Duty · The Regiment · More Than Three Centuries of Honor, Tradition, and Service



When I first stood beside the soldiers of the Regimiento de Caballería "España" 11, I wasn't thinking about military history. I was simply fascinated by the people. Their discipline was impossible to ignore. Every movement was deliberate, every uniform immaculate, and every ceremony carried out with extraordinary precision. Yet the more I photographed them, the more I realized that beneath the tradition were individuals with their own stories, responsibilities, and years of service.

Founded more than 365 years ago, the Regiment is one of Spain's oldest cavalry units. Its history stretches from the cavalry charges of centuries past to modern international missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan,and Lebanon.

Today, it remains an active regiment based in Zaragoza while continuing to take part in ceremonial events throughout Aragón that connect military tradition with the communities they serve.

In 2012, the Regiment traveled to Teruel to form the Unit of Honor for the Civil Flag Oath ceremony. Dressed in both modern ceremonial uniforms and historic cavalry dress, the soldiers represented generations of military history brought together in a single formation. Watching them march through the streets, it was impossible not to feel the weight of that history.

What stayed with me most wasn't the ceremony itself. It was everything happening around it. A soldier quietly adjusting a fellow soldier's uniform. A musician waiting patiently before the first note. A veteran wearing medals earned over decades of service. Conversations that began once the parade had ended. Those were the moments that revealed the people behind the precision.

Over the years, I came to understand that a military uniform has its own language. Every medal, insignia, and badge tells part of a person's story—where they have served, what they have accomplished, the responsibilities they carry, and the experiences that shaped them. Before photographing the Regiment, I would never have noticed those details. Now I find myself looking for them instinctively.

Photographing the Regiment taught me something I hadn't expected. Tradition isn't preserved only in monuments or museums. Sometimes it is carried forward by the people who continue to wear the uniform with the same sense of duty as those who came before them.