Michele Mileusnich
Florida International University
2024 Ignacio R. M. Galbis. Award
Romancero gitano is considered one of Federico García Lorca´s greatest works and one of Spain’s greatest works from the Generation of 1927. Lorca’s use of traditional Spanish poetry fused with the new aesthetics of the Avant Garde period helped create 18 poems that formed Romancero gitano. Lorca took a stand to give voice to the “Gitano” also known as the “Gypsy” community to show the suffering and persecution they have endured for centuries. I will argue that pain, fear, and death are all elements that follow the Gitano community from birth until death. Lorca used specific symbols and themes to portray the hardships that the Gitanos faced and continue to face while living in Spain.
Federico García Lorca was born on June 5, 1898. Lorca’s work was deeply rooted in the geographical area where he grew up in Fuente Vaqueros, Granada, Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The influence “en la poesía lorquiana [es] todo un aspecto que atiende al mundo concreto, natural, provinciano, andaluz, que es el de su infancia y juventud” (Duran 764). He had a strong connection to Granada and its people and “desde niño amó a la tierra y se sintió ligado a ella en todas sus emociones” (Duran 764). At the young age of eight or nine years old, the landscapes, customs, and culture of Granada and “ese amor a la tierra motivó su primer encuentro con una manifestación artística” (Duran 764). Lorca´s future avant garde writing and this literary movement would later become “el defensor de los gitanos contra el abuso, la persecución y la injusticia” (Ambrosini 10). Lorca was not a Gitano, but believed that “The Roma (Gitano) is the most basic, most profound, the most aristocratic of my country, as representative of their way and whoever keeps the flame, blood, and the alphabet of the universal Andalusian truth” (Ambrosini 10).
As a boy, Lorca “acquired the feeling for the dynamics of nature that comes through in so many of his works, and likewise he assimilated the rural speech, customs, beliefs, superstition, and most of all the traditional lyrics, songs, and music which so frequently and prominently as part of his literary palette” (gale.com). Lorca knew the traditional romances and the folklore of his native Andalusia. These personal experiences helped to make Lorca one of Spain’s most distinguished writers of the twentieth century.
Lorca´s worldview from “su nacimiento en un pequeño pueblo de la provincia, su inmersión en la naturaleza y el contacto continuo con la cultura popular y tradicional, constituyeron para el joven aprendiz de poeta una primera visión del mundo” (Duran 765). The daily life of the Gitano people in Andalusia came to be the focal point in Lorca’s Romancero gitano where “la mayor parte de los romances tienen como fundamento la anécdota de la vida cotidiana del pueblo andaluz incluso la muerte la violencia y la represión” (Ambrosoni 2).
As a young man, Lorca moved from rural Granada to the city of Madrid. Madrid played a major role in the contacts that Lorca made in the avante-garde world. Lorca “se gozaba en recitar sus poemas, empezando ya cuando estuvo en la universidad de Madrid, volviendo en ese sentido a ser un juglar moderno que cantaba sus propias canciones” (Arno Werle 18). It was not until Ortega´s La deshumanización del arte was published in the year 1925 that “los nuevos amigos de Lorca en Madrid, en la Residencia de Estudiantes, en especial Dalí y Buñuel lo impulsan hacia estos estilos más abstractos que Ortega y las olas de los <ismos> ahora, el cubismo y sobre todo el surrealismo colocan en lo más excelso del esfuerzo literario moderno” (Duran 767). These writers who would later become known as the Generation of 1927, wanted to combine the universal works with the Spanish classics. They were open to learning about art and music in Europe but wanted to remain loyal to traditional Spanish folkloric poetry.
