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    Federico Garca Lorca and the 98 Generation: The "Andalucismo" Debate

    Author(s): Sharon HandleySource: Anales de la literatura espaola contempornea, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (1996), pp. 41-58Published by: Society of Spanish & Spanish-American StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27741292 .

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    FEDERICO GARCIA LORCA AND THE98GENERATION:THE ANDALUCISMO DEBATE

    SHARON HANDLEYThe Manchester Metropolitan University

    At a timewhen Spain is thoroughly committed to Europe, a timewhen Africa is becoming increasingly distant from thePyrenees, it isinteresting to note that the age-old debate on the non-Europeandimension to theAndalusian identity is still alive. Earlier this year,Pedro Mart?nez Mont?vez wrote that "Reflexionar sobre al-Andalus... no resulta nunca balad?, ni postizo, ni injustificado. Analizar el*hecho ndalusf significa centrar la atenci?n en la parte seguramentem?s singular y caracterizada de nuestra entidad hist?rica." He alsomade the point that "referirnos a lo hispano-?rabe ... es referirnosa una parte de nosotros mismos. A una parte todav?a oscura ysubyacente, 'olvidada en su profundidad' " (94).l The present articleexamines this "hecho andalus?" and theway itwas used and abusedin literature between 1840 and 1927. We hope to establish, first,whyAndalusia became the object of derision within the 98 Generation;secondly,to what extent Lorca's decision to promote Andalusia inhiswork was a reaction against the attitude of the latter; and finally,whether the vision ofAndalusia as presented in the work ofGarciaLorca provides a credible alternative to the "vision traditional, esencialista y unitaria de Espa?a" of the 98 Generation (Mart?nez Mont?vez 94).The importance of thenon-European dimension to the Andalusianand, particularly, the Spanish identityhas always been a contentiousissue, butwith the advent of the firstproposal foran Andalusian con

    41

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    42 ALEC, 21 (1996)stitution in 18832Andalusian writers began to take a greater interestinwhat itmeant to be Andalusian; they evaluated theAndalusianideal, the aims ofwhich were outlined by Bias Infante in El IdealAndaluz in 1915.3 Political and historical evidence was used to defend the idea ofAndalusia as an autonomy and even to suggest thatAndalusia was closer to the essence of Spanishness than Castile.Latent prejudice against this view developed into open horrorwhen,fora variety of reasons, lo andaluz became almost synonymous withgypsy culture.Gypsies have appeared in Spanish literature since the GoldenAge, but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries theywere a veritable obsession. In the eighteenth century they became a commontopos in zarzuelas, and many works included expressions from thegypsy language, cal? (Ortega y Gasset 523-25). Off the stage itbecame fashionable to wear gypsy clothes, to imitate theirmannerisms and to cultivate the Andalusian seseo (Ortega yGasset 524-25).By themiddle of the nineteenth century thegypsyworld had becomean important literary opos even among respected poets and writers,and it became almost indistinguishable from Andalusia. This phenomenon formed part of a growing desire forescapism through thecultivation of beauty, sensuality, brightness and joy, all of whichwere offered by the andaluc?a de pandereta. Ortega y Gasset describes as follows theway inwhich popular arts became a nationalobsession:

    . . .durante el siglo XVIII se produce en Espa?a un fen?menoextra??simo que no aparece en ning?n otro pa?s. El entusiasmopor lo popular... arrebata a las clases superiores ... a la curiosidad y filantr?pica simpat?a sustentadoras del popularismo entodas partes, se a?ade en Espa?a una vehement?sima corrienteque debemos denominar "plebeyismo." (523)

    The two artistic creations of thepueblo were, according to OrtegayGasset, "las corridas de toro y elteatro," both ofwhich are inextricably linked with theworld offlamenco and the andaluc?a de pandereta. This cultivation ofpopular arts gave rise to themodern-dayconcept of torero or matador de toros which, in turn, became thearchetypal Spaniard. The majos and majas which were eternalisedin Goya's paintings, then, became the prototype of the popularSpanish hero.At a time when European writers were travellingto distant landsin search of exoticism and excitement, the Andalusian pueblo pro

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    SHARON HANDLEY 43vided all of this on their doorstep. It is not surprising, then, thattravellers likeTh?ophile Gautier turned to southern Spain and, withhis Voyage enEspagne (1845), awoke interest abroad in themysterious racewhich lived in the exotic, somewhat oriental, land ofAndalusia. Gautier cultivated the image of thewild, exciting and sensualgypsygirlwhich Prosper M?rim?e developed, endowing his unfaithfulbut beautiful Carmen (1847) with a splendour which was captured inBizet's operatic version in 1875. Although not immediately successfulbecause ofprejudice against the subjectmatter, Carmen captured theimagination ofaudiences the world over and provided a picturesqueimage ofSpain which is still cultivated by the tourist industry today.Manuel Reina provides us with an example of the image ofAndalusian women which emerged during the nineteenth century:

    La andaluzaBrillante piel de rico terciopelofina y deslumbradora cabellera,provocativa risa, faz de cielo,planta breve y ligera.Boca nido de perlas y ambros?a,formas esculturales, labios rojos,la hermosa luz del sol del mediod?aen los rasgados ojos.

