The child in the city, gentlemen, has newspapers, theater, learned conversation in the atmosphere that surrounds him, museums, permanent exhibitions in shop windows, but the poor country boy, where can he ever see a sculpture? Who will tell him that there has been a Shakespeare or a Velázquez? Who will make him feel the beauty of Mozart’s music, of a stanza by Calderón [...] ?»

«Where, if not in school, can [the child] find out about his human and civil rights, the political system in his homeland, and where, if not in this way, can he learn to exercise those rights with conscience, build self-confidence and cease being a blind instrument, as he is now, in the hands of scheming people who would exploit him for their own aims?»

"He rises, like a wilted lily, with fresh water – Cossío has a lot of tender plants and rich minerals in himself; I have met few men that look so much like a landscape – [...]. When he talks, a garden moves by the wind, the earth moves under us, like a solid sea, and we are all enthusiastic sailors.”

“The missions are as useful for those who carry them out as for those who receive them. The missionaries not only bring Madrid an awareness of the intelligence of the villagers, but also many other valuable observations about the countryside. And this is important information with many ramifications. Even though we know the country better today, there is so much to discover for those living in the city…”

“Poetry provokes in them a curious respect, resulting in a deep silence during the reading; they feel it totally, without analysis, and clap with enthusiasm, rarely discuss it. The music, even that unknown to them, wakes them up with echoes, they accompany the melody with head movement, joining in immediately. The cinema amuses and dazzles them, provoking a stream of comments; everybody talks and imposes silence on all the others.”

“In poetry, they prefer the lyrical to the narrative, and the romances witha folk theme rather than the heroic and fantastic ones. In music, they prefer the human voice to the instrumental. In cinema they are more interested in familiar rather than exotic plots; the image of a big city dazzles them, but if a cat appears from a window in the big city, that makes them happy.  And above all, cartoons, which they never fully understand the first time they see them.”

“This is the Missions’ main goal: to awaken the desire to read in those who do not feel it, because only when every Spaniard can not only read, but be anxious to read, enjoy and have fun, yes, fun, reading, there will be a new Spain.”

“It is the children, usually, who move their parents and siblings to read. A book that the boy brings home is read by the rest of the family.”

“And if men invented painting, which apparently is a luxury, many centuries before they invented things as useful and necessary like pots, hoes and plows, and if they have continued painting, perhaps due to the irresistible yearning to create beautiful things, perhaps it is not totally insane for the just task undertaken by the Missions to bring some modest copies, at least, of the best paintings held as magnificent treasures by the nation’s museums, to the rural people, so they can share the city people’s enjoyment and education.”

“The site selected in Pedraza had ceilings so low it was impossible to lean some of the canvases against the wall. Therefore, there was no other way to display them than on the balcony...”

“We gave the talks quite late at night, when the miners returned from their blackened tunnels. They came well-groomed and clean, with their Sunday suits or their blue shirts. And that was just moving and, aware of their homage, we felt obliged to entertain them as best we could, either with music before the talk, telling an anecdote or using a cheerful tone.”

“They were totally ignorant of the cinema and the gramophone, so much so that they did not even feel any curiosity to know. It was a revelation for them: they accepted it, without time to study its mechanism, with the dazzle of a miracle, laughed at everything joyfully, surprised that the figures moved and the gramophone sang; they made comments and applauded constantly. In fact, they felt the same emotion, a great joy.”

“The Theater of the Missions [...] had to be compact and simple, mobile, easy to assemble, with sober sets and costumes. And it also had to educate, not with a patronizing attitude, but with the simple teaching of good proverbs, as it was written on the spiritual program of the Missions: ‘Perhaps you would learn just a few things from us, but, first and foremost, we would like to amuse you honestly.’”

“They loved folk music, especially songs and most of all the folk music from Segovia played by Agapito Marazuela. Music stirred up the grounds of the soul, bringing back the joys of youth. For after marriage, there is very little singing in the villages. After the meeting, a half-dozen old people recalled songs, forgotten rondallas del Reinado, palote (stickdance), and romances. The following day, some boys were singing Marazuela’s songs. Women, who nobody had heard singing for forty years, sang that night with the pestle and mortar.”

“From the beginning, the missions brought books and gramophones to the villagers and left them there for people to continue learning and reading poetry, listening to good songs and nice music.”

“Cossío suggested to me the adaptation of a romance for the stage. I chose ‘La doncella guerrera’ (The warrior maiden) mainly because of its dialogue. [...] It was a success, especially in some villages in Burgos, where the audience applauded every exit or end of scene. During rehearsals, I felt something was missing to show the witty ending, when the maiden fled on her horse. Urbano Lugrís, who played that role, had a wonderful and very effective idea: he whinnied as the maiden’s horse broke into a run.”

"The teacher, who is nowadays the strongest lever for the development of civilization, is also the easier and safer vehicle to bring the city to the fields. Gentlemen, I confess that I have an abiding faith in the teacher. Give me a good teacher, and he will improvise the school site if missing, he will invent the teaching material, and he will have perfect attendance. "

“When they handed me the passport, Franco’s supporters asked me if I could read. I replied, stammering: ‘A little.’ I didn’t say that I was a teacher. I wrote ‘Housewife’ under profession; I pretended that I didn’t understand. We all felt a terror that they would hang the word intellectual in our lapel. We had heard the cry ‘Down with intelligence!’ shouted against Unamuno by General Millán Astray. Don Miguel turned pale before answering: ‘Venceréis but not convenceréis.’ (You will win, but you will not convince) We all realized that the chase had begun.”