The Generation of 1927 was a group of poets and writers who rose to prominence in the 1920s and derived their name from the year in which several of the writers produced their most important works. The gathering of poets took place in Seville on December 16 and 17 in the year 1927, as a way to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death of the Andalusian baroque poet Luis de Góngora y Argote. It was the last generation of authors before the Spanish Civil War. Once Francisco Franco took over the country, there was an attempt to wipe out the cultural and literary life of Spain for the duration of the dictatorship. However, Spain’s most important works of the 20th century were produced during Franco’s dictatorship. These writers were influenced by greater European movements, including Symbolism, Futurism, and Surrealism. They wanted to reject the use of the traditional meter and rhyme to discard anecdotal treatment and logical descriptions in their poetry. Metaphors and words were used to create images in their poetry to convey their personal experiences. Traditionally the romance “functioned as did the epic from which it derived, to narrate historical and contemporary events, and to preserve national values or propagandize even as it entertained” (Blackwell 35). Lorca changed this concept by creating his new aesthetic by writing about topics that were important to him, such as the Gitanos and their folklore, even if they were not considered important to the rest of Spanish society. Lorca used the Gitanos as the focal point of his poetry; it “represented the inversion of the function of the romance as the transmitter of Spain’s great historical moments and personages” (Blackwell 36) because the Gitano were a marginalized group of people. Lorca was given the “greatest poetic freedom within traditional poetic forms while the dreamscape imagery of surrealism simultaneously allowed him to escape into the poem´s realistic dimensions by subverting its implied requirement to narrate cohesively” (Blackwell 36).
This group of intellectuals and “Las influencias vanguardistas, que resonaron en algunos escritores de la Generación del 27, capitalizaron el surgimiento de una estética innovadora del sueño, del deseo, de la insatisfacción, del miedo, de la muerte, con el argumento de revolucionar la vida, la literatura y las artes como un todo” (de Silva Bola 1174). The Generation of 27 did not reject the work of writers from the previous generations, rather they synthesized the old with the new to create one of the richest and most admirable movements in Spanish art and poetry. Lorca had an “overwhelming impulsion to supplement the written word by a union of various artistic media, and despite the consequences to which this led him, he succeeded in remaining primarily a poet” (Honig 32). It was a balance between tradition and renovation remaining close to the classics. Lorca wanted to make art for both the majority and the minority. This new movement wanted to “rebel against the strictures of realism by deconstructing traditional forms into their most basic elements” (Blackwell 31).
Romancero gitano is a collection of poems that was “the culmination of Spanish letters of this artistic rebellion” (Blackwell 31) because Lorca focuses on “startling imagery rather than the storyline” (Blackwell 31). Lorca rejected the traditional narrative convention in favor of the metaphor. Romancero gitano is an avant-garde poetry collection that was first published in 1928 and is considered Lorca´s best-known work. It is a collection of 18 romances that mix the lyrical with the narrative while using metaphors and the personification of inanimate elements. It was innovative because not only was avante garde a new way of art and writing but Lorca chose to write about the minority group of the Spanish Gitanos that had been discriminated against for hundreds of years. While the main characters of the ballads are the Gitanos, the main ideas include love, death, passion, freedom, and the frustration humans face. The poems are written in ballad style and reveal the obsessive concerns that Lorca and all people face during life’s journey. The poems would “tell of the gypsies as a race, to make known the actions, beliefs, values, superstition, and psychology of a persecuted minority about whom the world was woefully ignorant” (Larkins 14). Lorca became part of folklore within folklore which is why Romancero gitano is an important piece of poetry for the history of Spain and the Gypsy world.
In Spain, for the first time, “La vanguardia literaria que en todas las literaturas occidentales en la primera mitad del siglo veinte estaba cambiando las reglas del juego poético” (Duran 764). Lorca learned about this new way of thinking and writing and studied other writers and artists of the time. He was able to integrate this “estilo nuevo, intensificador y simplificador, a su estilo anterior, sin cambiar demasiado el rumbo, unificando con ello su obra” (Duran 766).