    Mundo de amor, tesoro de ternura,cielo de gracias, risas y colores,alma pronta al placer y a la aventura,y pasi?n por las flores. (Aguilar Pi?al 117-18)

    In "La andaluza" Reina perpetuates the stereotype of the sensual,beautiful and dangerous Andalusian woman. He is purely concernedwith her physical appearance; she is seductive (provocativa risa,labios rojos, rasgados ojos, mundo de amor, alma pronta al placer ya la aventura) and beautiful (faz de cielo, brillante piel, deslumbradora 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 torridaffairs and vengeancepacts, including scenes o? flamenco dancing or singing. As a consequence, not onlywas a false image ofAndalusia created, but also thegypsy dance and song degenerated into a superficial hybrid tailoredto suit popular taste for commercial gain. Flamenco became associ

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    44 ALEC, 21 (1996)atea with seedy night clubs and was often performed by ladies ofdoubtful repute; this aspect of the gypsy world in turn becamematerial forzarzuelas and drama, thus perpetuating the clich?.This tendency todescribe Andalusia as the land ofwine, women,passion and vendettas angered many, but their reactions to itcontrasted considerably. The response ofone group ofwriters, the 98Generation, was todismiss everything associated with Andalusia, forreasons which are discussed below. It is less well known that somewriters tried to counterbalance the established clich? with an earlyform of literary andalucismo which emphasized the tragedy of thesouth rather than the quincalla meridional.4Ironically, one of the first poets to perceive the falseness of theandalucia de pandereta was not an Andalusian at all; itwas theNicaraguan poet Rub?n Dar?o in his prologue toJuan Ram?n Jimenez's Arias Tristes (1902):

    El "cantaor," aeda de estas tierras extra?as, ha recogido el almatriste de la Espa?a mora y la echa por la boca en quejidos, enlargos ayes, en lamentos desesperados de pasi?n. M?s que unapena personal, es una pena nacional, la que estos hombres vangimiendo al son de las hist?ricas guitarras. Son cosas antiguas,son cosas melodiosas o furiosas de palacios de ?rabes . . .tristeza del suelo fatigado de las llamas solares, tristeza de lasmelanc?licas hembras de grandes ojos, tristeza especial de losmismos cantos, pues no se puede escuchar uno que no diga

    muerte, cuchillada, luto, virgen penosa o nota crepuscular. (892)The atavistic Moorish sadness, the national anguish ("pena national") described y Rub?n Dar?o was neglected by cultivators of theandalucia de pandereta. Rub?n Dar?o observed:

    ... as? [bitterand sad] son aqu? la vida y el amor; todo la contrar?o de loque piensan los que s?lo han visto una Andaluc?a ala francesa, de exposici?n universal o de cajas de pasas. Enverdad, os digo que ?ste es el reino del desconsuelo y de lamuerte. El amor popular es quieto y fatal, lamujer ama conardor y conmiedo. Sabe que si enga?a al novio, le partir? ?steel pecho y el vientre con un navajazo. (892)The latter, of course, featured in the espa?oladas which gave suchoffence to somany, but the gloom, the sadness and the obsession withdeath emphasized by several writers at the turn of the centurywere

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    SHARONHANDLEY 45not. In its ownway, however, this dark image ofAndalusia was justas removed from reality as the andaluc?a de pandereta; itwas theproduct ofdecadent, fin de si?cle melancholia on the one hand andB?cquerian introversion on the other. One poet who illustrates thisis Juan Ram?n Jim?nez, of whom Rub?n Dar?o declared, "No seasalegre, poeta, que naciste absolutamente amado de la tristeza, por tutierra, por lamorena y amadora y triste Andaluc?a" (898). Dar?o wasreferring here to Juan Ramon's Arias Tristes (1902), which markedhis transition frommodernism and colorismo to melancholy interiorlandscapes influenced by folksongs and B?cquer.Another poet who became committed to this "melancholy" andMoorish image ofAndalusia was Francisco V?laespesa. Despite hiswell-known contributions to costumbrismo, modernismo and orientalismo which relegated him to relative oblivion, V?laespesa wasconsidered by contemporaries to be an important innovator of theperiod.5One ofhis "discoveries" was Jos? S?nchez Rodr?guez, whomV?laespesa and Juan Ram?n heralded as B?cquer's true successor.The comments by both poets onAlma Andaluza are enlightening forwhat they reveal about their rejection of the andaluc?a de panderetaand the colorismo of their contemporaries. Juan Ram?n observes:

    Reina no siente a Andaluc?a; su Andaluc?a es una odalisca, exhuberante de raso, de pedrer?a; la lira de Rueda es una lira debrillantez, sobre un coj?n de raso ducal; no es la lira andaluza.Rueda tampoco siente a Andaluc?a; su Andaluc?a es una chulasobre un tablado, entre ca?as de manzanilla y cantaores; su liraes una guitarra alegre, sobre un pa?ol?n de Manila. El poetaandaluz eres t? y s?lo t?; t? note has dejado cegar por color?nesym?sicas celestiales; tu has ido por dentro y has arrancado alalma de Andaluc?a toda su dulce nostalgia, toda lamelancol?ade su alegr?a; tu lira es un harpa de rosas cuajadas de l?grimas,sobre un coraz?n de virgen andaluza, (qtd. inS?nchez Trigueros188)6

    Juan Ram?n is advocating a movement away from the depiction ofphysical realitytowards an expression of the alma deAndaluc?a. ForJuan Ram?n, the latter is not an objective depiction of the heart ofAndalusia somuch as an evocation of themelancholia which the poetprojects throughhis personal vision ofhis native land. The sun, wineand joy ofRueda's image is alien to Juan Ram?n, the poet ofmist andmelancholy.

