Lorca and Flamenco

Abstract

The relation between Federico García Lorca and flamenco is a complex one, despite the fact that Lorca’s identification with this music is almost a cliché in Lorca studies. The central contradiction is that flamenco musicians, when they approach Lorca’s work are often attracted to its avantgarde
feature, and are less interested in Lorca’s own engagement with the cante jondo. The reason for this is the lack of symmetry between two distinct phenomena: on the one hand, the defense of flamenco among intellectuals, on the other hand, the prominent role of canonical poetry in the
contemporary cante.