This movement along with Lorca’s life experience and travels made Romancero gitano “uno de los libros más célebres de la poesía europea de este siglo, libro que sigue siendo el más leído por los admiradores de Lorca, el más comentado por sus críticas, el más traducido, el que más versiones de ballet, suites musicales, ilustraciones plásticas, ha inspirado” (Duran 767). His writing “Romance sonámbulo” signified “a critical reaction to the multiple social and political changes that were shaping and changing Lorca´s world in the turbulent 1920s” (Blackwell 32).
Lorca´s Romancero gitano “compensa los temas tradicionales y las anécdotas dramáticas con una serie de imágenes y metáforas vanguardistas muy atrevidas y bien logradas” (Duran 768). Lorca´s central focus of his work was Andalusia, the Gitanos, folklore, tradition, and the injustices people face in the work. Lorca used a new synthesis between the popular ballad tradition and the poetry of Spain with the new use of avante-garde imagery. Drama in the poetry was used with subtle references. For Lorca, “These ballads are all pictorial: they contain nothing discursive, they never strive toward meaning, yet their meaning is always there” (Mallan 1). Lorca writes about the “strange contradictions deep in the Spaniards´ temperament: cruelty and tenderness, sensuality and grandeur, metaphysics, and folklore all fused into a kind of weeping arrogance” (Mallan 1) against the Gitano race.
The Gitano people come from the Iberian Cale Romani subgroup and established themselves in Andalusia in the 15th century “pero siempre han sido una población nómada, así que vivían al exterior de los pueblos y de los grandes centros urbanos” (Ambrosoni 9). By the 18th century “los gitanos han comenzado a adaptarse a la vida andaluza y desde entonces las dos culturas se cruzan” (Ambrosoni 9). These traditional Andalusian principles that are present in Lorca ‘s work “abren camino a cuestiones universales, que comprenden lo incógnito, lo mítico, lo sensual, la frustración, la trágica fatalidad y la muerte” (de Silva Bola 1774). Romancero gitano shows “the repression, mistreatment and the life of gypsies, a people that has always been on the fringes of society and that is relegated and qualified with bad or negative adjectives for their lifestyle” (actualidadliteratura.com) in Spain. The symbol of the Gitano served as “la representación de un pueblo marginado dentro de la sociedad, adquiere un tono sobresaliente de la temática lorquiana” (de Silva Bola 1774). Lorca used his writing to “declarar simpatía por un pueblo de historia secular, humilde y excluido” (de Silva Bola 1774). Lorca wanted to serve as a voice for the powerless and for the cruel treatment of the Gitano people to be showcased around the world.
Although in Spain, the Gitano people were discriminated against, Lorca wrote about them in a positive light to prove that they formed “parte de la historia y que sigue viva a pesar de la resistencia y del malestar social que provoca” (de Silva bola 1778). The Gitanos were marginalized because of their traditions and Caló language. Caló is a mixed language based on Romance grammar and Romani lexical items. For Lorca, “El Romancero gitano no es gitano más que en algún trozo al principio. En su esencia es un retablo andaluz de todo el andalucismo. Es un canto andaluz en el que los gitanos sirven de estribillo” (Aguirre 78). Romancero gitano therefore became “un tema folclórico y costumbrista de Andalucía” (bxscience.edu). The life of the Gitanos “es un mundo aparte, un mundo diferente el que nos muestra: los gitanos con sus leyendas, sus costumbres, violencias, supersticiones, vitalidad” (Franco Carillero 1771). Numerous themes can be seen throughout Romancero gitano which help to show the extent of which Gitanos suffer in Spanish society. Lorca wanted to show that there was a clear opposition between the Spanish and the Gitanos because of their “dos culturas muy diferentes con dos formas de ver la vida” (bxscience.edu). Between the Spanish and the Gitanos there has always been “un choque entre ambas, la mayorista domina a la otra, que tiene problemas, porque se siente amenazada” (bxscience.edu). There is a prejudice against the Gitanos for living in Spain but having a different culture and belief system. They are seen as outcasts who fail to conform to Spanish society. Lorca gives “life and voice to a little known and very discredited society” (actualidadliteratura.com).
