Frederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, or simply Frederico García Lorca as he is better known, was a renowned poet, playwright and theater director of the early 20th century. Lorca made major contributions to Spanish language literature, not only by leaving us with brilliant plays and an opus of poems we still get to enjoy today, but also by influencing literary styles of the time. Lorace helped take elements popular in Europe at the time such as surrealism, symbolism and futurism, and adapt them to Spanish art and culture.

Lorca was born on June 5th, 1898 in Southern Spain, in a town called Fuente just outside of the region’s capital of Granada. Lorca was actually his mother’s maiden name, and if he had abided by accepted naming practices of that era, he would have simply gone by Frederico García. However, García was (and still is) the most common surname in all of Spain, and so he used Lorca to distinguish himself. Lorca was born into an upper middle class family, his father was a landowner and his mother was a local teacher. After spending his childhood in the countryside, his family eventually moved into the city of Granada. Lorca went on to study literature, law and writing as well as piano during his childhood and adolescence.

Lorca’s Esteemed Career and The “Generation of 27”

Lorca’s career, although cut short by his tragic death at a young age, was nevertheless intense, and left a lasting impression on the world. By the age of 25 he was already running with an incredibly influential crowd of poets and artists who would later come to be known as the “Generation of 27”. The “Generation of 27” distinguished themselves artistically from other poets and artists of the time by their experimentation with avant garde themes and styles. Lorca was the youngest member of this esteemed group which also counted among its 10 original members infamous artist Salvador Dalí, and the prolific filmmaker Luis Buñel. Having unofficially formed some years earlier, they are known as “Generation 27” because their first official meeting was held in Seville in 1927, on the anniversary of the death of well-respected poet Luis de Góngora.

Lorca published his first work, called Impresiones y Paisajes, “Impressions and Landscapes”, in 1919. Luckily for Lorca, his upper middle class upbringing allowed him to self-fund the first printing with family money. It was this same year he moved to Madrid, where he met those who would become the “Generation of 27”. Lorca’s literary career wasn’t all success, in fact his first play, El Maleficio de la Mariposa, “The Butterfly’s Magic Spell” was by all regards, a failure and a laughingstock. Lorca was so embarrassed by its existence, he went on to insist that his first play was actually Mariana Pineda, a biography of Mariana de Pineda Muñoz, a famous Spanish historical figure. Mariana Pineda opened with stage setting created by the great artist Salvador Dalí to much success. Lorca’s poems are well known, and have a unique style to them. Due in part to his immense musical talent, many of his poems have a distinct musicality about them, as is evident with such titles as “sonata” and “ballade”- which are, of course, also styles of music.

Dalí remained a close personal friend of Lorca’s throughout his life, and it is rumored that the two shared a more passionate, intimate relationship, although some reports state that it was Dalí who rejected Lorca’s attempts at romance. After Dalí met his future wife, a Russian muse named Gala, Lorca travelled to New York for a year long sabbatical. Here he published some of his most famous poems, Poeta en Nueva York, “A Poet in New York”, where he explored the dark side of unbridled capitalism, inspired by the Wall Street crash of the time that would kick off the great depression.

Lorca’s Later Years, Death, and on Becoming a Martyr

After Lorca returned to Spain, he all but abandoned poetry altogether, focusing instead on writing, producing and directing plays. Lorca’s plays aimed to challenge social norms of the time, including calling into question classist ideals, accepted heteronormativity and the role of women in the public sphere.

Unfortunately, his political and social ideals were far ahead of his time, and when the civil war broke out, Lorca was immediately targeted by the far right political party who called themselves the Nationalists. The leader of the Nationalists, General Francisco Franco, would shortly become the dictator of Spain between 1939-1975. At the young age of 38, Lorca was viciously beaten and subsequently murdered by Franco’s men, and many of his books were burned in the public square of Granada, as a symbol for those who shared Lorca’s ideals.

Lorca’s remains have never been located, despite even modern day search attempts. In 2008 the Spanish government, in an attempt to reconcile Spain’s present with its past tragedies, began a new investigations into his death. However, despite renewed efforts, no headway has been made on locating his remains to give him the proper burial he deserves. Lorca is still revered today for his contributions to Spanish literature, and in fact, three of his previous homes are even now open to the public as museums.

