The poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca was assassinated 90 years ago this Wednesday, August 19th.
It is widely believed that he was killed on the orders of General Franco, the Nationalist leader, for his Republican views and because he was a homosexual.
[© RTVE.es]
Ian Gibson (Dublin 1939), hispanophile, author, broadcaster and long-time resident of Spain, has studied the incident at length, as well as Lorca's life.
Now a naturalised Spanish national Gibson has written several books on the subject, including:
[© EFE]
- La represión nacionalista de Granada en 1936 y la muerte de Federico García Lorca (París, 1971)
- Ruedo Ibérico translated into English as The Death of Lorca (London, 1972, republished in 1979)
- Federico García Lorca (Barcelona, 1985), translated into English as Federico García Lorca. A Life (London, 1989).
- En Granada, su Granada... Guía a la Granada de Federico García Lorca (Barcelona, 1989), translated into English by the author as Lorca's Granada. A Practical Guide (London, 1992)
- Vida, pasión y muerte de Federico García Lorca (Barcelona,1998)
- Lorca-Dalí, el amor que no pudo ser (Barcelona, 1999)
- El hombre que detuvo a García Lorca. Ramón Ruiz Alonso y la muerte del poeta (Madrid, 2008)
- Caballo azul de mi locura. Lorca y el mundo gay (Barcelona, 2009)
- La fosa de Lorca. Crónica de un despropósito (Alcalá la Real, 2010)
- Poeta en Granada. Paseos con Federico García Lorca (Barcelona, 2015)
The journalist Tony Bryant, writing for SUR in English, tells us that Lorca was well known abroad prior to his death "particularly in Latin America and the United States. His killing by forces associated with the Nationalist side made him a symbol of the destruction of artistic and intellectual freedom."
In Bryant's view Lorca's death transformed him from a highly regarded Spanish poet and dramatist into an international cultural martyr and symbol of artistic freedom, "while also helping draw world-wide attention to the brutality of the Spanish Civil War."
[© Diario Sur]
As for me .....
I love Lorca's literary legacy, in particular his Andalusian Trilogy of "Yerma", "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" and "Bodas de Sangre".
I taught "Bernarda Alba" to GCE A-Level and have seen umpteen productions, including the acclaimed London production starring Glenda Jackson and Patricia Hayes, back in the 1980s.
I studied "Yerma" as part of my degree in Spanish and was immensely proud when my actor son, Tom Whitelock, performed the role of Juan opposite his barren wife, Yerma, in London in 2020.
I have read "Blood Wedding" and saw it performed in Manchester in the 1970s.
[© Paul Whitelock]
My favourite of the three? "Bernarda Alba".
Endword
Lorca's remains have never been found, despite thorough searches where the murder took place, at Fuente Vaqueros outside Granada, the poet's birthplace.
Links:
Spanish Civil War 90 years old - Eye on Spain
The Truth About Franco - Eye on Spain
© The History Man MMXXVI
Images:
Diario Sur, EFE, Paul Whitelock, RTVE.es
Thanks:
BBC, Paul Whitelock, SUR in English, Tony Bryant, Wikipedia
Tags:
Bernarda Alba, Blood Wedding, Bodas de Sangre, BBC, Diario Sur, EFE, Franco, Juan, La casa de Bernarda Alba, Lorca, Paul Whitelock, RTVE.es, SUR in English, The History Man, Tom Whitelock, Tony Bryant, Wikipedia, Yerma