A major theme present in Romancero gitano is existentialism. It focuses on “the tragic destiny and the frustration of things desired but not obtained, guilt for feeling and doing certain things” (actualidad literatura.com) There is a frustration that can be seen because “los personajes de la obra nunca ven cumplidos sus deseos, no son personajes que se desarrollan” (bxscience.edu). Since the Gitanos are marginalized by Spanish society, they are not given opportunities to advance socially or economically. Many are illiterate due to lack of schooling and the jobs they do have involve unskilled labor. They know from birth that their options in life are limited.
Lorca also makes space for women, who were marginalized inside an already marginalized community. In his work, 5 of the 18 poems show the struggles that women face in society but even more so in the world of the Gitanos. Purity, discrimination, and frustration are more drastic for women who have even less rights than Gitano men. There is a constant state of suffering for Gitano women and “hay una frustración ya que vivían rodeadas de una cultura machista que las impedía realizarse personalmente” (bxscience.edu). The women are expected to live and act a certain way and be dominated by the men. They do not have the option of living on their own or having any sort of career. They are dependent on either their father or their husband. They have little to no say in the society that they are living in. For example, la monja gitana “recoge la habilidad de las mujeres en las tareas laborales” (bxscience.edu) rather than having an actual career. The nun dreams of a freedom that she will never have. She’s “una figura de la tradición popular pero también el arquetipo romántico de la juventud frustrada apartada del mundo en el claustro para el cual tiene poca vocación” (Ambrosini 5). Lorca rebelled “against the limits of a conservative, repressive society, with its antiquated morality as taught by the Catholic Church” (Blackwell 34). “La casada infiel” talks about the story of “un gitano que se lleva al río a una gitana que le asegura ser soltera aunque en realidad estaba casada, para tener una aventura sexual” (bxscience.edu). This was looked down upon by society because the woman was to always be loyal to her husband, while it was acceptable for men to commit adultery. In the Gitano community, upon marrying, a woman has to complete a cloth ceremony with several witnesses to prove her honor and virginity to society, or her pure state, once again having her rights violated against her will and being discriminated against for being a woman. Never is a man’s virginity taken into question during the ceremony.
Lorca had a fascination with colors, and it can be seen throughout the 18 ballads of Romancero gitano. There are many references to color in the poems because “en primer lugar Federico no solamente fue escritor, sino que también pintor aficionado y como tal ciertamente debía poner su atención en los colores” (Arno Werle 35). The color white is important in the poems because “se habla de la blancura y pureza respecto a la gitana pero al final del poema se transforma en sucia de besos y arena aclarando que no es una mujer merecedora de ser amada por su comportamiento (bxscience.edu). The color white is associated with women and their purity of being virginal. In the poem, “La casada infiel” the woman is condemned for not being pure and for having relations with numerous men. “La casada infiel” shows how “la mujer es la que incita al hombre y que no se puede amar a una mujer no virgen, si no se considera como una prostituta” (Ambrosini 12).
Black pain or La pena negra is another reference to color. La pena negra “es un dolor característico de Andalucía, es un dolor de gitano de ansiedad sexual y sensual que se sabe que será frustrada, es una necesidad de superar la muerte por medio de la fecundidad” (bxscience.edu). Women are pressured to marry at a young age, remain a virgin, and find a husband to care for. Many times, these women are left alone for months at a time. It is also a part of Spanish “costumbrismo” because the poem discusses “la soltera de los pueblos de España abandonadas por los hombres que buscan trabajo en las ciudades” (Ambrosino 5-6) and the struggle of the Gitana women staying at home taking care of the house and her children while their husband is away. In the poem, the woman Soledad is told to “frenar las pasiones porque si no conducen a la muerte” (bxscience.edu). Men are everywhere and women are meant to turn and look the other way not acknowledging any man other than her husband. Sex is seen as taboo for women but acceptable by men. Romancero gitano was considered “daring” for its time because of its exploration of sexual themes.