Luckily for the non-Spanish speaking world, we have been able to read and appreciate Lorca’s works due to the diligent translations done by Spanish translation and copy editing professionals such as those at Spanish with Style. It is important that translation efforts such as this be undertaken by Spanish translation experts, who are then able to maintain the rhythm of Lorca’s poetry, the symbolism and the metaphors, all of which are expertly left intact as it is translated. Translation is so much more than simply changing words from one language to another, and requires a nuanced understanding of both languages. This is why it is important for all translation needs to be undertaken by Spanish translation professionals, to ensure the message is being understood by its target audience in the manner in which it was meant.

Miguel Cervantes is perhaps Spain’s most important literary figure of all time. He is not only known as one of the best and most accomplished writers of the Spanish language, but of the Western world as well. His works are still read and respected by readers of all languages, even now, 400 years later, but it is his mark on Spanish culture and the Spanish language that is most pronounced.

The influence on Spanish language that Cervantes had is often compared to the immense influence that William Shakespeare is known to have had on the English language. Shakespeare not only contributed hundreds of words to the English language, but set the bar for literary style and nuanced use of words, expressions and meanings that stands to this day. Cervantes set a similar standard for the Spanish language, particularly with his most famous work, Don Quixote, which is full of beautiful plays on words, vivid metaphors and pervasive neologisms. In fact, his contribution to the Spanish language is so great, the Spanish language itself is referred to in certain circles as la lengua de Cervantes, or “the language of Cervantes”.

While Cervantes perhaps did not contribute as many words in terms of sheer volume to the Spanish language as Shakespeare did for English, he did contribute several words and expressions that even managed to find their way over to the English language. Cervantes is credited for introducing to us the word “quixotic”, after his most notable character, Don Quixote, meaning idealistic, unrealistic or impractical. He is also credited with introducing the several important expressions to the Spanish culture, such as por la muestra se conoce el paño, which literally translates to “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, or rather “the proof is in the pudding” as we say in English.

Born in September of 1547, Cervantes lived a long and varied life, whose story itself would lend well to an epic tome of its own. Cervantes by all accounts lived a rich life full of many experiences, professions and locations. By all accounts Cervantes was born to a poor family near Madrid, but had been an avid reader since childhood. Not much is known about his early life until he eventually leaves Madrid for Rome, and rumor has it not by choice. It is not known for certain what forced him into exile in Italy, some said he fled to avoid arrest, other say it was because of a duel gone wrong, but what is certain is that he spent several years here before joining the Spanish navy in 1575. His motivations for joining the Spanish navy are unknown, but could have been a move to ingratiate himself again with Spain in order to end his exile.

During his time serving in the Spanish navy, Cervantes fought in many battles, and sailed on many ships, eventually sustaining an injury that left him without the use of his left arm. Despite this injury, Cervantes continued to serve in the Spanish navy until one fateful day his ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Algiers, and he was captured by Barbary pirates. Cervantes was held captive for five years in North Africa, and lived life as a slave during this time. Finally, after years of searching, Cervantes’ family located him, and the Trinitarian church helped pay his ransom and he was returned to Madrid.

It was only at this time, later in life, that Cervantes began to focus on his true calling – writing. His first novel, published in 1585 was titled La Galatea, but like most authors, both of his time and even now, he was not able to support himself through his writing alone. Because of this, he began working as a tax collector, but was shortly suspected of embezzling money and promptly thrown in jail for several months. It was after this short stint in jail that he began to write the works that would make him a household name for some 400 years.

The world famous Don Quixote, Cervantes’ most prestigious work, was published in two volumes, one in 1605, and the second a decade later in 1615. Don Quixote is widely attributed with being the first modern novel, due in part to the incredibly realistic portrayal and level of detail used in character development, as well as the style of writing. Prior to Don Quixote most novels were written in more poetic styles rather than plain Castilian. Don Quixote has more than stood the test of time, and is not only still a world famous classic, but still considered to be “among the best works of fiction ever written”, and he is still known as el príncipe de los ingenios, or “The Prince of Wits”.

