Federico Garca Lorca and the 98 Generation: The "Andalucismo" Debate Author(s): Sharon Handley Source: Anales de la literatura

espaola contempornea, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (1996), pp. 41-58 Published by: Society of Spanish & Spanish-American Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27741292 . Accessed: 11/04/2011 00:51
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FEDERICO

GARCIA LORCA AND THE 98 GENERATION: THE ANDALUCISMO DEBATE

SHARON HANDLEY
The Manchester Metropolitan University

At a time when Spain is thoroughly committed to Europe, a time when Africa is becoming increasingly distant from the Pyrenees, it is interesting to note that the age-old debate on the non-European dimension to the Andalusian identity is still alive. Earlier this year, Pedro Mart?nez Mont?vez wrote that "Reflexionar sobre al-Andalus
... no resulta nunca

*hechoandalusf significa centrar la atenci?n en la parte seguramente m?s singular y caracterizada de nuestra entidad hist?rica." He also
made a una the point parte de that "referirnos mismos. a

balad?,

ni postizo,

ni

injustificado.

Analizar

el

" (94).l The present article subyacente, 'olvidada en su profundidad' examines this "hecho andalus?" and the way itwas used and abused in literature between 1840 and 1927. We hope to establish, first,why Andalusia became the object of derision within the 98 Generation; secondly, to what extent Lorca's decision to promote Andalusia in his work was a reaction against the attitude of the latter; and finally, whether the vision ofAndalusia as presented in the work ofGarcia
Lorca

nosotros

lo hispano-?rabe A una parte

...

es

referirnos oscura y

todav?a

cialista y unitaria de Espa?a" of the 98 Generation (Mart?nez Mon t?vez 94). The importance of the non-European dimension to the Andalusian and, particularly, the Spanish identityhas always been a contentious issue, but with the advent of the first proposal for an Andalusian con

provides

a credible

alternative

to

the

"vision

traditional,

esen

41

42

ALEC, 21 (1996)

stitution in 18832 Andalusian writers began to take a greater interest inwhat itmeant to be Andalusian; they evaluated the Andalusian ideal, the aims ofwhich were outlined by Bias Infante inEl Ideal in 1915.3 Political and historical evidence was used to de Andaluz fend the idea ofAndalusia as an autonomy and even to suggest that than Castile. Andalusia was closer to the essence of Spanishness Latent prejudice against this view developed into open horror when, for a variety of reasons, lo andaluz became almost synonymous with Gypsies have appeared in Spanish literature since the Golden Age, but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries theywere a veri table obsession. In the eighteenth century they became a common gypsy language, cal? (Ortega y Gasset 523-25). Off the stage it became fashionable to wear gypsy clothes, to imitate their manner isms and to cultivate the Andalusian seseo (Ortega y Gasset 524-25). By themiddle of the nineteenth century the gypsy world had become an important literarytopos even among respected poets and writers, and it became almost indistinguishable from Andalusia. This phe nomenon formed part of a growing desire for escapism through the cultivation of beauty, sensuality, brightness and joy, all of which were offered by the andaluc?a de pandereta. Ortega y Gasset de scribes as follows the way inwhich popular arts became a national
obsession: topos in zarzuelas, and many works included expressions from the gypsy culture.

. . .durante el siglo XVIII

extra??simo por todas que no aparece arrebata se a?ade lo popular... partes,

se produce en Espa?a
en ning?n a las clases una otro pa?s. El superiores

un fen?meno
entusiasmo ... a la curio

sidad y filantr?pica simpat?a sustentadoras del popularismo que debemos denominar "plebeyismo." (523)
en Espa?a vehement?sima corriente

en

The two artistic creations of thepueblo were, according to Ortega y Gasset, "las corridas de toro y el teatro," both ofwhich are inextri cably linked with the world of flamenco and the andaluc?a de pan dereta. This cultivation of popular arts gave rise to the modern-day archetypal Spaniard. The majos and majas which were eternalised in Goya's paintings, then, became the prototype of the popular Spanish hero. At a time when European writers were travelling to distant lands in search of exoticism and excitement, the Andalusian pueblo pro
concept of torero or matador de toros which, in turn, became the

SHARON HANDLEY

43

vided all of this on their doorstep. It is not surprising, then, that travellers like Th?ophile Gautier turned to southern Spain and, with his Voyage en Espagne (1845), awoke interest abroad in the mysteri ous race which lived in the exotic, somewhat oriental, land ofAnda lusia. Gautier cultivated the image of the wild, exciting and sensual gypsy girlwhich Prosper M?rim?e developed, endowing his unfaithful but beautiful Carmen (1847) with a splendour which was captured in Bizet's operatic version in 1875. Although not immediately successful because of prejudice against the subject matter, Carmen captured the imagination of audiences the world over and provided a picturesque image of Spain which is still cultivated by the tourist industry today. Manuel Reina provides us with an example of the image of Andalusian women which emerged during the nineteenth century:
La andaluza