Green is another important color in “Romance sonámbulo” that represents desire. The poem begins with Verde, que te quiero verde/verde viento, verdes ramas. “Romance sonámbulo” discusses two lovers. The narrator sees green everywhere. Everything in the poem is green and it is the object of the speaker´s attraction. Green symbolizes what the narrator wants but cannot attain. It is a sign of longing that will never be fulfilled. Green is the color of pleasure and pain in this poem. Green is associated with hard work, suffering, and the death of the Gitano people. It is a longing for a new life and new possibilities that will never happen. The color green is used in repetition to create the imagery of nostalgia in the poem. When the Guardia Civil come knocking on the door in their green uniforms, the readers know that violence is about to occur.
Besides personal struggles, the Guardia Civil are the biggest threat for the future of the Gitanos. The Gitanos have to adhere “increíbles sufrimientos que están provocando a esta población a través de persecuciones, mutilaciones y matanzas” (Ambrosini 9). Young people are marginalized and discriminated against in romance sonámbulo, “La frustración es especialmente presentada en personajes jóvenes, como algo irracional, triste y violento” (bxscience.edu). The Gitanos know that even if they are not doing anything illegal, they will most likely be arrested and jailed by the Guardia Civil just for being Gitano. In Spain “these Guards were felt to be almost a mythical presence, a protection for the citizens but a threat for gypsies” (Cobb 789). Youngsters witness the disadvantages that people face in their community and see no way to make a better life for themselves. For example, in “Antoñito el Camborio”, the young boy “iba a ver los toros, tranquilamente, cuando de repente, y como en muchos poemas, aparece la guardia civil y se lo lleva sin explicar el motivo” (bxscience.edu). The poem paints a visual picture of all of the “aspectos socio-culturales de la tragedia del mundo gitano” (Ambrosini 13).
The Guardia Civil symbolizes death in all of the ballads where they are mentioned in Romancero gitano. People of authority such as “la guardia civil es el mayor enemigo de los gitanos, por lo tanto se asocia con la muerte” (Ambrosoni 15). This can be seen in the poems of “Prendimiento de Antoñito el Camborio en el camino de Sevilla”, “Muerte de Antoñito de Camborio” and “Romance de la Guardia Civil Española”. For the Gitanos, “la guardia civil, además de ser el eterno e innato enemigo del gitano representa un símbolo de destrucción y de muerte para este pueblo” (Ambrosini 17). Throughout the poems, there is a clear persecution of the Gitanos by the Guardia Civil, many times without probable cause. When the Gitanos see the Guardia Civil they know that they are about to “face a tragic fate that is in store for them” (actualidadliterature.com) if sentenced to jail. In the poem, “Romance de la Guardia” Civil Española, the Guardia Civil” the Civil Guards “ataca, persigue, mutila y mata a los gitanos en Jerez de la Frontera, la ciudad de los gitanos” (Ambrosini 8) during a party. The Gitanos try to seek refuge inside a church while the Guardia Civil destroy the city looking for Gitanos to arrest. This poem has components of Spanish “costumbrismo” because there are the religious references and the “enemistad tradicional entre los dos grupos que se contraponen” (Ambrosini 8).
The struggles of loss and love are themes that can be seen throughout Romancero gitano. Lorca ‘s words explain that as long as there is love there will also be loss and there cannot exist one without the other. For example, el “hombre ama y eso es causa de una perdición, tanto si es correspondido, como si no lo es, ya que la espera interminable le consume” (bxscience.edu). People lose at love whether it be by death, a breakup, or infidelity. Pain is something that cannot be avoided in love because “el dolor está siempre presente al amar a alguien…en las poesías de Lorca el inocente siempre cae en las redes del amor o es víctima de las pasiones de otro” (bxscience.edu). Romancero gitano is a representation “donde la pena está expresada no en la Andalucía que se ve, pero si la que se siente. Es un libro antiflamenco. Hay un solo personaje real, que es la pena que se filtra” (Aguirre 78). Pain is the love that the Gitanos have for Andalusia and the pain that they receive while living there.
