St. James the Moor-slayer, a new challenge to Spanish national discourse in the twenty-first century

The arguments presented on the following pages will explore the debate that revolves around the relationship between St. James (Santiago, patron saint of Spain) and Spanish contemporary political discourses. The author critiques appropriations and re-enactments of St. James made by the dominant hegemonic practices while focusing on the recent polemic surrounding the removal of the statue of the Moor-slayer (Santiago Matamoros) from the entrance to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This timely debate could potentially lead to a new critical view of postmodern appropriations of medieval iconology, as it argues that hegemonic discourses in Spain emphasize particular narratives, both discursive or symbolic in form, in order to relegate others to oblivion.