Frederico Garcia Lorca

Federico Garcia Lorca was born in 1898, outside the Spanish city of Granada. His family lived comfortably; his father was a prosperous landowner, and his mother a teacher. As a student, he combined his passions and interests in the arts with his education, and maintained the importance of nature and the natural world to the soul.

In 1915 Lorca attended the University of Granada where he studied literature, law, and music. Encouraged by a professor, and under this instructor's tutelage, Lorca transferred to the University of Madrid in 1919, occasionally taking classes while he lived at Residencia de Estudiantes (Student Residences), a housing system inspired by the intellectual circles at Oxford and Cambridge. While there, Lorca befriended several artists who would gain prominence throughout Spain (including Salvidor Dali) and began writing his first creative pieces. For some plays, Salvidor Dali created the designs, building the surrealistic and symbolistic aesthetic of the Spanish avant-garde.

Lorca's prominence grew, and he is recognized as a member of the Generation of '27, a group of writers and artists who introduced new aesthetic and artistic modes (such as symbolism and surrealism) into Spanish culture. He traveled to the United States in 1929 and enrolled at Columbia University; however, he spent his time writing rather than studying, and returned to Spain in 1930.

When Lorca returned to Spain, he was appointed director of Teatro Universitario La Barraca, a theatre organization funded by the Department of Education and designed to bring theatre to impoverished communities. Lorca's experiences compelled him to envision theatre as a vehicle for social change. During this time, he wrote his most famous plays, the "Rural Trilogy" of Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba.

In the mid-1930s, the politics of Spain had become so tumultuous and dangerous that Lorca suspected he might be a target of the rising Nationalist Party. Lorca's death is something of a mystery; it is believed that he was assassinated by fascist forces, but the exact reason, location, and even exact date is unknown (the suggested date is August 19, 1936). His body was never found.