The obsession between life and death appears constantly as a fundamental theme “como un gran obstáculo en el desarrollo personal de las personas” (bxscience.edu). Symbols that represent death include “la luna, la noche, el verde, el negro, el rojo” (bxscience.edu). Night symbolizes “el escenario preferido por Garcia Lorca para situar sus personajes” (Aguirre 80). Life is symbolized by “el sol, el agua, los colores vivos y el caballero en la montaña” (bxscience.edu). The moon is personified as “un ser viviente, habla, mueve sus brazos, tiene senos, etc.” (bxscience.edu). In Romancero gitano, “el verdadero personaje principal del Romancero no es Andalucía ni Granada sino la muerte misma que protagoniza la tragedia del hombre universal” (Salvatore 430).
In Romancero gitano, Lorca paid close attention to details to combine “lo clásico del romance tradicional y la técnica moderna” (Arno Werle 6). During the time of his work there was political unrest in Spain when Lorca “alcanzó su mayor fama precisamente durante una época en que su patria pasaba por una crisis política y en la se vio envuelto pasivamente” (Arno Werle 15). One of the major themes that can be seen throughout is the idea of violence. The first instance of violence can be seen in “Romance sonámbulo” where “el amor ardiente de ambos enamorados requiere la unión más íntima entre hombre y mujer. Sin embargo, esa deseada unión está dificultada por tantos obstáculos que terminan finalmente en el suicidio de la novia desesperada y en la muerte del novio a causa de heridas violentas sufridas” (Arno Werle 29). “Romance sonámbulo” is a poem that “suggests an artistic reaction against Spain´s stagnant, deeply conflicted traditional provincial society” (Blackwell 33).
Mythology is another theme in Lorca’s work because the “gypsy of the twentieth century engages hopelessly in and against a civilization that he did not create” (Larkins 21). The Gitano people “through songs and dance live in the present moment, by performing art through spontaneity, the gypsy people complete their quest in life” (Chen 112) because the reality of Gypsy people in poetry is dream-like. The Gitanos “live in a mythical world where the nature scenes, saints, and martyrs are merged. The supernatural world of the gypsies is full of mythical figures such as the moon, the black pain, death, saints, and martyrs, and the ultimate ruler of this mythical world is the duende —the artistic inspiration of the gypsies that only appears when death is present” (Chen 112). “Romance de la luna, luna preciosa y el aire” and “Reyerta” have a mythological base. “Romance sonámbulo” has themes of “costumbrismo” and mythology throughout. The animals that appear in the 18 poems play an important role in the mythical presentation. Lorca used the five animals to “avail himself of the mythological character of certain creatures to reinforce the mythical character of certain creatures to reinforce the mythological nature of his work “(Larkins 14). Lorca drew from several traditions to fuse culture artistically into his work. He wanted to show the relationship of a myth upon a myth. Once again, the male side of gitano power is presented in a negative way having spontaneous and violent instincts.
The first animal represented is the dove that appears in the ballad “San Gabriel”. It shows “Lorca´s interest in the positive and reverent significance of the dove” (Larkins 14) in the narrative that is a burlesque of the “biblical Annunciation related on the level of Andalusian gypsies” (Larkins 14). In the ballad, Gabriel is called “el domador de palomas” (Larkin 14) as he tells Anunciación de los Reyes that she will bear a child. The dove is a symbol of divine presence and Gabriel is the symbol of the bearer of good news. The dove serves as a positive symbol in “San Miguel” but serves as a negative symbol in “Tamar y Amnón”. There is a prophetic note about the dove when they are seen frozen at Tamar´s feet, foreshadowing harm or death. In “Tamar y Amnón” there are biblical references, but the ballad is more of a tragic story of crime and heartbreak.