Brillante piel de rico terciopelo fina y deslumbradora cabellera, provocativa risa, faz de cielo, planta breve y ligera.
Boca formas en nido de perlas y ambros?a, labios rojos,

la hermosa

esculturales,

luz del sol del mediod?a

ojos. tesoro de ternura,

los rasgados de amor,

Mundo cielo alma

y pasi?n por las flores. (Aguilar Pi?al

In "La andaluza" Reina perpetuates the

de gracias, risas al placer pronta

y colores, y a la aventura,

117-18)
of the sensual,

beautiful and dangerous Andalusian woman. He is purely concerned with her physical appearance; she is seductive (provocativa risa,
labios

stereotype

a la aventura) and beautiful (faz de cielo, brillante piel, deslum bradora cabellera, hermosa faz del sol del mediod?a, risas y colores). It became fashionable towrite trivial zarzuelas, novels or poems, both inside Spain and abroad, depicting torrid affairs and vengeance
pacts, including scenes o? flamenco dancing or singing. As a conse

rojos,

rasgados

ojos,

mundo

de

amor,

alma

pronta

al placer

quence, not only was a false image ofAndalusia created, but also the gypsy dance and song degenerated into a superficial hybrid tailored
to suit popular taste for commercial gain. Flamenco became associ

44

ALEC, 21 (1996)

atea with seedy night clubs and was often performed by ladies of doubtful repute; this aspect of the gypsy world in turn became material for zarzuelas and drama, thus perpetuating the clich?. This tendency to describe Andalusia as the land ofwine, women, passion and vendettas angered many, but their reactions to it contrasted considerably. The response of one group ofwriters, the 98 Generation, was to dismiss everything associated with Andalusia, for reasons which are discussed below. It is less well known that some writers tried to counterbalance the established clich? with an early form of literary andalucismo which emphasized the tragedy of the south rather than the quincalla meridional.4 Ironically, one of the first poets to perceive the falseness of the andalucia de pandereta was not an Andalusian at all; it was the Nicaraguan poet Rub?n Dar?o in his prologue to Juan Ram?n Jime nez's Arias Tristes (1902):
El "cantaor," aeda en de estas tierras extra?as, ha recogido M?s el alma una van . . .

triste de la Espa?a
largos pena son ayes, personal,

mora y la echa por la boca en quejidos, en

desesperados pena o nacional, de pasi?n. la que estos palacios que hombres ?rabes

lamentos es una

gimiendo al son de las hist?ricas guitarras. Son cosas antiguas,

cosas melodiosas furiosas de de

tristeza del suelo fatigado de las llamas solares, tristeza de las melanc?licas hembras de grandes ojos, tristeza especial de los
mismos muerte, cantos, cuchillada, pues no se puede penosa escuchar o nota uno que no diga (892) luto, virgen crepuscular.

The atavistic Moorish sadness, the national anguish ("pena natio nal") described y Rub?n Dar?o was neglected by cultivators of the andalucia de pandereta. Rub?n Dar?o observed: ... as? [bitter and sad] son aqu? la vida y el amor; todo la con trar?o de lo que piensan los que s?lo han visto una Andaluc?a a
la

verdad, os digo que ?ste es el reino muerte. El amor popular es quieto y ardor y con miedo. Sabe que si enga?a el pecho y el vientre con un navajazo.

francesa,

de

exposici?n

universal

o de

del desconsuelo y de la fatal, la mujer ama con al novio, le partir? ?ste (892)

cajas

de

pasas.

En

The latter, of course, featured in the espa?oladas which gave such offence to somany, but the gloom, the sadness and the obsession with death emphasized by several writers at the turn of the century were

SHARON HANDLEY

45

not. In its own way, however, this dark image ofAndalusia was just as removed from reality as the andaluc?a de pandereta; itwas the product of decadent, fin de si?cle melancholia on the one hand and B?cquerian introversion on the other. One poet who illustrates this is Juan Ram?n Jim?nez, ofwhom Rub?n Dar?o declared, "No seas alegre, poeta, que naciste absolutamente amado de la tristeza, por tu tierra, por lamorena y amadora y tristeAndaluc?a" (898). Dar?o was referring here to Juan Ramon's Arias Tristes (1902), which marked his transition from modernism and colorismo to melancholy interior landscapes influenced by folksongs and B?cquer. Another poet who became committed to this "melancholy" and Moorish image ofAndalusia was Francisco V?laespesa. Despite his
well-known contributions to

was talismo which relegated him to relative oblivion, V?laespesa considered by contemporaries to be an important innovator of the period.5 One ofhis "discoveries" was Jos? S?nchez Rodr?guez, whom and Juan Ram?n heralded as B?cquer's true successor. V?laespesa The comments by both poets onAlma Andaluza are enlightening for what they reveal about their rejection of the andaluc?a de pandereta and the colorismo of their contemporaries. Juan Ram?n observes:
Reina no siente sobre a Andaluc?a; un coj?n su Andaluc?a de raso no es una es odalisca, ex

costumbrismo,

modernismo

and

orien

huberante de raso, de pedrer?a; la lira de Rueda

brillantez,

es una lira de
andaluza. su El lira

Rueda
sobre es una

tampoco siente a Andaluc?a;

tablado, guitarra entre alegre, ca?as sobre un

ducal;

la lira

su Andaluc?a
de Manila.

