. 353 The periodical was founded in 1960 by the captain of Engineers Tomás Martorell Rosáenz and, after its success, in 1964 it began a new stage under the direction of the well-known Navarrese architect and earlier member of the Pamplona city council Eugenio Arraiza Vilella;Manuel Martorell Pérez, La Montaña Sagrada, Pamplona 2018, , p. 95, Daniel Jesús García Riol, La resistencia tradicionalista a la renovación ideológica del carlismo (1965-1973) [PhD thesis UNED], Madrid 2015, p. 139 in his youth an active Carlist and later a Carlist put up with Francoist Spain, he was wealthy enough to provide initial financing and prestigious enough to act as a front-man. It is not clear to what degree the initiative was co-ordinated with the party leadership or co-financed by Carlist structures; the very first issues contained a sub-title "Boletín de la Juventud Carlista de Navarra", dropped already in 1961.Josep Miralles Climent, El carlismo militante (1965-1980). Del tradicionalismo al socialismo autogestionario [PhD thesis Universidad Jaume I], Castellón 2015, p. 47 Until November 1964, the magazine remained under the control of the group led by Tomás Martorell; as late as in mid-1963 Arraiza suggested to the then Carlist political leader José María Valiente that a parent company to publish the review be set up as sociedad anónima.Mercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957-1967), Madrid 2016, , p. 243 The proposal was accepted and such a company has materialized; neither its name nor ownership structure is clear,one source claims Montejurra was about to be transformed into "Boletín de los Círculos Vazquez de Mella", Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 166 though it is known that in 1964 Comunión Tradicionalista launched a subscription scheme for shares of the company.Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 237 It is known that the Arraiza family retained a key position; following the 1968 death of Arraiza Vilellawho in mid-1968 appeared also as "editor", Montejurra 37 (1968), p. 1 it was his sons, José Fermín and Juan Pedro Arraiza Rodríguez-Monte, who took over.García Riol 2015, p. 140 Both sympathetic to the Progressist faction within Carlism they ensured that the competing Traditionalists have never managed to gain control of Montejurra, as it happened in 1970 with the Pamplona Carlist daily El Pensamiento Navarro.details in Rosa Marina Errea Iribas, Javier Maria Pascual y El Pensamiento Navarro: "con él llego el escándalo" (1966-1970), Pamplona 2007, , p. 407
Format Because of changing format of the review the lifetime of Montejurra might be divided into 3 phases.García Riol 2015, p. 139 The first one lasted from 1960 to mid-1963, when the monthly resembled initially simple and then increasingly ambitious bulletin. Published on 35x25 cm sheets, the issues contained almost none to few photographs or pictures of rather poor quality, with text layout usually in two columns and the number of pages growing from 4 to 12.Clemente 1999, p. 48 The second phase lasted from mid-1963 to late 1964, when Montejurra became more of a review. The sheet size was broadened to 42x32 cm, covers contained a full front-page photo, layout became more dynamic, red color was introduced in headings and graphics and photographs started to be omnipresent; the number of pages was ranging from 8 to 14. The third phase lasted from late 1964 until 1971, when Montejurra assumed shape of a professional magazine, perhaps resemblant of a weekly rather than a monthly. It was re-sized to the original 32x25 cm, full color was introduced to cover and some inside photos, and text was structured in as many as 4 columns; layout gained even more dynamics, with boxes, in-text graphics and introduction of new fonts. Issues usually exceeded 28 pages, at times reaching as many as 44.Clemente 1999, p. 48
Licenses
When launched in 1960 Montejurra was granted no official license. As the review was to be based in Pamplona,at a prestigious address of Plaza Conde de Rodezno 1 formally its appearance on the market was made possible by verbal permission from civil governor of Navarre, a decision no doubt consulted earlier with appropriate central authorities in Madrid.Clemente 1999, p. 48 This somewhat shaky official standing was changed probably when the review was taken over by a sociedad-anonima-type company in 1963. At that time the company was granted Depósito Legal, an official registration number; it enabled printing contracts with professional companies, in case of Montejurra with the Pamplona-based Gráficas Navarra.Miralles Climent 2015, p. 48 One more step on the path to full institutionalization of the review was formal