Federico García Lorca

Who is Federico García Lorca?

Federico García Lorca was a Spanish poet, playwright and theatre director, one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century and a leading member of the artistic circle known as the Generation of '27. Born in Fuente Vaqueros, near Granada, in Andalusia, he drew deeply on Andalusian folk culture, gypsy tradition and flamenco in works such as the poetry collection 'Romancero gitano' (Gypsy Ballads, 1928) and 'Poeta en Nueva York', written after a stay in the United States. He achieved great success in the theatre with his rural tragedies 'Bodas de sangre' (Blood Wedding, 1933), 'Yerma' (1934) and 'La casa de Bernarda Alba' (1936), which explore themes of passion, repression, honour and the constraints placed on women. A friend of artists including Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, Lorca was arrested and killed by Nationalist forces at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in August 1936; his body has never been found.

Sources: Federico García Lorca, Romancero gitano (1928) · Federico García Lorca, Bodas de sangre (1933) · Federico García Lorca, La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936)