es una chula
poeta

un

de manzanilla pa?ol?n

y cantaores;

andaluz eres t? y s?lo t?; t? no te has dejado cegar por color?nes ym?sicas celestiales; tu has ido por dentro y has arrancado al alma de Andaluc?a toda su dulce nostalgia, toda la melancol?a de su alegr?a; tu lira es un harpa de rosas cuajadas de l?grimas, sobre un coraz?n de virgen andaluza, (qtd. in S?nchez Trigueros 188)6 is advocating a movement away from the depiction of physical reality towards an expression of the alma de Andaluc?a. For Juan Ram?n, the latter is not an objective depiction of the heart of Andalusia somuch as an evocation of themelancholia which the poet projects through his personal vision ofhis native land. The sun, wine and joy ofRueda's image is alien to Juan Ram?n, the poet ofmist and Juan Ram?n
melancholy.

46 ALEC, 21 (1996)
It becomes clear in Juan Ramon's epilogue poem to S?nchez Rodriguez's Alma andaluza that his vision ofAndalusia owes more to the pathetic fallacy of the Romantics and his own adolescent preoccupations than to the land itself or to its folksongs. A short excerpt from this epilogue will serve to illustrate this: Epilogal ... A?n flota en la azul brisa la doliente poes?a que lleva en sus arpegios Alma de Andaluc?a,
cual un perfume en un triste c?liz de de rosas dolorosas, rosas

encarnado

febricientes

..

A?n palpita en el pecho el eco lastimero

de una guitarra de copla en una l?nguida amores l?grima, ... ... el sollozo postrero

de una ahogado rebosante nadando

de una que

igual

de pena, copla una azucena lirio . . .

en

de Sangre el espejo

..., igual que un albo de un lago de martirio

... Los Amores gimi en tes, los p?lidos Amores que se elevan del Alma cual suspiro de flores enlutadas. los p?lidos Amores, pulsaron en la lira
canci?n amarga que suena y que delira

una

. . .

Atr?s queda
cual visi?n

llorando la triste Andaluc?a,

sollozante de angustiosa Harmon?a.

The keystone of this poem, reflecting the thematic axis of Alma forwhich it forms an epilogue, is the bond between love Andaluza and pain which gives rise to intense sadness. The echo of the languid guitar disturbs the human breast like a white lily floating on the mirror of a lake ofmartyrdom. From this it is clear that Juan Ram?n is still in the grips ofmodernism. The reader is guided by the poet's emotive use of language; the preponderance of adjectives of pain (doliente, dolorosas, de martirio, angustiosa) and sadness (triste, lasti
mero,

mood of lamentation. This effect isreinforced through the humanisa tion of flowers (rosas dolorosas, rosas febricientes, flores enlutadas)

gimientes,

triste,

sollozante)

gives

the

poem

a predominant

SHARON HANDLEY

47

which seem to be either suffering or inmourning. Similarly, love is never associated with joy; it is always pale orwoeful (p?lidos Amores, Amores gimientes, p?lidos Amores). It is immediately obvious that this image ofAndalusia forms a total contrast with the one illustrated by La andaluza. Furthermore, given his own innate melancholia, it is not surprising that he should prefer the emotive image ofAlma andaluza to the bright and sunny scenes of the coloristas, although his and Vallespesa's accolades and their insistence thatAlma andaluza depicts the true state ofAndalu sia is a distortion equal to that of the coloristas. The atavistic nature perhaps most successfully depicted, some years later, by Federico Garc?a Lorca in his tragic but not sentimental "image" ofAndalusia,
as we shall observe below. of Andalusian, "pena de cauce oculta y madrugada remota," was

A more widely publicised response to the andaluc?a de pandereta was that of the 98 Generation, who rejected everything associated and the gypsies. Prejudice against the latter, of with Andalusia course, did not begin with the 98 Generation, nor was itmerely a
response to the andaluc?a de

distinctive for its literary dimension and the trenchant invective which pervaded theirwork. Instead of correcting popular misconcep tions caused by the worst aspects of flamenquismo, they contributed to them with grotesque parodies of flamenco performances and
Andalusian characters.

pandereta,

but

their

campaign

was

The deformation of reality which pervaded the work of the 98 Generation on the flamenco theme is illustrated by the following
excerpt from Escenas y andanzas

campaigner against flamenco throughout his life:

by

Eugenio

No?l,

vehement

... al pueblo del garrot?n y de la tripita no le gustan mucho

danzas bailar?n cierta con nobles. es t?a cierto que se de En nuestra que trae. las absurda se mueve Tra?rselas tecnolog?a sujeto mucho, es taconear, zarandear

las

un flamenca, y una danzarina, relinchar, caderas

agitarse fren?tica y convulsivamente movimientos

la palma la mano derecha,

y, cogi?ndose
las

la barriga
en

asquerosos,

(qtd. in Prado 165)

Perhaps one of the most consistent "deformere" of the flamenco world is P?o Baroja. Several of his novels contain passages inwhich his aversion to cante jondo is obvious. The protagonist ofLas inquie tudes de ShantiAnd?a, forexample, expresses the following ambition:

48

ALEC, 21 (1996)
transformarme ... ver c?mo de en un patea andaluz sobre en un una andaluz

