Federico García Lorca

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Lore & Background

García Lorca was born on 5 June 1898 in Fuente Vaqueros, a small town 17 km west of Granada, to a prosperous landowner and a teacher. In 1905 the family moved to Valderrubio (then named Asquerosa), and in 1909 to Granada. He attended the University of Granada from 1915, studying law, literature, and composition. As an adolescent he felt a deeper affinity for music than literature, taking six years of piano lessons from Antonio Segura Mesa starting at age 11. His first prose works, such as 'Nocturne,' 'Ballade,' and 'Sonata,' drew on musical forms. His first book, Impresiones y paisajes, was printed at his father's expense in 1918. In 1919 he moved to the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, where he befriended Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. His first play, The Butterfly's Evil Spell, was staged in 1919–20 but laughed off the stage after only four performances. He rose to fame with Romancero gitano (1928), which he described as a 'carved altar piece' of Andalusia. From 1925 to 1928 he was passionately involved with Dalí, who said he rejected García Lorca's sexual advances. After the success of Romancero gitano came an estrangement from Dalí and the breakdown of a love affair with sculptor Emilio Aladrén Perojo, bringing on increasing depression. García Lorca was assassinated by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. His remains have never been found, and the motive remains in dispute; some theorize he was targeted for being gay, a socialist, or both, while others view a personal dispute as the more likely cause.

Reader's Guide

García Lorca's significance lies in his role as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, which introduced European movements like symbolism, futurism, and surrealism into Spanish literature. His poetry collection Romancero gitano (1928) brought him fame across Spain and the Hispanic world; he described it as a book 'that hardly expresses visible Andalusia at all, but where the hidden Andalusia trembles.' His best-known plays—Blood Wedding (1932), Yerma (1934), and The House of Bernarda Alba (1936)—were written after his return from New York. His work often grappled with themes of sorrow and joy as inseparable, as reflected in his drawings of double faces showing 'man's capacity for crying as well as winning.' His assassination during the Spanish Civil War, with disputed motives, has made him a symbol of artistic and political repression. His legacy endures through his literary output, though his remains have never been found.

Did You Know?

• García Lorca's first play, The Butterfly's Evil Spell, was laughed off the stage after only four performances in 1919–20.
• He took six years of piano lessons starting at age 11, and his first prose works drew on musical forms like 'Nocturne,' 'Ballade,' and 'Sonata.'
• His first book, Impresiones y paisajes, was printed at his father's expense in 1918.
• García Lorca described Romancero gitano as a 'carved altar piece' of Andalusia with 'gypsies, horses, archangels, planets, its Jewish and Roman breezes, rivers, crimes.'
• His remains have never been found, and the motive for his assassination remains in dispute.