The bear is the second mythological symbol that appears in “La monja gitana”. The silent church is said to “gruñe a lo lejos como un oso panza arriba” (Larkins 16). The church´s moan is a warning for the nun against the temptation that will soon be coming. The bear is seen as a faithful animal and even a savior for the nun. Throughout history, the bear has been associated with warning and temptation. In this situation, the nun is threatened to make the right choice. In the ballad “the temptation that the nun experiences is momentarily very strong, as nature itself seems to strive to overpower her feelings” (Larkin 17). The nun is saved and the church can be silent once again.
A third animal mythologically symbolized in Romancero gitano is the unicorn. In Lorca’s poem, “Don Pedro” the unicorn can symbolize either the hunter or the hunted; it is up to the reader to decide because “el unicornio de ausencia rompe en cristal su cuerno” (Larkins 18). Throughout history, the unicorn was considered a puzzling animal that usually symbolized death, and in the ballads is forced to break its horn since it’s now powerless. In Lorca´s ballads, “the fabled animal, endowed with magical powers throughout its long history, is defeated in the Romancero gitano by a mere burla” (Larkin 19).
The fourth animal is the satyr, which is always connected to malevolence, and makes its appearance in “Preciosa y el aire”. In this ballad, the Gitana is threatened by the wind that threatens to lift her dress. The wind represents masculinity in the form of something negative or dominant. It is a form of evil in the poem that terrorizes the young girl. The girl drops her musical instrument, the tambourine, when the breeze of the wind comes, and she goes running for help. In mythology, the satyrs were considered an aspect of Saturn but in the poem, its power is embodied in the wind. Again, the Gitano figure of a girl or woman is threatened for no apparent reason, in this instance, by natural causes.
The fifth and last mythological animal seen in Romancero gitano is the dog. The dog is present in “La casada infiel” and in “Muerto de amor”. In “La casada infiel” the “horizonte de perros que ladra muy lejos del río” warns the man that the woman he thought was a virgin has a husband (Larkins 19). In “Muerto de amor”, there is a reference to “perros que no la conocen” (Larkins 20) or unknown men and their intentions with women. The theme of the poem is a blood battle between the gypsies. The dog symbolizes the power over life and death having “life-giving and life-taking deities” (Larkins 20).
The theme of religion is seen in the group of poems including: “San Miguel de Granada”, “San Rafael de Córdoba” and “San Gabriel de Sevilla” that “evocan tres grandes ciudades andaluzas a través de los arcángeles que las representan” (Ambrosini 3). Another form of religion not related to Christians but is related to the Gitanos is “El mito del Pan” (Ambrosini 4) and San Cristóbal who is Christian but the Gitanos paganize. The angels in the poems serve as messengers to bring good news to the Gitanos who are constantly in a state of suffering. Lorca’s last three ballads are called “Romances Historicos” which include: “Martirio de Santa Olalla”, “Burla de Don Pero a caballo” and “Thamar y Amnón”. The ballad of “Don Pedro” is an allegory of Saint Peter´s three renunciations of Christ. “Martirio de Santa Olalla” is an embellishment of the martyrdom of Saint Eulalia in Merida. “Thamar y Amnón” is about the incest of Samuel. All three have historical references but the “religiousness of these ballads is questionable” (Orringer). In Spain, during this time, “artists reacted against what they perceived as the antiquated morality of the Catholic Church and the anachronistic and moribund nobility that supported the dictatorship” (Blackwell 33).
Romancero Gitano was Federico Garcia Lorca´s way to include the Gitanos in society because he believed that the Gitanos represent the Andalusian culture and customs in its purest form. Lorca was able to combine poetry, drama, and deep song to express the “deep feelings and sorrow of the Andalusians” (Chen 97). Ambiance played an important role in each of his ballads because they were full of music, culture, and the customs of Spanish Gitano society. Romancero gitano was Lorca’s way to explore the depth of humanity of the gitano people and their encounters with desire, love, identity, beauty, artistic creation, fear, and most of all death.
Works Cited
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