Quer?a agitanado tener

flamenco, una mesa

muchachita noche

p?lida y expresiva, con ojeras moradas y piel de color de lagarto; mientras un galafate del muelle canta una canci?n de la ma resita muerta y el simenter?o; o?r a un chatillo con los tufos sobre las orejas y el cala??s hacia la nariz, rasgueando la gui sero ymoviendo
tarra; ver a un hombre el gran placer estar palmoteando una entera,

las nalguitas.

gordo

contone?ndose,

marcando

el tra

(Libro II; cap. IV, 87)

Baroja's choice ofwords is such that reality is distorted, the bailaor is described as "contone?ndose, marcando el trasero ymoviendo las nalguitas" instead of dancing. In other words, the author is creating a caricature based on his own prejudices. In another description by Mala hierba, he observes: Baraja, this time in La bella bailaba con la cara enfurru?ada y los dientes apre tados, dando taconazos, haciendo que se dibujaran las caderas poderosas al replegarse la falda sobre sus flancos como la bandera triunfante. De aquel hermoso cuerpo de mujer sal?a un efluvio de su sexo que enloquec?a a todos. Al final del baile coloc? el sombrero sobre el vientre y tuvo un movimiento de caderas que hizo rugir a todo el teatro. (211) Once again Baraja chooses his language and limits the focus of his attention to certain features to create a parody of the dance. He driving her audience wild with suggestive movements. Baraja gives no indication of the ritual element of an authentic flamenco perfor There are many such examples of the attitude of the 98 Genera tion towards flamenco and lo andaluz, but the above descriptions illustrate the point: that they used grotesque parody to pervert the flamenco phenomenon and make it an object of derision. Their stance was largely due to a desire to emphasize the European character of Spain, that is, Spain as a united land ofwhich Castile was the most representative region. The flamenco phenomenon, with its distinctly anti-European flavour, was decidedly unhelpful in the debate on
casticismo en and de castellanismo. cuenta, Unamuno's or "lo claims castizo, that "lo castellano es, fin lo castizo" lo verdaderamente mance, only its sensuality. emphasizes the crude eroticism of the woman as she performs,

castizo, es lo de vieja cepa castellana"

(44) contrasted strikingly with

SHARON HANDLEY

49

conclusion that claims that "Andaluc?a es Espa?a."7 Unamuno's was inherently European contradicted Ganivet's emphasis on Spain the Arab influences. Professor Ramsden sums up the debate on the Spanish heritage as follows: Whereas forUnamuno Europe already exists potentially within for Ganivet, with his emphasis on Arabic influence, Spain, Spain and Europe are fundamentally different; on the one hand there is Spain, religious and artistic, a land of high ideals and individual, often impulsive actions ... on the other hand there is Europe north of the Pyrenees, materialistic and scientifically minded, the home of practical aims and collective enterprises.

(35)

The Caba brothers, in their controversial book Andaluc?a, comunismo y su cante jondo, described the situation as follows:
Hay pearnos, . . .motivo pero para suponer que cuando la '98 quiere pretende vuelva pero est? racial esta

su

euro es con vez

poner en relieve a Castilla graduando en sabio difumino el resto

hasta el litoral. a elaborar cerca de Sue?a una ... con que Castilla imperial . . .M?s nueva Espa?a, radical

subrayando

la espa?olidad,

lo que

hisp?nico sentido

nizaci?n
supone

europea.

la verdad

la africa . . M?s .

sobre todo como cuando Ganivet

sumergirnos romana, en nuestro sino un propio

(el ?ltimo morisco)

[sic] no debe olvidarse que Espa?a

ni precipitado

no es ?rabe, ni es morisca, ni
de la combinaci?n qu?mica

magma

de estos otros elementos.

goda,

(26)

Juan Ram?n Jim?nez echoes this view in the following letter:

Estoy

de la poes?a debe ser lo eterno, lo universal, y el lenguaje el

que hablamos,

ya harto

de

tanto

castellanismo. de que

. .. Creo no es

que

la esencia Castilla. modo

mismo

Los meridionales
pardo de

somos fenicios, griegos, romanos, ?rabes, y lo

central no nos invade del mismo que

aparte

Espa?a

solo

la meseta

los jardines y que el mar.

(Cartas 223-24)

in Attempts by serious Andalusian writers to promote Andalusia their work should therefore be applauded for their courage because first, the Andalusian clich?s made it very difficult for such writers to be taken seriously and, secondly, it brought them into conflictwith the literary establishment. Rejection of the castellanismo of the

50 ALEC, 21 (1996)
latter, particularly the 98 Generation, was detrimental to the Euro pean ambitions of the latter, since anything related to the andalucia de pandereta hindered attempts to be taken seriously by the rapidly industrialising nations of northern Europe. However, those who wished to assert their Andalusian identity, emphasizing the Moorish contribution to the Spanish heritage and the importance of folklore as an atavistic link with the essence of
Spanishness, other among were not deterred. an attempt Echoes o? andalucismo a Biblioteca resound andaluza in, projects, to create