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    46 ALEC, 21 (1996)It becomes clear in Juan Ramon's epilogue poem to S?nchezRodriguez's Alma andaluza that his vision ofAndalusia owes moreto the pathetic fallacy of the Romantics and his own adolescentpreoccupations than to the land itself or to its folksongs. A shortexcerpt from this epilogue will serve to illustrate this:

    Epilogal... A?n flota en la azul brisa la doliente poes?aque lleva en sus arpegios Alma de Andaluc?a,cual un perfume triste de rosas dolorosas,encarnado en un c?liz de febricientes rosas .. .

    A?n palpita en el pecho el eco lastimerode una guitarra l?nguida ... el sollozo postrerode una copla de amores ... de una copla de pena,ahogado en una l?grima, igual que una azucenarebosante de Sangre ..., igual que un albo lirionadando en el espejo de un lago de martirio . . .... Los Amores gimi en tes, los p?lidos Amoresque se elevan del Alma cual suspiro de flores enlutadas.los p?lidos Amores, pulsaron en la lirauna canci?n amarga que suena y que delira . . .

    Atr?s queda llorando la tristeAndaluc?a,cual visi?n sollozante de angustiosa Harmon?a.The keystone of this poem, reflecting the thematic axis ofAlmaAndaluza forwhich it forms an epilogue, is the bond between loveand pain which gives rise to intense sadness. The echo of the languidguitar disturbs the human breast like a white lilyfloating on themirror ofa lake ofmartyrdom. From this it is clear that Juan Ram?nis still in the grips ofmodernism. The reader is guided by the poet'semotive use of language; the preponderance of adjectives of pain(doliente,dolorosas, demartirio, angustiosa) and sadness (triste, astimero, gimientes, triste, sollozante) gives the poem a predominantmood of lamentation. This effect s einforced through the humanisation offlowers (rosas dolorosas, rosas febricientes, flores enlutadas)

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    SHARON HANDLEY 47which seem to be either suffering or inmourning. Similarly, love isnever 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 atotal contrastwith the one illustrated byLa andaluza. Furthermore,given his own innatemelancholia, it isnot surprising that he shouldprefer the emotive image ofAlma andaluza to the bright and sunnyscenes of the coloristas, although his and Vallespesa's accolades andtheir insistence thatAlma andaluza depicts the true state ofAndalusia is a distortion equal to that of the coloristas. The atavistic natureof Andalusian, "pena de cauce oculta y madrugada remota," wasperhaps most successfully depicted, some years later, by FedericoGarc?a Lorca inhis tragic but not sentimental "image" ofAndalusia,as we shall observe below.A more widely publicised response to the andaluc?a de panderetawas that of the 98 Generation, who rejected everything associatedwith Andalusia and the gypsies. Prejudice against the latter, ofcourse, did not begin with the 98 Generation, nor was itmerely aresponse to the andaluc?a de pandereta, but their campaign wasdistinctive for its literary dimension and the trenchant invectivewhich pervaded theirwork. Instead ofcorrecting popular misconceptions caused by theworst aspects offlamenquismo, they contributedto them with grotesque parodies of flamenco performances andAndalusian characters.The deformation of reality which pervaded thework of the 98Generation on the flamenco theme is illustrated by the followingexcerpt from Escenas y andanzas by Eugenio No?l, a vehementcampaigner against flamenco throughout his life:

    ... al pueblo del garrot?n y de la tripita no le gustan mucho lasdanzas nobles. En nuestra absurda tecnolog?a flamenca, unbailar?n es cierto sujeto que se mueve mucho, y una danzarina,cierta t?a que se las trae. Tra?rselas es taconear, relinchar,agitarse fren?tica y convulsivamente y, cogi?ndose la barrigacon la palma de la mano derecha, zarandear las caderas enmovimientos asquerosos, (qtd. inPrado 165)Perhaps one of themost consistent "deformere" of the flamencoworld is P?o Baroja. Several of his novels contain passages inwhich

    his aversion to cante jondo is obvious. The protagonist ofLas inquietudesde ShantiAnd?a, forexample, expresses the following ambition:

