SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 1: Sanguinary Civil War, Ferocious Fascism, and the Dawning of a Better Life »
Here is an enthralling personal account of fascism and the Franco dictatorship by the author who was in Spain in the mid-1970s on the University of California Berkeley’s Education Abroad Program: "The last time I set foot in Spain in 1974 and 1975 fascism and the Franco dictatorship were in their last last legs. Returning 47 years later I braced myself for experiencing big changes."
SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 2: FAULTLINES IN A VIBRANT DEMOCRACY »
Guernica, a powerful anti-war statement · Going through the battlegrounds of the Spanish Civil War where a historical walkabout could get booed · Casa Pepe, a sojourn into fascism and the Franco dictatorship · A new encounter with the Cordoba of the Three Cultures: "Relearning its exceptional period of harmony gave me hope, making my trip to Spain nothing less than epic."
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “The Semana Grande of Saint Jean-de-Luz,” 26 September 1969 »
A Semana Grande in Saint Jean-de-Luz? In France? Mais oui! The Semana Grande of Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a festival with a cultural purpose that outstrips the festivals in most Spanish cities on which it has been modeled. Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the Pay Basque is a French commune. And yet its ties to Spain is infinitely closer than its ties to France. The first Semana Grande of Saint-Jean-de-Luz was a commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the marriage of Louis XIV of France to the Spanish Infanta Maria Teresa. The tenth Semana Grande was a powerfully Spanish festival that wowed all those who came to attend.
LORCA IN NEW YORK »
“A Poet in New York” still resonates in the Big Apple. Imagine my surprise when I got off the subway in Bushwick, a depressed Brooklyn Latino neighborhood, and discovered a mural with stanzas from “Sleepless City (Brooklyn Bridge Nocturne)." "Yerma" recently finished a sold-out run in an acclaimed contemporary adaptation at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street. Ballet Hispánico's New York Season honored the playwright with two World Premieres
¡OH CUBA! »
¡Oh Cuba! A lorcan, flamenco and Cuban show that pays tribute to the short but unforgettable visit to Havana of murdered Granada poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca after his much-publicized stay in New York (1929-1930). “Cuba is paradise,” he wrote to his mother. “If I get lost, look for me in Cuba or Andalusia.”
GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “THE HOME OF A POET”, 20 February 1987 (PART 1) »
In spring, the almond blossom competes in brilliance against the snow-crested peaks beyond. Suddenly, like a pencil line sharply delimiting the green lushness of this veritable oasis, the earth turns ochre-arid, supporting only the hardy olive. This is the presence and imagery that permeates the verse of its best-loved son and barb, Federico García Lorca: the viento verde of the undulating corn, long solitary walks through melancholy rain-filled afternoons, y el fondo un campo de nieve…home of the poet.
GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “The Home of a Poet”, 20 February 1987 (Part 2) »
The silence is heavy with the presence of so much life in this household, by all accounts filled with voices, laughter and music. What conversations did Federico enjoy here with his sisters and his musical and literary friends? The poet himself was an accomplished pianist and Manuel de Falla was certainly among the most assiduous visitors here. There is the unavoidable feeling that everyone has stepped out, and will be back in a few minutes.
