The Death of Garcia Lorca

This post follows where I wrote in the post: “The Life of Garcia Lorca and Fascist Spain.”

Garcia Lorca, knew with a massive dread that his days were probably numbered. Yet he soldiered on in his project to improve the live of Spaniards and Spanish people in general.

Federico Garcia Lorca versus José Antonio Primo De Rivera

Federico Garcia Lorca and José Antonio Primo De Rivera had a lot of parallels and contrasts. Both died in 1936 at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Both became martyrs to their respective causes. De Rivera is still painted as a hero of the Far Right in the Spanish Speaking and Fascists Worlds. Both were executed the same year.

Victimizers

De Rivera was publicly executed (See “The Death of Primo De Rivera”) for Treason and other crimes. General Francisco Franco, promptly made him a martyr and took over his movement and combined it with the Monarchist Carlists to wage a brutal war against Republican Spain. A war he'd called for. He killed many people and drove the cream of Spain's artistic crop, out of Spain. Spain retrogressed into a backwards and sad country until years after his death.

Victim

Federico Garcia Lorca, was never charged with an actual crime. His crime was being a "liberal", a "socialist", a "progressive", a "republican", "avant Guard", and yes "Queer." He was hated by a tiny majority who were afraid of change, authoritarian, fearful, and incensed by years of propaganda. Where José Antonio Primo De Rivera was arrested, tried and eventually executed for actual crimes. Even his enemies acknowledged that that Lorca was innocent of any crime other than being who he was. He was arrested secretly. Not tried as far as anyone knows. He was dragged into the mountains in the northeast of Granada where he was secretly executed and thrown into a mass grave. To this day the location of his remains, remains in question. It was somewhere near the towns of Viznar and Alfacar. The Fascist Falang used that location as an execution grounds for hundreds, thousands? of Republicans, in their effort to stamp out the "vermin" who dared ask for rights, education, better conditions and decent pay. The Fascists had their promises, but were illiberal and regressive. Federico was only one of their victims. Primo De Rivera was one of the victimizers. Not a Victim

No Victim

But ultimately Garcia Lorca was no victim in that he knew he was getting into. When he left the country it was to expand his program of educating Spanish Speaking people towards a more progressive society. He knew that the Right Wing were opposed to his program. In 1933 when he had left for Argentina:

“The newly formed Catholic conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas or CEDA) gained 115 seats and the Radicals 102. The right capitalised on disenchantment with the government among Catholics and other conservatives. CEDA campaigned on reversing the reforms that had been made under the Republic, and on freeing ... prisoners” that the right characterized as political prisoners.

Progress and Propaganda

The disenchantment of the Spanish, had been as much a product of propaganda as reality. As I talked about in The Life of Garcia Lorca the Spanish had setup the moderate Azaña in similar manner to how the ATF setup Janet Reno at Waco. Instead of admitting that a Right Wing local official had lied to him, they used his deception to bring down the Government and elect a RW administration. But that only lasted til 1935. In the meantime Spain was getting even more radicalized. The Far life was talking seizing people's property, and that was radicalizing the "Bourgeoisie." Progressives and Republicans were caught in a vice between radicals of the left and right.

Could have Run

Garcia chose this time to travel to Argentina because his efforts with the Barraca were on hold and his play "Blood Wedding," was doing well there. Indeed in addition to visiting with Argentine luminaries like Pablo Neruda and Maria Molino Montero. Lorca was able to influence playwrights, actors, writers and poets around, not just the Spanish speaking world but Spain's other languages; Basques, Portuguese, Catalonian, and people around the world were inspired by him. He was showered with gifts in Argentina. He could have stayed.

Progressive Agenda

For example his play Yerma which was a rejection of some of the rigidities of Spanish Catholicism and Machismo, was nearly done and would be put on play in 1934. His life was a challenge to the rigidities of Spanish Catholicism, the cruelty of Machismo, and the assumption that property and elites should have power and privilege, and that commoners deserved a life of privation. That is what infuriated the fascists. His very existence was a challenge to conservatives and fascists alike. He supported reform. To Conservatives "reform" is anathema. Doctrinalism says that once a doctrine is stamped "doctrine," it is dogma to be supported unthinkingly. It is to be memorized, not thought about.

Returning to the Fire

Thus when Lorca returned from Argentina where he'd been treated as a hero, in 1934. He visited Barcelona and Madrid in his creative efforts. He had premonitions. He was shook by the death of a bullfighter named Ignacio Sánchez Mejías in Manzanares. He'd write an Elegy about him that resonates to this day. But he told Marcelle Auclair that:

“Ignacio's death is like mine;”

“A trial one for mine;”

It was as if he could see his own future coming. Lorca could sense the tides coming. People claim this is fate. But fate, as in knowing how one's own sense of duty and responsibility won't let one run away from necessity. He could have stayed abroad, but he chose to return. He would visit with Salvador Dali and reconnect with Margarite Xirgu in 1935. Both Dali and Xirgu fled Spain in 1936. He could have fled.

The Empire Always Strikes Back

Garcia Lorca had done okay during the Dictatorship of Miguel De Rivera (1923-1930), He had traveled to the United States in 1929-1930. But when the Republicans won the election at the beginning of 1936, the Fascists joined with other conservatives to abandon Democracy. The rumors of coup started as soon as the election results were announced. Instead of leaving Spain, Lorca went to his home in Granada. On the afternoon of the 20th of July 1936, the Garrison revolted against the legitimate government on behalf of Franco. By the 23rd the entire state of Granada was in the rebels hands. The rebels then began executing Republicans. "Loyal opposition" became "enemy" and was murdered. Lorca had supported the republic. He watched friends, family and acquaintances be arrested, disappeared and executed. He had had some friends among the Righties, it was not enough. In Granada he had made an enemy of Louis Rosales. Now Rosales was a leader of the Falange Party. He arrested Lorca on the 16 of August. It was there that he was murdered. He chose vision over safety. He was murdered shortly after. The witnesses vary in their accounts.

Conclusion

Franco only brought death and misery to Spain.

Lorca is justly famous around the world. José Antonio Primo De Rivera is someone the Right Wing still tries to paint as a visionary and hero. But he was only an evil person.

Federico Garcia Lorca, was in many ways like Charlie Chaplin or other early figures of Hollywood, film, cinema and theater. They were visionaries who were on the cutting edge of social change. Primo De Rivera, was analogous to our J. Edgar Hoover, with the difference that J. Edgar Hoover never had the ambition to be dictator of the USA, that we know of.

Indeed there are parallels:

Parallels between Chaplin and Lorca

Further Reading and Sources

http://www.espacioebook.com/sigloxx_27/lorca/lorca_yerma.pdf

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Spanish/YermaActI.php

http://www.theliteraryreview.org/poetry-2/lament-for-the-death-of-ignacio-sanchez-mejias/

Posts in this Series:

These start with:

Parallels between Falangists and the American Right Wing

And:

This post flows from the introduction in the post: The 26 Point Plank of the Falangist Party

Then I break down the subject into a number of posts:

1. Right Wing Imperialism, & Myth Making
2. Right Wing Explicit Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism
3. Right Wing National Syndicalism and Corporatism
4. Right Wing Land Reform and Privatization
5. Right Wing Chauvinism and Indoctrination
6. Right Wing Violent Revolution And Dictatorship
7. Parallels between Falange fascists and US Fascists on Abortion

https://holtesthoughts.blogspot.com/2018/10/falangist-fascism-and-terror-versus.html

https://holtesthoughts.blogspot.com/2018/10/TheDeathOfPrimoDeRivera.html