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    48 ALEC, 21 (1996)Quer?a transformarme en un andaluz flamenco, en un andaluzagitanado ... ver c?mo patea sobre una mesa una muchachitap?lida y expresiva, con ojeras moradas y piel de color de lagarto;tener el gran placer de estar palmoteando una noche entera,mientras un galafate del muelle canta una canci?n de lamaresita muerta y el simenter?o; o?r a un chatillo con los tufossobre las orejas y el cala??s hacia la nariz, rasgueando la guitarra; ver a un hombre gordo contone?ndose, marcando el trasero ymoviendo las nalguitas. (Libro II; cap. IV, 87)

    Baroja's choice ofwords is such that reality is distorted, the bailaoris described as "contone?ndose, marcando el trasero ymoviendo lasnalguitas" instead ofdancing. In otherwords, the author is creatinga caricature based on his own prejudices. In another description byBaraja, this time inMala hierba, he observes:La bella bailaba con la cara enfurru?ada y los dientes apretados, dando taconazos, haciendo que se dibujaran las caderaspoderosas al replegarse la falda sobre sus flancos como labandera triunfante.De aquel hermoso cuerpo de mujer sal?a unefluvio de su sexo que enloquec?a a todos. Al final del bailecoloc? el sombrero sobre el vientre y tuvo un movimiento decaderas que hizo rugir a todo el teatro. (211)

    Once again Baraja chooses his language and limits the focus of hisattention to certain features to create a parody of the dance. Heemphasizes the crude eroticism of the woman as she performs,driving her audience wild with suggestive movements. Baraja givesno indication of the ritual element of an authentic flamenco perfor

    mance, only its sensuality.There are many such examples of the attitude of the 98 Generation towards flamenco and lo andaluz, but the above descriptionsillustrate the point: that they used grotesque parody to pervert theflamenco phenomenon and make itan object ofderision. Their stancewas largely due to a desire to emphasize the European character ofSpain, that is,Spain as a united land ofwhich Castile was themostrepresentative region. The flamenco phenomenon, with itsdistinctlyanti-European flavour, was decidedly unhelpful in the debate oncasticismo and castellanismo. Unamuno's claims that "lo castellanoes, en fin de cuenta, lo castizo" or "lo castizo, lo verdaderamentecastizo, es lo de vieja cepa castellana" (44) contrasted strikinglywith

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    SHARONHANDLEY 49claims that "Andaluc?a es Espa?a."7 Unamuno's conclusion thatSpain was inherentlyEuropean contradicted Ganivet's emphasis onthe Arab influences. Professor Ramsden sums up the debate on theSpanish heritage as follows:

    Whereas forUnamuno Europe already exists potentially withinSpain, forGanivet, with his emphasis on Arabic influence,Spain and Europe are fundamentally different;on the one handthere is Spain, religious and artistic, a land ofhigh ideals andindividual, often impulsive actions ... on the other hand thereisEurope north of the Pyrenees, materialistic and scientificallyminded, the home ofpractical aims and collective enterprises.(35)The Caba brothers, in their controversial book Andaluc?a, sucomunismo y su cante jondo, described the situation as follows:

    Hay . . .motivo para suponer que cuando la '98 quiere europearnos, pero subrayando la espa?olidad, lo que pretende esponer en relieve a Castilla graduando en sabio difumino el restohisp?nico hasta el litoral. Sue?a ... con que Castilla vuelva consentido imperial a elaborar una nueva Espa?a, pero esta vezeuropea. . . .M?s cerca de la verdad radical est? la africanizaci?n sobre todo como cuando Ganivet (el ?ltimo morisco)supone sumergirnos en nuestro propio magma racial . . .M?s[sic]no debe olvidarse que Espa?a no es ?rabe, ni esmorisca, nigoda, ni romana, sino un precipitado de la combinaci?n qu?micade estos otros elementos. (26)

    Juan Ram?n Jim?nez echoes this view in the following letter:Estoy ya harto de tanto castellanismo. . .. Creo que la esenciade la poes?a debe ser lo eterno, lo universal, y el lenguaje elmismo que hablamos, aparte de que Espa?a no es solo Castilla.Los meridionales somos fenicios, griegos, romanos, ?rabes, y lopardo de la meseta central no nos invade del mismo modo quelos jardines y que elmar. (Cartas 223-24)

    Attempts by serious Andalusian writers to promote Andalusia intheir work should therefore be applauded for their courage becausefirst, theAndalusian clich?smade itvery difficult for such writers tobe taken seriously and, secondly, itbrought them into conflictwiththe literary establishment. Rejection of the castellanismo of the

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    50 ALEC, 21 (1996)latter,particularly the 98 Generation, was detrimental to the European ambitions of the latter, since anything related to the andaluciade pandereta hindered attempts to be taken seriously by the rapidlyindustrialising nations of northern Europe.However, those who wished to assert theirAndalusian identity,emphasizing the Moorish contribution to the Spanish heritage andthe importance of folklore as an atavistic linkwith the essence ofSpanishness, were not deterred. Echoes o? andalucismo resound in,among other projects, an attempt to create a Biblioteca andaluza(S?nchez Trigueros 1974,194) and the publication of the first anthology ofAndalusian poetry, edited by Bruno Portillo, towhich I havemade scant reference as it contributes unashamedly to theAndalusian clich?.A more selective anthology, Antolog?a de poetas andalucescontempor?neos, was published by Jos? Luis Cano in 1952. It provides an insight into the range ofAndalusian poetry published duringthe first three decades of the present century and is evidence of acertain andalucismo.One striking example of the desire to place Andalusia on theinternational cultural stage was the campaign in 1922 by FedericoGarc?a Lorca, Manuel de Falla and others to rediscover authenticcante jondo and expound its importance not only to the Spanishheritage (living proof of the oriental dimension and an example oftradici?n eterna), but also to the international music scene (influenced by composers such as Glinka, Debussy and Ravel). The viewsexpressed by Falla, Lorca and their companions during the publicitycampaign for this Concurso reveal a certain andalucismo.