license issued by Ministry of Tourism and Information, the unit running the censorship office.Clemente 1999, p. 48 At this point Montejurra changed numbering of its sequential issues, also because it was to be transformed from a monthly to a weekly;La ley de crecimiento, [in:] Montejurra 46 (1964), p. 3 in November 1964 instead of issue nr 47 the subsequent one was numbered as the first one.Clemente 1999, p. 49 The plan failed and in early 1965 Montejurra soon returned to a monthly format, yet official censorship license allowed standard commercial distribution. Following a series of consorship-imposed fines and interventions, the ministry withdrew the license in April 1971, which forced closure of the monthly.Clemente 1999, pp. 54-56
Commercial performance None of the sources consulted provides any information on financial standing of Montejurra, its commercial performance or business-related issues in general; hence, all opinions are based on speculations. It is evident that upon launch the monthly was primarily a political, not a commercial venture, and its primary objective was about mobilizing support for Carlism, not to generate profit. It is known that initially the Arraiza family provided either all or most of the funding,Clemente 1999, p. 48, García Riol 2015, p. 139 yet it is not clear whether during first years of operation Montejurra was getting such a heavy financial burden that the family suggested ownership transfer to a sociedad anonima company.Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 243 Nevertheless, in the mid-1960s the monthly might have seemed fairly successful; its technical standard improved dramatically, issues contained more and more pages and the distribution network widened. Overall circulation of Montejurra remains unclear; in 1960 it was published in 5,000 copies,Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 244 but later at one point the review targeted 20,000 subscribers,Miralles Climent 2015, p. 50 in Spanish market conditions of the time a rather satisfactory result for a specialized political monthly.only weeklies - like ¡Hola!, Diez Minutos, Pronto, Triunfo or El Caso exceeded the circulation of 100,000, Rosa Rodríguez Cárcela, El Caso. Aproximación histórico-periodística del semanario español de sucesos, [in:] Correspondencias & Análisis 2 (2012), p 220 In the mid-1960s Montejurra started to run adverts, usually of companies based in Navarre and Vascongadas, e.g. banks or retailers. It is unclear whether Montejurra produced any profit, yet is clear that it was not financial problems which forced closure of the review.
Management While it seems clear that the Arraiza family remained key owners of Montejurra it is not known who initially was actually steering the monthly, be it as editor-in-chief or as a business manager. Until 1966 none of the issues named a director, editor or redactor jefe; editorials were unsigned and emphasis seemed to be on collective work. Historiographic works on Carlism of the early 1960s usually single out Ramón Massó Tarruella and Pedro J. Zabala Sevilla as key engineers of the propaganda campaign mounted by the Progressist faction of Carlism,Martorell Pérez 1999, pp. 443-462 yet it is not known whether resident in Madrid, they were in position to steer the Pamplona-based monthly. The first individual singled out as "director" in 1966 was Juan Indave Nuin, a 35-year-old engaged earlier in various Carlist radio and press initiatives. Later in 1966 he was replaced by María Blanca Ferrer García, also in her mid-30s and apart from engagement in various Navarrese press titles also a poet; she held the job until the early 1970. At this point Victorino del Pozo Barbero became her temporary replacement, while the last Montejurra director was Fermina Gil González; no detail is known about her.Clemente 1999, pp. 53, 122 It is noted that Montejurra twice experienced major staff turnover: in 1964, probably related to marginalisation of Massó,Clemente 1999, pp. 52-3 and in 1968, when a few graduates from the Pamplona Instituto de Periodismo of Universidad de Navarra joined; they were led by Fernando García Romanillos.Clemente 1999, p. 53 Since early 1968 until the last issue José Maria Echarri Loidi was listed as "administrator".
Major contributors key contributors no name #number of signed contributions period 1 Jose Carlos Clemente 40 1965-71 2 Raimundo de Miguel 36 1965-71 3 Pedro J. Zabala 30 1961-71 4 Antonio M. Solís-García 20 1962-68 5 Evaristo Olcina Jiménez 18 1967-71 6 Francisco López Sanz 16 1965-68 6 Ignacio Romero Raizábal 16 1962-68 8 Antonio Segura Ferns 13 1963-69 9 Ramón Rodon Guinjoán 11 1967-70 9 Inocencio Zalba Elizalde 11 1966-68