(S?nchez Trigueros 1974,194) and the publication of the first anthol ogy ofAndalusian poetry, edited by Bruno Portillo, towhich I have made scant reference as it contributes unashamedly to the Andalu sian clich?. A more selective anthology, Antolog?a de poetas andaluces contempor?neos, was published by Jos? Luis Cano in 1952. It pro vides an insight into the range ofAndalusian poetry published during the first three decades of the present century and is evidence of a
certain andalucismo.

on the One striking example of the desire to place Andalusia international cultural stage was the campaign in 1922 by Federico Garc?a Lorca, Manuel de Falla and others to rediscover authentic cante jondo and expound its importance not only to the Spanish heritage (living proof of the oriental dimension and an example of tradici?n eterna), but also to the international music scene (influ enced by composers such as Glinka, Debussy and Ravel). The views expressed by Falla, Lorca and their companions during the publicity
campaign Firstly, was for this Concurso they renamed reveal the cante a certain andalucismo. "primitivo cante anda

luz" or cante jondo, emphasizing

This a rather controversial

the Andalusian
decision,

flamenco,

nature of the song.

experts, particu

larly those of gypsy origins, insisted then and still insist today that cante jondo is a uniquely gypsy phemonenon. However, the adjectives "primitive" and ujondon imbue the song with a primordial and atavistic quailty, thus eliminating the superficiality which was associated with the word flamenco. In support of their decision to change the name, Lorca and Falla argued that had cante jondo been purely a gypsy phenomenon it would have been sung by gypsies throughout the rest of Europe.8 Lorca insisted that this essentially Andalusian song should therefore be preserved "por honra de
Andaluc?a" (1023). In Lorca's

as many

mente andaluz" (1007), and any confusion between the authentic cante jondo and the tourist spectacle should be avoided "por Anda . . ." (1003). Indeed, Falla luc?a, por nuestra esp?ritu milenario

words,

"se

trata

de

un

canto

pura

SHARON HANDLEY

51

equated the cante jondo with the Alhambra for its importance to the Andalusian heritage.9 From the time of the Concurso of 1922 Lorca promoted Andalusia in his work in such a way that his native land became a serious literarytopos on a par with Castile in the work ofmany members of the 98 Generation.10 In other words, the Concurso and the events surrounding it represented the beginning of a new andalucista movement which promoted Andalusia rather than Castile as the essence of Spanishness, emphasizing the hybrid nature of the Spanish identity rather than its uniformity. Antonio Gallego Burin alluded in 1922 to the potential rediscovery of Andalusia and the
Concurso*8 role in that process:

La obra del Concurso de Granada es el primer paso para descu brir lo ignorado de Andaluc?a. Y para rehacer su esp?ritu, deshe cho por la estulticia incomprensiva, por la ramploner?a y por ese europe?smo espa?olizado que deshace nuestros m?sculos y que
ni es

miedo que estimaba de mal gusto y de antipatri?tico defender

y fomentar nuestro

europeo

ni

es

espa?ol.

...

Es . . .Es

romper

con

esa

?poca

de

sobre los viejos cimientos de la Andaluc?a

propio

ser

ir rehaciendo

Andaluc?a

derruida.

(3)11

In the same article Gallego Burin referredto the paradox between the quincalla meridional which was associated with Andalusia and the reality which the andalucistas hoped to present to the world: Andaluc?a esta por descubrir. A?n no se ha pulsado su fibra sensible, en busca de la emoci?n cierta. Bajo las apariencias de su alegr?a mentida, se ha escondido siempre la mueca de su dolor intenso. Hay en Andaluc?a un hondo sentimiento y un su premo desfallecimiento. (3)

Lorca developed this tragic side ofAndalusia in his work, equat ing the flamenco phenomenon with ancient Greek tragedy in serious ness, intensity and in its cathartic release of tension.12 In words which echo Lorca's own description of the cante jondo in his lecture on the subject, Gallego Burin went on in the above article to observe that: En el fondo del alma popular guarda Andaluc?a su secreto, eterno y quieto como una muda esfinge oriental. En el bajo
pueblo es el que guarda las honduras de su sentir ... el alma de

52
ese tes, pueblo que son en grita y se duele redonda expresi?n sus de cantos sus

ALEC, 21 (1996)
?nicos. En estos y de can sus intensas

alegr?as locas. (3)

penas

Lorca made a conscious effortto promote this aspect ofAndalusia in his work, beginning with Poema del cante jondo, continuing in Romancero gitano and culminating in his Andalusian dramas. Even Pineda and La zapatera relatively minor works such as Mariana the Andalusian cause in one way or another, be prodigiosa promoted it the historical background to the former or the "ambiente andaluz, alma andaluza, lenguaje andaluz" and "tipos andaluces" of the latter (La zapatera 144). His relatively little-known puppet plays were, of course, another Andalusian project which took him, with Manuel de Falla, around the villages of the Alpujarra. In a letter to his friend Fern?ndez Almagro, in 1923, he alluded to his andalucismo:
Este verano, si Dios me ayuda con sus palomitas, har? una obra nunca

popular y andaluc?sima. Voy a viajar un poco por estos pueblos

maravillosos,

han existido para los poetas y jjBasta ya de Castilla!!

cuyos

castillos,

cuyas

personas

parece

que

1165)

