NO-DO was the cinematographic organ of propaganda of the Franco regime. The aim of this article is to analyse NO-DO footage related to Santiago de Compostela and the Santiago pilgrimage route produced and screened by the state-controlled newsreel company from 1943 onwards. The study is based on the hypothesis that the secularised symbolic meaning, practices and uses associated with the pilgrimage today, together with the promotional narrative of its heritage and cultural interest, were already found in NO-DO as early as 1965, with Manuel Fraga Iribarne as chief architect of the project and the Camino de Santiago brand. In terms of the narrative promoted by NO-DO, 1965 marks a turning point in the reinvention of the regime by symbolic resign...