Federico García Lorca
1898–1936 · Spanish (Granada/Madrid) · Spanish Generation of '27
Known for: Spain's greatest 20th-century poet and playwright—Romancero Gitano, Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba
García Lorca was charismatic, flamboyant, and deeply Andalusian—his poetry and plays draw on flamenco, Romani culture, and the harsh Spanish landscape. He was openly gay in 1930s Spain, which took extraordinary courage. He was also a gifted musician and a friend of Dalí and Buñuel.
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he was arrested by Nationalist forces and shot without trial near Granada in August 1936. His body was never found. His death became a symbol of fascist cultural destruction. His poetry fuses folk tradition with modernist technique.
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