(OC 2:

The key to Lorca's view of the Andalusian identity lies in its hybrid heritage to which an allusion ismade inRomancero gitano when, in "Reyerta," the judge refers to the age of the conflict between rival gangs with the words "Aqu? pas? lo de siempre. / Han muerto
cuatro romanos

between Europe and Africa rages on; Spain is only superficially united through castellanismo. Lorca's Ganivetian vision of Spain situated him firmly alongside a growing movement of andalucistas who rejected the emphasis on Spain's innate European character. Lorca's insistence on theMoorish nature ofAndalusia is expressed in the following letter: El acento morisco suena en todas las lenguas de la gente. Viene viento de Africa, cuyas brumas podemos ver a simple vista. No hay duda que aqu? existe un esquema de nostalgia que es antieuropeo. (OC 2: 1347)13 His conviction of the importance of the Arab contribution to the Spanish heritage was constant throughout his life. In 1936 he declared that the expulsion of theMoors was "un momento mal?simo

/ y cinco

cartagineses."

In other

words,

the

battle

SHARON HANDLEY
... Se perdieron una civilizaci?n admirable, una poes?a

53
. . . una

arquitectura y una delicadeza ?nicas en el mundo" (OC 2: 1126). This affords a striking contrast with the views of at least one member of the 98 Generation who wrote, "De los ?rabes no quiero decir nada, les
profeso zaci?n una ar?biga antipat?a, profunda su y considero apenas paso por creo eso que llaman como civili Espa?a la mayor

calamidad que hemos padecido" (Unamuno, Obras completas 3: 646). Cante jondo provided Lorca with evidence not only of the "un European" dimension to the Andalusian identity, but also the latent tragic vision. For Lorca the cante jondo was an atavistic legacy from oriental ancestors; itwas an expression of primordial and universal concerns. Just as Unamuno stressed the need to find the "conciencia colectiva" and the "tradici?n eterna" (OC 3: 794) in "las clases proletarias, que son el archivo y el dep?sito de los sentimientos inexplicables, profundos de un pa?s" (793), Lorca discovered what he believed to be the essence of Spanishness (indeed, the essence of in the Andalusian pueblo. Both turned to the ordinary humanity) pueblo in orderto formulate their theories, but their conclusions were radically different.Whereas Unamuno concluded that Spain was the 98 innately European, Lorca argued that itwas not. Whereas Generation mocked the popular song and dance (and bullfights) of the Andalusian pueblo, Lorca underlined their role as modern analogues of the rituals of ancient Greek tragedy and other Mediterranean rites. Furthermore, they provided him with evidence of the tragic
nature of the alma de Andaluc?a.

Like Ganivet, referredto by Lorca as "el ?ltimo morisco," Lorca and a new generation ofAndalusians wished to promote the Moorish nature of the Spanish identity rather than submit to castellanismo and the centralist view ofwhat constitutes the essence of Spanish ness. Lorca purified his vision ofAndalusia to what he saw as its essential elements as expressed by the pueblo in their folksongs: its orientalism, its great age and the atavistic, primordial anguish or pena negra. Thus he wrote ofSoledad Montoya inRomancero gitano: La pena de Soledad Montoya
... es un ansia sin objeto,

es la ra?z del pueblo

amor agudo

andaluz.
con una

es un

seguridad de que la muerte (preocupaci?n perenne de Anda luc?a) est? respirando detr?s de la puerta. (OC 2: 1118) the problems of love and evokes the tragedy of Andalusia: the fatalism of the Andalusian pueblo and the inner battle death, between the individual and other forces (be they human or divine) Lorca

a nada,

54 without
andalucistas

ALEC, 21 (1996)
lapsing
with

into the mawkish

their desire

sentimentalism
lagrimas."

of previous

to ^arrancar

In Lorca's Poema del cante jondo, for example, themuch-maligned cante jondo is shown to be an ontological quest into the nature of man's existence, a psychological excursion into the depths ofman's anguish. The dagger, a consistent instrument of death in Lorca's work,14 becomes an obsessive leitmotif in "Poema de la sole?," suggesting the inevitability and anonymity of death; the arrows with no target, the dead birds and blind girls of "Poema de la siguiriya" bring us face to face with the existential anguish of a lifewith no destination, with the torment of unrequited love and the pain of lost love. Horses gallop along empty Andalusian roads towards the the labyrinth of crosses (the cemetery), providing an crossroads, impressive image of the inevitability of death, particularly as the anonymous and omniscient figure of Death patrols these roads in search of its next victim ("Gr?fico de la petenera" and "Di?logo del Amargo"). This is thereal face of the quincalla meridional: a cathar tic ritual to purge the soul of the burden of an existence it fails to understand. It is a far cryfrom the world of Cartesian rationalism and science which provide alternative solutions to similar problems north of the Pyrenees. elements of the andalucia de pandereta. He depicts the conflict between uncontrollable primitive passions (nature) and human repress them (society), the inevitability ofDeath, and the attempts to
destruction of one Similarly, in Romancero gitano, Lorca reinterprets various

This is indeed the battle between "Spain ... a land ofhigh ideals and individual, often impulsive actions" and "Europe north of the Pyre nees, materialistic and scientifically minded, the home of practical aims and collective enterprises" (Ramsden 35). In "Romance de la guardia civil espa?ola," the gypsy village is destroyed by the Civil Guards, representing the annihilation of one culture by another, the destruction of the imagination, of spontaneity and sensuality, by forces representing authority and the values of a modern, rationalist, materialist society: La Guardia
avanza

culture,

or one

side

of human

nature,

by another.