After the publication of Don Quixote, he was catapulted back in the great literary circles of the time, and he settled in Madrid by 1607, where he would remain until his death. It was really the last decade of his life where he took his rightful place as one of the world’s most prestigious writers. Many of his works seemed to draw heavily from his life experiences, with several set in Algiers where he had himself been held captive, and the character Don Quixote also experienced captivity, as well a brief moment in jail. Cervantes passed away in Madrid in 1616 at the age of 68, possibly due to complications from Diabetes. Interestingly enough, his death occurred at almost the exact time as Shakespeare, his English language equivalent, himself passed away. One more collection of his works, los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, “The Works of Persiles and Sigismunda” were published posthumously.

Miguel de Cervantes works are still revered to this day, and his name lives on as the namesake of the prestigious Cervantes literary prize. This prize is awarded every year to celebrate the lifetime achievements of Spanish authors, and honor their contributions to the Spanish language. Not only is this the most esteemed literary prize in the Spanish language, it is among the most revered accomplishments across the literary world as a whole.

Cervantes story does not end here, however. In 2015 remains were found under a Trinitarian convent, and are thought to belong to Cervantes, and his wife. Controversy has ensued, whereby some believe his remains would not be disturbed while others have grand plans to build a museum in his honor that would then house his bones.

It’s because of talented Spanish language translation and copy editing services such as Spanish with Style that non-Spanish speakers of the world are able to not only read great Spanish language classics such as Don Quixote, but to be able to truly appreciate the linguistic skill of the author of this literary work. Professional translators are highly skilled in not just translating the words, but capturing the essence and emotions evoked by timeless, world class writing. The same can be said for any translation needs, translating words is not enough, it is just as important to ensure the proper meaning is being invoked, which is why it is important to leave all translations up to the professionals.

The Early Years of the Spanish Language’s Shakespeare

Lope de Vega, born in 1562, remains to this day one of Spain’s most prolific playwrights, poets and novelists. In his 72 years of life, Vega published more works than many of his colleagues combined, both past and present. Among his many nicknames showcasing his literary prowess are Fénix de los Ingenios, and Monstruo de la Naturaleza, meaning “The Phoenix of Wits” and “Prodigy of Nature” respectively. He was well respected all throughout his life, and continues to be respected among readers of Spanish literature long after his death.

Lope de Vega was born in Madrid, Spain, to a commoner family, but was never the less recognized as a genius child from a very young age. Rumor has it that by the tender age of 5, Vega was already able to read and write in both the Spanish and Latin language. Additionally the rumor mill suggests that by 12 years old he completed his first official play called El Verdadero Amante, or “The True Love.

Early in his life, Vega was able to attend noted institutions of higher learning, and had many venerable mentors to guide him. As was common at the time, many of these educational institutes were run by priests, and Vega’s early career aspirations were to join the priesthood. This all changed, however, when he reached adulthood and eschewed a life of celibacy in favor of continuous romantic dalliances which would, more often than not, get him into hot water.

The Tumultuous Life of Lope de Vega

During the course of his lifetime, Vega become not only famous for his vast literary works, but also for his ongoing tumultuous love affairs. The first of these appear to be with the daughter of a prominent director in the theater scene, Elena Osoria. Predictably, this romantic liaison ended badly, and Vega’s retaliations against not only her, but her well-to-do family, resulted in charges of libel, and he was banished from the then-Spanish-Province of Castille.

In the years after his banishment had been decreed, Vega lived in several cities around Spain, and married a 16 year old girl named Isabel de Aldrete y Urbina. This was not, however, the end of his string of scandalous love affairs for which he had now become famous for. His wife, Isabel, died in childbirth around the time his official exile was over, and so he returned to Madrid. Back in Madrid, he engaged in a series of trysts and adulterous liaisons, and even garnered further lawsuits against him. These experiences, however, all undoubtedly helped him develop his already incredibly rich body of work.  In addition to adding several more sonnets plays and novels to his oeuvre, he also collected several more children during this time, by several women.

The last years of his life were, by all accounts, dismal. Vega first lost a son, who was widely understood to have been his favorite child. Shortly after this time his second wife, Juana, died in childbirth, he then lost a second son in a shipwreck in South America and finally his youngest daughter was kidnaped. Lope de Vega came down with Scarlet fever and died shortly after that final incident.

