Lorca

Federico Garcia Lorca was a Spanish poet and theater director.  He traveled extensively from rural Spain to Argentina sharing his passion for the creative arts. He became prominent at a time when his country was under strife that led to the Spanish Civil War, which was fought for three years.  He was executed by Nationalist Forces whose motives, a subject of controversy, may have been to exterminate intellectuals from staging a revolt or to extinguish homosexuals from the public eye.

A talented musician and classically trained pianist, some of Lorca's poetry revolved around his love of music, and in this poem published in 1921, his adoration of flamenco guitar is a prominent symbol.

 Source: http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=24529 

 

 

 La Guitarra

Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Se rompen las copas
de la madrugada.
Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Es inútil
callarla.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora monótona
como llora el agua,
como llora el viento
sobre la nevada.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora por cosas
lejanas.
Arena del Sur caliente
que pide camelias blancas.
Llora flecha sin blanco,
la tarde sin mañana,
y el primer pájaro muerto
sobre la rama.
¡Oh guitarra!
Corazón malherido
por cinco espadas.

English Translation

The Guitar

The weeping of the guitar
begins.
The goblets of dawn
are smashed.
The weeping of the guitar
begins.
Useless
to silence it.
Impossible
to silence it.
It weeps monotonously
as water weeps
as the wind weeps
over snowfields.
Impossible
to silence it.
It weeps for distant
things.
Hot southern sands
yearning for white camellias.
Weeps arrow without target
evening without morning
and the first dead bird
on the branch.
Oh, guitar!
Heart mortally wounded
by five swords.

I was lucky enough to have been invited by a wonderful, inspiring woman to accompany her and her friends to experience the Opera Philadelphia presentation of Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar at the Academy of Music.  "Ainadamar" means Fountain of Tears in Arabic.

It was a powerful story about Lorca's rise and final days told from the perspective of a female companion Margarita Xirgu, a popular Catalan stage actress who was famous in Latin America.

I was brought to near tears a few times, and the performance was visually engaging.  The theatrical company was adept in their usage of TV screens to project seductive images while the props used were minimal, yet essential to the story.

However, I would be a hypocrite if I said I was completely awake the whole time.  I got a little drifty towards the end, but it was a shorter dramatic presentation.  Overall, I had a stellar time building a new memory with a lovely young lady.


Source: http://www.operaphila.org/gala/lorca