WHILE WORKING IN LONDON, I spent a spring vacation in Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. I flew to Madrid and rented a car. First stop: Granada. Even before touring the Alhambra Palace and gardens, I visited the homes of two pre-eminent creative geniuses—composer Manual de Falla (1876–1946) and writer Federico Garcia Lorca (1898–1936). As a lesbian writer and classical piano player, I was drawn to these two artists in particular.
Many believe that de Falla was a repressed homosexual. Never married or known to have a lover, de Falla had many queer friends in Spain and Paris, including Lorca. Unlike de Falla, Lorca fully acted on his gay desires, notably in his turbulent relationship with artist Salvador Dalí. Flamenco is deeply embedded in Lorca’s poetry and plays, as well as in de Falla’s music. Listen to de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo” or “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” and hear his vibrant, flamenco-inspired sound.
