Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) is one of the most important exponents of Spanish poetry and theater of the 20th century. Assigned to what experts have called the ‘Generation of 27’, the Andalusia poet, playwright and prose writer left behind a good number of masterful works, before his execution in 1936, at only 38 years of age. Aware of the human spirit, his thoughts still touch our souls and linger in our memory. we want to pay tribute to him, compiling some of his most iconic reflections in his works, letters and writings. These are the 34 phrases of Federico Garcia Lorca that, without a doubt, will go down in posterity. Which one do you prefer?
Brief biography of Federico Garcia Lorca
Federico Garcia Lorca was born in Fuentes Vaqueros (Granada, Spain) on June 5, 1898. He studied law at the University of Granada and in 1919 he moved to Madrid where he made friends with other poets, artists and intellectuals such as Antonio Machado or Dali.
He was a great passionate about reflection, justice, poetry, music and theater. In 1921 he published his first work in verse, Libra de poems, with which he managed to arouse the attention of many. From there came other of his literary successes: Poem del canter condo, Romancer gitano and Poeta en Nueva York, the latter written on his trip to the American city in 1929 and published in 1940.
As we can see in the bibliography of Federico Garcia Lorca provided by the Cervantes Institute, his last works were plays. Specifically highlighting his great masterpiece ‘ La Casa de Bernard Alba ‘ published in 1936, the year in which the Spanish civil war broke out and Lorca was arrested and shot by Franco’s forces. He died on August 18, 1936 in his birthplace, Granada, on the road that connects the towns of Viner and Alfa car.
Federico Garcia Lorca’s most famous phrases
Next, we have made a compilation of what we believe are the most beautiful, inspiring and important phrases of the Spanish poet. Choose the one you like!
1There are souls that one wants to look out, like a window full of sun
Because there are special people who always call our attention, who have a unique spirit that we want to meet.
2I am thirsty for aromas and laughter, thirsty for new songs, without moons and without lilies, and without dead loves.
A poem from ‘Cantos nevus’ that expresses the need to live life in its entire splendor.
3As I have not worried about being born, I do not worry about dying
This famous phrase by Garcia Lorca makes us reflect on how important it is to live in the present.
4The most terrible of all feelings is the feeling of losing hope.
Lorca was absolutely right, without hope there is no continuity.
5On the flag of freedom I embroidered the greatest love of my life
Lorca was in love with freedom, something that he poetically defended until the end of his days.
6The poetry does not want followers, it wants lovers
With this phrase, Federico Garcia Lorca evokes the passionate nature of poetry.
7There are things locked inside the walls that, if they suddenly went out into the street and shouted, would fill the world
Lorca was an observer of humanity and, as such, he knew that people had a lot to say.
8Live iguanas will come to bite men who do not dream
Because dreams are what moves the world, and Garcia Lorca knew it.
9Discard sadness and melancholy. Life is kind, it has few days and only now we have to enjoy it
Nobody like him knew that life had to be enjoyed and lived in the present with the best possible spirit.
10Loneliness is the great shaper of the spirit
The poet knew something that it is also good to spend time in solitude to grow emotionally and spiritually
Eleven Books! Books ! _ here is a magic word that is equivalent to saying ‘love, love’, and that the peoples had to ask for as they ask for bread
He was a great defender of culture, as evidenced by this sentence, in which he novelizes knowledge of food, as a basic human need.
12Let’s go to the dark corner, that I always love you, that I don’t care about people, nor the poison that throws at us
This romantic phrase from ‘Blood Wedding’ evokes those forbidden and judged love affairs, most likely related to the same author, since Lorca was homosexual.
13He who wants to scratch the moon will scratch his heart
When you pursue your dreams, you can take with them the occasional setback, but in the end you achieve what makes you grow as a human being, to be extraordinary.
14Our ideal does not reach the stars, it is serene, simple; We would like to make honey like bees, or have a sweet voice or a loud cry, or easy walking on the grass or breasts where our children suckle.
Because sometimes ideals can be simple things, things that no one should be deprived of.
Fifteen because you believe that time heals and that the walls hide, and it’s not true, it’s not true
A reflection by Lorca on what sometimes is hard for us to forgive, depending on what, since time does not always heal everything.
16Theater is poetry that leaves the book to become human
Lorca’s love for theater is the beginning of what a good playwright he was.
17Towns are books. The cities liars newspapers
A reflection on the difference between life in the country and in the city.
18The physical, biological, natural agony of a body due to hunger, thirst or cold lasts a short time, very little, but the agony of the dissatisfied soul lasts a lifetime
For Lorca, it is much better to suffer from a disease than to feel emotionally empty.
19Poetic creation is an indecipherable mystery, like the mystery of the birth of man. Voices are heard, it is not known where, and it is useless to worry where they come from
This is how the wonderful poet Federico Garcia Lorca created, from the heart and instinct.
Twenty Waiting, the knot is undone and the fruit ripens
Sometimes waiting a bit for things to calm down can greatly improve the situation.
Twenty-one Nothing disturbs past centuries. We can’t tear a sigh from the old
The past always remains immovable, so we must focus on the present, so as not to create a past that we regret.
22I want to cry because I feel like it, like the children on the last bench cry, because I am not a man, nor a poet, nor a leaf, but rather a wounded pulse that haunts things on the other side.
Fragment of the Eden Lake Double Poem, written in 1930, six years before his execution.
23I would leave all my soul in this book
The passion that Lorca felt when writing is perfectly reflected in this intense reflection.
24I feel my chest full of little hearts, like rattles
This is how anyone feels when they have just fallen in love.
25I don’t think any artist works in a state of fever
Lorca was a defender of artistic work with a conscience, in a state of rest and inner recollection.
26The woman is not born to be understood, but to be loved
A beautiful reflection on the true meaning of love and respect.
27Shut up and burn is the greatest punishment that we can put on ourselves
Lorca knew well that what hurts us should not be kept inside.
28Look to the right and to the left of time and May your heart learn to be calm
A wise phrase from Garcia Lorca, in which he expresses that it, is important to reflect on the past, always to feel at peace.
29There are things that cannot be said because there are no words to say them
This phrase from ‘ Doña Rosita la solder ‘ is simple but complex at the same time.
30stars don’t have a boyfriend
Another beautiful phrase from the poet of the generation of 27, Federico Garcia Lorca, about loneliness.
31 To whom you tell the secret you give your freedom
This famous phrase by Lorca highlights the value of trust, of loyalty.
32Luck comes to those who least expect it
Lorca was right, that’s why you always have to live day by day and be thankful when you get lucky.
33Only mystery makes us live. Just the mystery
Because curiosity in the face of mystery, the need to learn new things… those are the things worth living for.
34 The famous man has the bitterness of carrying a cold chest pierced by deaf lanterns that other people shine on them.
Reflection on success and the weight that can be carried inside when it is excessive.