Civil
hogueras,

sembrando

donde joven y desnuda la imaginaci?n se quema.

(OC 2: 1276)

SHARON HANDLEY
This

55

is an apocalyptic vision of the destruction of one culture by another, more dominant one. It is interesting to note that Lorca equated the Civil Guards in this poem with the Romans, thus under lining the association between the latter and the brutal imposition of order.15 In other words, it is the battle between a way of lifewhich remains intouch with its roots, with the rhythms of the earth, with the mysteries of the universe, and the pressure to conform with society, with rules based on rational thought and logic, with a civilisation ruled by science. This is indeed a far cryfrom the andaluc?a de pandereta or the land of mist and melancholy discussed at the beginning of this article. In response to degenerate flamenquismo on the one hand and obstinate castellanismo on the other, Lorca has produced his own teor?ade Andaluc?a. He has revealed the real issue behind the debate on the much-maligned Andalusian identity: the desire to erase all traces of the "other culture," the hybrid heritage, in order to present a united European front. But the underlying message seems to be that this repression of "the other" is doomed to failure because it is, in fact, an inextricable part of the Spanish identity. In the words of
Mont?vez, gen?ricos "se del otro trata de un otro que hecho no teres

Mart?nez

mismos'

(97). Unamuno warned of the dangers of ignoring the "personalidad national" of a given nation; Lorca seems to be suggest ing that castellanismo does just that.

"

porque

se ha

responde una parte

a de

los carac 'nosotros

NOTES
1. A similar that in Granada observation there was by Federico Garc?a Lorca when he wrote a "curiosa mezcla de la Granada jud?a y la Granada con el cristianismo, fundidas pero vivas e insoborna was made

morisca, aparentemente bles en su misma ignorancia" 2. "En el a?o 1883 ... hab?a

of Seville, newspapers the most famous works 172). 4. This in El Sol hondo, quincalla

(OC 1: 973). un primer proyecto de andalucismo que defin?a a nuestro pa?s como soberano en democracia y aut?nomo organizado republi cana representativa" (Ruiz Lagos 175). 3. Most of the articles on the regeneration were published ofAndalusia in the between particularly was Bias Infante's El the years 1909 and 1936. One of ideal andaluz (1915) (Ruiz Lagos

the following expression was used by Ortega y Gasset when he wrote in 1927: "No hay posibilidad de que nos vuelva a conmover el cante del andaluz. Toda alegr?a ..." (qtd. in Grande 463). esa

ni el contrabandista, ni la presunta nos enoja y fastidia meridional

56 ALEC, 21 (1996)
5. It has side which innovator letters: un documento de ese primer para el conocimiento Constituyen inapreciable En estas cartas est? el V?laespesa de la V?laespesa.... "manipulador" literatura de siglo, el "luchador" del Modernismo de principios incipiente ... el centro de las mil cr?ticas de los en Espa?a de lo nuevo, el enemigos urdidor 6. Later Andalusia work Yo de mil proyectos literarios, el amigo del Juan Ram?n juvenil. (15) that the most the important aspect of V?laespesa, suggested is often neglected of his sickly orientalism, is his role as because that his and supporter of aspiring poets. S?nchez Trigueros observes been

in the same with

contrasts letter V?laespesa the colorista image of a glimpse the "true" Andalusia, of which he perceives in the Rodr?guez:

of S?nchez

a comp?s de un tango flamenco. Reina la vista de odalisca sus hombros el manto de pedrer?a de su inspiraci?n la emborracha de vino en la taberna de M?laga magn?fica. Reyes y le hace sonar amores en brazos de Cartucherita.... Pero nadie sabe lo que siente y lo que sufre el alma prisionera la obra bajo esas galas. T? has hecho y le arroja sobre completa, por excelencia; su alma. te ha entregado y Andaluc?a el heredero del gran B?cquer. Eres (qtd. el gran poeta andaluz in S?nchez Trigueros

en el pa?s encantado de tu libro he visto al alma andaluza, la pobre se han propuesto que novelistas y dramaturgos que viva en un carnaval. Rueda la disfraza de man?la perpetuo y le hace discoyuntarse alma sobre una mesa

229-30)

7.

