Between two «Morena Clara»: control and power regarding the gypsy stereotype in the films by Florián Rey (1936) and Luis Lucía (1954)

The stereotypical gypsy image in the Spanish folkloric musical promotes a particular characterization of its female protagonists as spirited nomads and thieves. A comparison of two significant films’ treatments of the gypsy protagonist sheds light on the derogatory stereotypes established during the Franco Dictatorship. Indeed, while the main female character’s intentional re-construction of this stereotype parodies the payos’ expectations in Florían Rey’s Morena Clara (1936), the second version directed in 1954 by Luis Lucía uses a prologue and a narrative frame as a means of stripping her of her agency. This technique portrays Trinidad Marqués as a passive character who blindly embodies the stereotype of the nomadic gypsy, contributing to her own exoticization without problematizing it.