Spain marks 90th anniversary of poet Lorca's execution with night march

Madrid marked the 90th anniversary of Federico Garcia Lorca's death with a "Saca Nocturna" march, a name evoking the "night operations" used by Francoist forces to abduct and execute victims during the Spanish Civil War.

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Brotherhood strife brought silence and pain here.

Participants carried a statue of Lorca from Retiro Park to Plaza de Santa Ana, chanting "Federico is alive!" The poet was executed by firing squad near an olive tree, a site that has become a de facto memorial, as his grave's location is unknown.

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Hatred was growing between nationalists and republicans. The sides were killing each other, regardless of the political chasm in their views, simply because of the mutual hatred they felt.

Lorca's life and work were deeply intertwined with Andalusia, his birthplace. His home in Fuente Vaqueros remains preserved, filled with mementos like his toy horse and piano. His passionate letters to bullfighter Ignacio Sanchez Mejias reveal a deep affection, with Mejias himself dying in the bullring and Lorca falling victim to the civil war's violence.

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He returned! Federico returned!

The Cafe Gijon, a historic Madrid literary hub, is said to have been a place where Lorca wrote some of his most poignant "lament" poems for Mejias. The cafe's history book recalls the "silence and pain" that descended during the civil war, fueled by "hatred" that led to killings regardless of political affiliation.

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Federico is alive!