    Firstly, they renamed the cante flamenco, "primitivo cante andaluz" or cante jondo, emphasizing theAndalusian nature of the song.This was a rather controversial decision, as many experts, particularly those of gypsy origins, insisted then and still insist today thatcante jondo is a uniquely gypsyphemonenon. However, the adjectives"primitive" and ujondon imbue the song with a primordial andatavistic quailty, thus eliminating the superficiality which wasassociated with the word flamenco. In support of their decision tochange the name, Lorca and Falla argued that had cante jondo beenpurely a gypsy phenomenon it would have been sung by gypsiesthroughout the rest ofEurope.8 Lorca insisted that this essentiallyAndalusian song should therefore be preserved "por honra deAndaluc?a" (1023). In Lorca's words, "se trata de un canto puramente andaluz" (1007), and any confusion between the authenticcante ondo and the tourist spectacle should be avoided "por Andaluc?a, por nuestra esp?ritu milenario . . ." (1003). Indeed, Falla

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    SHARON HANDLEY 51equated the cante jondo with the Alhambra for its importance to theAndalusian heritage.9From thetime of theConcurso of 1922 Lorca promoted Andalusiain his work in such a way that his native land became a seriousliterary opos on a par with Castile in thework ofmany members ofthe 98 Generation.10 In other words, the Concurso and the eventssurrounding it represented the beginning of a new andalucistamovement which promoted Andalusia rather than Castile as theessence of Spanishness, emphasizing the hybrid nature of theSpanish identity rather than its uniformity.Antonio Gallego Burinalluded in 1922 to the potential rediscovery ofAndalusia and theConcurso*8 role in that process:

    La obra del Concurso de Granada es el primer paso para descubrir lo ignorado de Andaluc?a. Y para rehacer su esp?ritu, deshecho por la estulticia incomprensiva, por la ramploner?a y por eseeurope?smo espa?olizado que deshace nuestros m?sculos y queni es europeo ni es espa?ol. ... Es romper con esa ?poca demiedo que estimaba de mal gusto y de antipatri?tico defendery fomentar nuestro propio ser . . .Es ir rehaciendo Andaluc?asobre los viejos cimientos de laAndaluc?a derruida. (3)11

    In the same article Gallego Burin referred o the paradox betweenthe quincalla meridional which was associated with Andalusia andthe reality which the andalucistas hoped to present to theworld:Andaluc?a esta por descubrir. A?n no se ha pulsado su fibrasensible, en busca de la emoci?n cierta. Bajo las apariencias desu alegr?a mentida, se ha escondido siempre lamueca de sudolor intenso.Hay enAndaluc?a un hondo sentimiento y un supremo desfallecimiento. (3)

    Lorca developed this tragic side ofAndalusia inhis work, equating the flamenco phenomenon with ancient Greek tragedy in seriousness, intensity and in its cathartic release oftension.12 In wordswhich echo Lorca's own description of the cante jondo in his lectureon the subject, Gallego Burin went on in the above article to observethat:En el fondo del alma popular guarda Andaluc?a su secreto,eterno y quieto como una muda esfinge oriental. En el bajopueblo es el que guarda las honduras de su sentir ... el alma de

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    52 ALEC, 21 (1996)ese pueblo grita y se duele en sus cantos ?nicos. En estos cantes, que son redonda expresi?n de sus penas intensas y de susalegr?as locas. (3)

    Lorca made a conscious efforttopromote this aspect ofAndalusiain his work, beginning with Poema del cante jondo, continuing inRomancero gitano and culminating in his Andalusian dramas. Evenrelatively minor works such as Mariana Pineda and La zapateraprodigiosa promoted the Andalusian cause in one way or another, beit 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, ofcourse, another Andalusian project which took him,with Manuel deFalla, around the villages of theAlpujarra. In a letter to his friendFern?ndez Almagro, in 1923, he alluded to his andalucismo:

    Este verano, si Dios me ayuda con sus palomitas, har? una obrapopular y andaluc?sima. Voy a viajar un poco por estos pueblosmaravillosos, cuyos castillos, cuyas personas parece que nuncahan existido para los poetas y jjBasta ya de Castilla!! (OC 2:1165)