The Jewel of Spain’s Literary Tradition

The Siglo de oro (Spanish golden age, or golden century) began around the discovery of the new world, and lasted until 1659, spanning much more than a century in reality.  It is characterized by the rise of many prolific artists, sculptors, musicians, architects and writers, who flourished artistically at this time. The siglo de oro was made possible in part by the immense wealth and stability enjoyed by Spain at the time, thanks in part to the vast land holdings and riches brought to them by the new world. It is because of this that Spain had such time, energy and money to devote to supporting the arts.

Vega’s work, while much of it critically acclaimed, is nonetheless often criticized for favoring quantity rather than quality. Among his accomplishments are: 3,000 sonnets, 2 novels, 3 novellas, 9 epic poems and about 500 plays. Some accounts attribute as many as 1,000 or more plays to his name, but only a few hundred have survived to the present day.

Partly due to his vast output of plays, Vega was integral to revitalizing the Spanish theater scene, contributing directly to its rise in popularity at the time. Vega’s desire to please the public led him to write in a particular style, while popular at the time, has since become emblematic of his works in particular. Vega’s plays are also well known for their rich plots, often weaving in elements of Spanish history and culture, making them even more relatable to the Spanish public of that era. He also wrote plays that included many tantalizing and titillating plot points such as adulterous affairs, liaisons between lovers from different classes and comments on Spanish culture, all without the moralizing lens often brought to these types of plays to to the previously heavy influence from the church.

It is a shame that only about 400 or so of Vega’s plays exist to this day, but the ones that do exist are here for us to enjoy thanks in part to professional Spanish language and copy editing services such as Spanish with Style. It is important to trust translation to a transaction expert in order to be able to preserve the tone, style and unadulterated meaning of a text. This is true for not just complex works such as Vega’s plethora of plays, poems and novels, but even for simple texts such as letters, emails, flyers or other business needs. Spanish with Style employs only well-trained professional Spanish language and copy editing experts, so you can be certain that your text is being conveyed in the manner in which it was intended.

Leandro Fernández de Moratín is known as one of the great Spanish playwrights of the modern era. Born in 1760 in Madrid, he was always destined to become a great writer. His father was the renowned Nicolas Fernandez, a poet, dramatist and major figure in the Spanish literary world. Because of his father’s prominent position in the literary community of the time, there is no doubt Moratín would have grown up among some of the most important writers and poets of 1700’s Madrid.

Moratín published his first major work in 1790 called El viejo y la niña (The Old Man and the Young Girl), which is still considered a classic in Spanish literature to this day. This work was a scathing critique of a common cultural practice in Spain at the time, which was arranged marriages between young girls and significantly older men. His second work, La comedia nueva (The New Comedy) was a satire featuring characters from other popular plays at the time and was just as popular as his first.

Having spent a significant amount of time at institutes of higher learning on scholarship in both France and England, Moratín was fluent in both French and English in addition to his native tongue, Spanish. Because of his exceptional language skills, he dabbled in translating great works such as the great William Shakespeare and Moliere from their original languages into Spanish. In reality, he was one of the first professional Spanish language translators and his translations are still read today in Spanish speaking communities.

For a brief period of time, Moratín was remarkably successful. He had several wildly popular plays under his belt, as well as books of prose and anthologies of poetry. During this time he also served as the official royal librarian under King Charles IV, who was more liberal-minded that many others at that time. His success however, at least in his home country of Spain, was doomed to be short lived.

Unfortunately, when the Spanish inquisition was reinstated with the return of King Ferdinand VII at the turn of the century, Moratín was exiled to France. His later work, El sí de las niñas (The Maiden’s Consent) appeared to be the last straw as it was a dark, satirical attack on Spanish cultural norms of the time – particularly women’s roles in society. The book was denounced by the powers that be, and Moratín was fated to live out the rest of his days in Paris and abandon playwriting. He was initially entered at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, but his remains were eventually repatriated to his hometown of Madrid.

In addition to Moratín himself being one of the original professional Spanish language translation experts, it is also thanks to professional Spanish language translation and copy editing services such as Spanish with Style that we can enjoy Leandro Fernández de Moratín’s own works in many other languages, including English. As you can imagine, being able to capture the essence and subtleties of his works and ensure the intended meaning of his prose are accurately portrayed, translation is best left up to highly trained professionals.