In Andaluc?a de Espa?a

y Ultramar, que

sector

geogr?fica, geol?gica, ser regionalista, porque 8. Garc?a dan Lorca writes la forma definitiva

podr?a bot?nica

al cante jondo.... Esto no quiere decir, naturalmente, de ellos, pues existiendo que este canto sea puramente gitanos en toda Europa estos cantos no son cultivados y aun en otras regiones de nuestra pen?nsula, m?s que por los nuestros" (OC 1:1027). 9. Falla valor cante la m?sica,

writes: ?nico Bejarano "Andaluc?a, nacionalidad unidad por constituir ... Andaluc?a no es, no puede y antropol?gica es Espa?a" Andaluc?a (11). that: "Son esas gentes misteriosas y errantes quienes juzgarse

M?ndez

jondo, ?rica herencia que de las viejas conforme a su peculiar modo m?s evidente de la m?sica moderna parte esencial?sima 10. There were several other Andalusian Lorca's Arab Lola la comedianta and an poets of Granada. 11. All newspaper reports quoted library in Granada. 12. In his lecture on duende Lorca

commented that "... para cuantos digna y conscientemente cultivan o se interesan por ella, ese canto representa, el mismo por lo menos, ... el est?tico y aun hist?rico que el m?gico Palacio de la Colina Roja civilizaciones primitivas adoptara a la formaci?n y desarrollo de una rusa y francesa" (n.p.). plays, of the

projects including puppet conference in memory international

in this article observed:

can be found in the newspaper

SHARON HANDLEY 57
que todos sienten y que ning?n fil?sofo explica es, en la tierra, el mismo el coraz?n de duende que abraz? en sus formas exteriores sobre el puente Rialto que lo buscaba Nietzsche, o en la m?sica de Bizet, sin encontrarlo y sin saber que el duende que ?l suma, poder misterioso el esp?ritu de persegu?a Este

C?diz o al dionis?aco grito degollado de la siguiriya de Silverio. (OC 1: 1098)

lecture on cante jondo he referred to the parallels between character of poetry and drew attention to the Moorish

hab?a

saltado

de

los misteriosos

griegos

a las bailarinas

de

the

in his 13. Similarly, latter and Arab and C?rdoba:

Granada Verdad

es que en el aire de C?rdoba y Granada quedan gestos como es evidente que en el turbio palimpsesto la remota Arabia, c?n surgen evocaciones de ciudades (OC 1:1019) perdidas. Lorca defines the dagger as

y l?neas de del Albai

14. In "Di?logo del Amargo," instrument of death: Jinete los cuchillos como una Amargo No sirven Jinete Los hombres adds: parten el pan de oro se van de hierba. partir

exclusively

an

solos

al coraz?n.

Los

de plata

cortan

el cuello

brizna para

el pan? con las manos.

15. Lorca cazalla A veces,

la ciudad.

"Hasta aqu? llevo hecho. Ahora civil y destruye llega la guardia con an?s se van los guardias civiles al cuartel y all? brindan Luego de los gitanos. Las escenas del saqueo ser?n preciosas. por la muerte sin que se sepa por qu?, se convertir?n en centuriones romanos" (OC

2: 1276).

WORKS CONSULTED
Aguilar Baroja, Pi?al, 1986. 1941. Caba Cano, Dar?o, Falla, Landa, 1967. Planeta, su comunismo tentativa de y su cante jondo: de C?diz, 1979. (1933). C?diz: Universidad interpretaci?n. Madrid: Jos? Luis. Antolog?a de poetas andaluces contempor?neos. Ediciones 1952. Cultura Hisp?nica, _. Mala hierba. Barcelona: Carlos. Andaluc?a, Obras completas. Madrid: de. Defensor de Granada Aguado 21 marzo S.A, 1950. 1922. n.p. Francisco. La obra de Manuel de Shanti Reina. Madrid: Editora Nacional, Calpe,

P?o. Las

inquietudes

And?a.

Buenos

Aires:

Espasa

Rub?n. Manuel

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Gallego Garc?a Burin, Antonio. El sol 13 junio 1922, 3. 2 vols. Madrid: Obras 1980. Lorca, Federico. completas. Aguilar, Madrid: 1989. _. La zapatera Alianza Editorial, prodigiosa. F?lix. Memoria del flamenco. Madrid: 1979. Grande, Espasa Calpe, libros de poes?a. Pr?logo de Francisco Garfias. Jim?nez, Juan Ram?n. Primeros 1959. Aguilar, selecci?n. _. Cartas, primera 1962. Madrid: Aguilar, Madrid: Mart?nez Ortega Portillo, Prado, Compilaci?n de Francisco Garfias. Revista de

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Obras Alianza 1983. y Gasset. completen. Vol. 7. Madrid: Editorial, Bruno y Enrique de Aldana. de poetas andaluces. V?zquez Antolog?a de Rodr?guez Huesear: Sucesores 1914. Garc?a, Literatura del casticismo. Madrid: Moneda 1973. y Cr?dito, Angeles. an Interpretation H. The 98 Generation in Spain: Towards with to En torno al casticismo and Idearium Special Reference espa?ol. Manchester: Ruiz Lagos, Manuel. novecentista." Emilio S?nchez Unamuno, Universidad Trigueros, (1897-1900). Manchester "Dial?ctica Estudios U. P, 1974. del Ideal andaluz' sobre Granada: literatura en el ensayo aut?ctono al Profesor y arte dedicados de Publicaciones Secretariado de la obra po?tica 1966-71.

Mont?vez,

Pedro.

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la alter-identidad."

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de. Obras Miguel Escelicer, completas. Vol. 3. Madrid: _. En torno al casticismo. Madrid: 1979. Espasa Calpe,