    The key to Lorca's view of the Andalusian identity lies in itshybrid heritage towhich an allusion ismade inRomancero gitanowhen, in "Reyerta," the judge refers to the age of the conflictbetweenrival gangs with thewords "Aqu? pas? lo de siempre. /Han muertocuatro romanos / y cinco cartagineses." In other words, the battlebetween Europe and Africa rages on; Spain is only superficiallyunited through castellanismo.Lorca's Ganivetian vision ofSpain situated him firmly alongsidea growing movement ofandalucistas who rejected the emphasis onSpain's innate European character. Lorca's insistence on theMoorishnature ofAndalusia is expressed in the following letter:El acento morisco suena en todas las lenguas de la gente. Vieneviento de Africa, cuyas brumas podemos ver a simple vista. Nohay duda que aqu? existe un esquema de nostalgia que esantieuropeo. (OC 2: 1347)13

    His conviction of the importance of the Arab contribution to theSpanish heritage was constant throughout his life. In 1936 hedeclared that the expulsion of theMoors was "un momento mal?simo

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    SHARONHANDLEY 53... Se perdieron una civilizaci?n admirable, una poes?a . . . unaarquitectura y una delicadeza ?nicas en el mundo" (OC 2: 1126). Thisaffords a striking contrast with the views ofat least onemember ofthe 98 Generation who wrote, "De los ?rabes no quiero decir nada, les

    profeso una profunda antipat?a, apenas creo eso que llaman civilizaci?n ar?biga y considero su paso por Espa?a como la mayorcalamidad que hemos padecido" (Unamuno, Obras completas 3: 646).Cante jondo provided Lorca with evidence not only of the "unEuropean" dimension to theAndalusian identity,but also the latenttragic vision. For Lorca the cante jondo was an atavistic legacyfromoriental ancestors; itwas an expression ofprimordial and universalconcerns. Just as Unamuno stressed the need to find the "concienciacolectiva" and the "tradici?n eterna" (OC 3: 794) in "las clasesproletarias, que son el archivo y el dep?sito de los sentimientosinexplicables, profundos de un pa?s" (793), Lorca discovered what hebelieved to be the essence of Spanishness (indeed, the essence ofhumanity) in the Andalusian pueblo. Both turned to the ordinarypueblo inorderto formulate their theories, but their conclusions wereradically different.Whereas Unamuno concluded that Spain wasinnately European, Lorca argued that itwas not. Whereas the 98Generation mocked the popular song and dance (and bullfights) of theAndalusian pueblo, Lorca underlined their role as modern analoguesof the rituals of ancient Greek tragedy and other Mediterraneanrites. Furthermore, they provided him with evidence of the tragicnature of the alma de Andaluc?a.Like Ganivet, referredto by Lorca as "el ?ltimo morisco," Lorcaand a new generation ofAndalusians wished to promote the Moorishnature of the Spanish identity rather than submit to castellanismoand the centralist view ofwhat constitutes the essence ofSpanishness. Lorca purified his vision ofAndalusia to what he saw as itsessential elements as expressed by thepueblo in their folksongs: itsorientalism, its great age and the atavistic, primordial anguish orpena negra. Thus hewrote ofSoledad Montoya inRomancero gitano:

    La pena de Soledad Montoya es la ra?z del pueblo andaluz.... es un ansia sin objeto, es un amor agudo a nada, con unaseguridad de que la muerte (preocupaci?n perenne de Andaluc?a) est? respirando detr?s de la puerta. (OC 2: 1118)Lorca evokes the tragedy ofAndalusia: the problems of love anddeath, the fatalism of theAndalusian pueblo and the inner battlebetween the individual and other forces (be they human or divine)

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    54 ALEC, 21 (1996)without lapsing into the mawkish sentimentalism of previousandalucistas with their desire to ^arrancar lagrimas."In Lorca's Poema del cantejondo, forexample, themuch-malignedcante jondo is shown to be an ontological quest into the nature ofman's existence, a psychological excursion into the depths ofman'sanguish. The dagger, a consistent instrument of death in Lorca'swork,14 becomes an obsessive leitmotif in "Poema de la sole?,"suggesting the inevitability and anonymity ofdeath; the arrows withno target, the dead birds and blind girls of "Poema de la siguiriya"bring us face to face with the existential anguish of a lifewith nodestination, with the torment ofunrequited love and the pain of lostlove. Horses gallop along empty Andalusian roads towards thecrossroads, the labyrinth of crosses (the cemetery), providing animpressive image of the inevitability of death, particularly as theanonymous and omniscient figure ofDeath patrols these roads insearch of its next victim ("Gr?fico de la petenera" and "Di?logo delAmargo"). This is thereal face of the quincalla meridional: a cathartic ritual to purge the soul of the burden of an existence it fails tounderstand. It is a far cryfrom theworld ofCartesian rationalismand science which provide alternative solutions to similar problemsnorth of the Pyrenees.

