“Viento del Sur, moreno, ardiente, llegas sobre mi carne, trayéndome semilla de brillantes miradas, empapado de azahares…” – Veleta (excerpt), Federico Garcia Lorca

Spain’s most famous poet and the favorite son of Granada, Federico Garcia Lorca was a seminal artistic figure, just as important in death as life. Musician, artist, radical, dramatist, patron of flamenco, Lorca had his hands in everything, but it was his poetry for which he’s most well-known. His poetry, and his ignoble execution at the hands of Franco’s army.

Lorca lived in Granada, and we visited his house-museum on the southern end of the city. When he occupied it, not really that long ago, the house was on the city’s outskirts, in a field. But Granada grew quickly, and the house is currently within a city park. It’s been perfectly upheld, with original furniture donated by the family and Lorca’s artwork decorating the walls. For a fan of either poetry or history, a visit to the house is obligatory.

It’s difficult to overstate how important Lorca’s influence has been to the people of Granada and Spain. He was one of the most early proponents of flamenco music… one of Camarón de la Isla’s best songs is Lorca’s poetry set to music. He was openly homosexual and leftist — traits that were dangerous for the volatile period in which he lived. Indeed, shortly after the Civil War broke out, he was arrested by the Popular Front and executed. Franco then banned his entire body of work.

Lorca’s remains have never been found, and the recovery of his body remains a highly-charged topic in Spain, which is still coming to terms with the havoc of the war which tore it in two.

More from Our Granada Trip

Buy Garcia Locrca’s poems here. Click if you are in the USA, UK, Germany or Spain

Some pictures of Garcia Lorca’s house and the park which is named after him:

This weekend we took our first trip to Xàtiva, a small city of almost thirty thousand about 50 minutes south of Valencia. I’m sure we’ll be going back — easy to reach with the C2 short distance train, Xàtiva has a ton to offer.

Natives have a couple different nicknames: setabenses (which stems from the Latin name for the city, Saetabis) and socarrats, which approximately means “the burnt”. This interesting moniker dates from the War of Spanish Succession when Xàtiva was destroyed and kept aflame for 8 days by King Felipe V. The marauding troops slaughtered the women and children seeking shelter in the church of San Augustín, and even renamed the city “The New Colony of San Felipe”, which is so dastardly, it’s almost comical. Nowadays, wherever you find a portrait of Felipe in Xàtiva, it’s likely to be upside down.

For years, Xàtiva had fame as the European birthplace of paper. The most famous family to come from the city — and probably the most infamous family in Valencian history — was the House of Borgia. Through any number of crimes, including rape, murder, adultery, bribery and theft, they rose to unspeakable heights of power and two family members even became pope: Alfonso & Rodrigo.

The touristic highlight of Xàtiva is the incredible castle which was built by ancient Iberians and populated by all of the city’s subsequent rulers, including the Borgias. We’ll be posting about that later, along with some photos of this fantastic little city.

From Valencia’s main train station, a round-trip ticket with Renfe Cercanías C2 to Xàtiva costs €6,90 (as of date of writing) and takes about 50 minutes. Trains run all the time, and you can check the schedule here.

- Stay in a Villa near Xativa for as low as 37 Euros a night

Rent a car to get to Xativa:

This weekend, El Puig, a small town about 25 minutes north of Valencia by train, celebrated its liberator King James I. In 1238, he took El Puig and used the its strategically important location for an assault on Valencia, and his presence was honored with a medieval festival.

Just a note: El Puig is not pronounced “El Pwig”. Asking locals about “El Pwig” will result in confusion. Everyone here knows it by the Valencian pronunciation, which sounds like “El Pooch”.

Among the highlights of The Pooch’s festival was a medieval tournament, with a number of knights involved in tests of skill. A story ran throughout this competition, pitting the King’s champion against a sneering “Black Knight”. You get one guess who triumphed in the end.

Even more impressive was the marketplace. Silk spinners, soap makers, blacksmiths, chair makers, and other artisans practiced their craft in the plaza underneath the monastery. We saw a tea house, farm animals such as donkeys & baby pigs, acrobatics and enjoyed excellent food. Unlike the lame medieval festival recently held in Valencia’s Plaza de Toros, El Puig managed to convey a real sense of the times, with monks wandering amongst the crowd with other characters, like an executioner and a crazy woman with leprosy.

The concluding espectáculo del fuego, unfortunately, was a mess. But an entertaining mess, as it was immediately apparent that the jugglers and flamethrowers were just winging it. We left early, but overall had a great day in El Puig.

More photos:

- Rent a car in Valencia

Cayetano Ripoll was a schoolteacher of humble means, executed in Valencia in 1826 by the Spanish Inquisition — the final victim of that infamous ecclesiastic tribunal.

Ripoll was accused of teaching Deism to his students in Ruzafa — an act of heresy that would be harshly punished. In the early 19th century, the Inquisition was mostly a relic, and Ripoll’s sentencing and execution were widely and roundly condemned throughout Europe. That didn’t matter to the Archbishop of Valencia, though, and on July 31st, 1826, Cayetano Ripoll was hung, his body dropped into a barrel painted with symbolic flames, and the barrel then thrown into an incinerator.

Ripoll had been a patriotic soldier who fought in the war against the invading Napoleonic forces. He was taken by the French army as a prisoner, and during his time in a French jail, exposed to liberal ideas. Deism was considered heresy, because it claimed a belief in God should come through reason and observation, not blind faith.

A plaza in Valencia, near the end of Blasco Ibáñez, is dedicated to the memory of Ripoll and this black date in Valencian history (location).

- Horchata in Valencia

In 1909, Valencia inaugurated its Regional Expo. “Regional” doesn’t sound like that big of a deal — larger cities like Paris and San Francisco were celebrating World Expos — but it had a huge and lasting impact on the city.

The exposition took place north of the city walls, just across the Paseo Alameda. In 1909, the Turia river was still flowing strong, and the land north of it hadn’t really been fully developed. The Exposition, though, changed that — a large number of buildings were specially constructed, including even a gondola which brought visitors over the river.

A huge undertaking, the Expo lasted for over a year. It welcomed important guests like Blasco Ibáñez and saw the inauguration of the Valencian Hymn. A huge success popularly (if not financially), it would eventually earn status as a national exposition.

The Spain of 1909 was an unhappy, humiliated country — it had lost nearly all its overseas possessions and was losing a nasty war in Morocco. The Regional Expo, with its focus on the future, helped the citizens take their minds of their troubles for a little while.

Until the 30th of August, you can be transported 100 years backwards in time, by visiting an interesting exhibit at the Palace of the Exposition (location). Entrance is free, and you really come away with a good sense of the times.

The following pictures are from the concurrent expo exhibits in the Palacio and the The Ateneo Mercantil building:

- El Racó de Feri – Mercado Central