    Similarly, in Romancero gitano, Lorca reinterprets variouselements of the andalucia de pandereta. He depicts the conflictbetween uncontrollable primitive passions (nature) and humanattempts to epress them (society), the inevitability ofDeath, and thedestruction of one culture, or one side of human nature, by another.This is indeed the battle between "Spain ... a land ofhigh ideals andindividual, often impulsive actions" and "Europe north of the Pyrenees, materialistic and scientifically minded, the home of practicalaims and collective enterprises" (Ramsden 35).In "Romance de la guardia civil espa?ola," the gypsy village isdestroyed by the Civil Guards, representing the annihilation of oneculture by another, the destruction of the imagination, of spontaneityand sensuality, by forces representing authority and the values of amodern, rationalist, materialist society:

    La Guardia Civilavanza sembrando hogueras,donde joven y desnudala imaginaci?n se quema. (OC 2: 1276)

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    SHARON HANDLEY 55This is an apocalyptic vision of the destruction of one culture byanother, more dominant one. It is interesting to note that Lorcaequated the Civil Guards in this poem with theRomans, thus underlining the association between the latter and the brutal imposition oforder.15 In other words, it is the battle between a way of lifewhichremains in ouch with its roots,with the rhythms of the earth, withthe mysteries of the universe, and the pressure to conformwithsociety, with rules based on rational thought and logic, with acivilisation ruled by science.This is indeed a far cryfrom the andaluc?a de pandereta or theland ofmist and melancholy discussed at the beginning of thisarticle. In response to degenerate flamenquismo on the one hand andobstinate castellanismo on the other, Lorca has produced his ownteor?ade Andaluc?a. He has revealed the real issue behind the debateon themuch-maligned Andalusian identity: the desire to erase alltraces of the "other culture," the hybrid heritage, in orderto presenta united European front. But the underlying message seems to bethat this repression of "the other" is doomed to failure because it is,in fact, an inextricable part of the Spanish identity. In the words ofMart?nez Mont?vez, "se trata de un otro que no responde a los caracteres gen?ricos del otro porque se ha hecho una parte de 'nosotrosmismos' " (97). Unamuno warned of the dangers of ignoring the"personalidad national" of a given nation; Lorca seems to be suggesting that castellanismo does just that.

    NOTES1. A similar observation was made by Federico Garc?a Lorca when he wrotethat inGranada there was a "curiosa mezcla de la Granada jud?a y la Granada

    morisca, aparentemente fundidas con el cristianismo, pero vivas e insobornables en su misma ignorancia" (OC 1: 973).2. "En el a?o 1883 ... hab?a un primer proyecto de andalucismo que defin?aa nuestro pa?s como soberano y aut?nomo organizado en democracia republicana representativa" (Ruiz Lagos 175).3. Most of the articles on the regeneration ofAndalusia were published in thenewspapers of Seville, particularly between the years 1909 and 1936. One ofthemost famous works was Bias Infante's El ideal andaluz (1915) (Ruiz Lagos172).4. This expression was used by Ortega y Gasset when he wrote the followingin El Sol in 1927: "No hay posibilidad de que nos vuelva a conmover el cante

    hondo, ni el contrabandista, ni la presunta alegr?a del andaluz. Toda esaquincalla meridional nos enoja y fastidia ..." (qtd. inGrande 463).

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    56 ALEC, 21 (1996)5. It has been suggested that the most important aspect ofV?laespesa, theside which is often neglected because of his sickly orientalism, is his role asinnovator and supporter of aspiring poets. S?nchez Trigueros observes that hisletters:

    Constituyen un documento inapreciable para el conocimiento de ese primerV?laespesa.... En estas cartas est? el V?laespesa "manipulador" de laliteratura de principios de siglo, el "luchador" del Modernismo incipienteen Espa?a ... el centro de las mil cr?ticas de los enemigos de lo nuevo, elurdidor de mil proyectos literarios, el amigo del Juan Ram?n juvenil. (15)

    6. Later in the same letter V?laespesa contrasts the colorista image ofAndalusia with the "true" Andalusia, a glimpse ofwhich he perceives in thework of S?nchez Rodr?guez:Yo en el pa?s encantado de tu libro he visto al alma andaluza, la pobrealma que novelistas y dramaturgos se han propuesto que viva en unperpetuo carnaval. Rueda la disfraza de man?la y le hace discoyuntarsesobre una mesa a comp?s de un tango flamenco. Reina la vista de odaliscay le arroja sobre sus hombros el manto de pedrer?a de su inspiraci?nmagn?fica. Reyes la emborracha de vino en la taberna de M?laga y le hacesonar amores en brazos de Cartucherita.... Pero nadie sabe lo que sientey lo que sufre el alma prisionera bajo esas galas. T? has hecho la obracompleta, yAndaluc?a te ha entregado su alma. Eres el gran poeta andaluzpor excelencia; el heredero del gran B?cquer. (qtd. in S?nchez Trigueros229-30)

    7. In Andaluc?a y Ultramar, M?ndez Bejarano writes: "Andaluc?a, ?nicosector de Espa?a que podr?a juzgarse nacionalidad por constituir unidadgeogr?fica, geol?gica, bot?nica y antropol?gica ... Andaluc?a no es, no puedeser regionalista, porque Andaluc?a es Espa?a" (11).8. Garc?a Lorca writes that: "Son esas gentes misteriosas y errantes quienesdan la forma definitiva al cante jondo.... Esto no quiere decir, naturalmente,que este canto sea puramente de ellos, pues existiendo gitanos en toda Europay aun en otras regiones de nuestra pen?nsula, estos cantos no son cultivadosm?s que por los nuestros" (OC 1:1027).9. Falla commented that "... para cuantos digna y conscientemente cultivanlam?sica, o se interesan por ella, ese canto representa, por lomenos, el mismovalor est?tico y aun hist?rico que el m?gico Palacio de la Colina Roja ... elcante jondo, ?rica herencia que de las viejas primitivas civilizaciones adoptaraconforme a su peculiar modo m?s evidente a la formaci?n y desarrollo de unaparte esencial?sima de lam?sica moderna rusa yfrancesa" (n.p.).10. There were several other Andalusian projects including puppet plays,Lorca's Lola la comedianta and an international conference inmemory of theArab poets ofGranada.11. All newspaper reports quoted in this article can be found in the newspaperlibrary inGranada.12. In his lecture on duende Lorca observed:

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    SHARON HANDLEY 57Este poder misterioso que todos sienten y que ning?n fil?sofo explica es, ensuma, el esp?ritu de la tierra, el mismo duende que abraz? el coraz?n deNietzsche, que lo buscaba en sus formas exteriores sobre el puente Rialtoo en la m?sica de Bizet, sin encontrarlo y sin saber que el duende que ?lpersegu?a hab?a saltado de los misteriosos griegos a las bailarinas deC?diz o al dionis?aco grito degollado de la siguiriyade Silverio. (OC 1:1098)

    13. Similarly, in his lecture on cante jondo he referred to the parallels betweenthe latter and Arab poetry and drew attention to the Moorish character ofGranada and C?rdoba:Verdad es que en el aire de C?rdoba y Granada quedan gestos y l?neas dela remota Arabia, como es evidente que en el turbio palimpsesto del Albaic?n surgen evocaciones de ciudades perdidas. (OC 1:1019)

    14. In "Di?logo del Amargo," Lorca defines the dagger as exclusively aninstrument of death:Jinetelos cuchillos de oro se van solos al coraz?n. Los de plata cortan el cuellocomo una brizna de hierba.

    AmargoNo sirven para partir el pan?JineteLos hombres parten el pan con las manos.

    15. Lorca adds: "Hasta aqu? llevo hecho. Ahora llega la guardia civil y destruyela ciudad. Luego se van los guardias civiles al cuartel y all? brindan con an?scazalla por la muerte de los gitanos. Las escenas del saqueo ser?n preciosas.A veces, sin que se sepa por qu?, se convertir?n en centuriones romanos" (OC2: 1276).

    WORKS CONSULTEDAguilar Pi?al, Francisco. La obra deManuel Reina. Madrid: Editora Nacional,1986.Baroja, P?o. Las inquietudes de Shanti And?a. Buenos Aires: Espasa Calpe,1941.

    _.Mala hierba. Barcelona: Planeta, 1967.Caba Landa, Carlos. Andaluc?a, su comunismo y su cante jondo: tentativa deinterpretaci?n. (1933). C?diz: Universidad de C?diz, 1979.

    Cano, Jos? Luis. Antolog?a de poetas andaluces contempor?neos. Madrid:Ediciones Cultura Hisp?nica, 1952.Dar?o, Rub?n. Obras completas. Madrid: Aguado S.A, 1950.Falla, Manuel de. Defensor de Granada 21 marzo 1922. n.p.

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    58ALEC, 21 (1996)Gallego Burin, Antonio. El sol 13 junio 1922, 3.Garc?a Lorca, Federico. Obras completas. 2 vols. Madrid: Aguilar, 1980._. La zapatera prodigiosa. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1989.Grande, F?lix. Memoria del flamenco. Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1979.Jim?nez, Juan Ram?n. Primeros libros de poes?a. Pr?logo de Francisco Garfias.Madrid: Aguilar, 1959._. Cartas, primera selecci?n. Compilaci?n de Francisco Garfias.Madrid: Aguilar, 1962.Mart?nez Mont?vez, Pedro. "Al-Andal?s: la alter-identidad." Revista deOccidente 140 (1993): 86-97.Ortega y Gasset. Obras completen. Vol. 7. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1983.Portillo, Bruno y Enrique V?zquez de Aldana. Antolog?a de poetas andaluces.Huesear: Sucesores de Rodr?guez Garc?a, 1914.Prado, Angeles. Literatura del casticismo. Madrid: Moneda y Cr?dito, 1973.Ramsden, H. The 98 Generation in Spain: Towards an Interpretation with

    Special Reference to En torno al casticismo and Idearium espa?ol.Manchester: Manchester U. P, 1974.Ruiz Lagos, Manuel. "Dial?ctica del Ideal andaluz' en el ensayo aut?ctononovecentista." Estudios sobre literatura y arte dedicados al ProfesorEmilio Orozco-D?az. Granada: Secretariado de Publicaciones de laUniversidad de Granada, 1979. n.p.S?nchez Trigueros, Antonio. Francisco Villaespesa y su primera obra po?tica(1897-1900). Granada: Universidad de Granada, 1974.

    Unamuno, Miguel de. Obras completas. Vol. 3. Madrid: Escelicer, 1966-71._. En torno al casticismo. Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1979.