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Frederico García Lorca was born on 5 June 1898 in the village of Fuente Vaqueros near Granada. He is considered the most important Spanish poet of the 20th century. When he was 11 years old, he moved with his family to the city of Granada. At his parents’ request, he began studying law in 1917. However, his passion was for writing and he soon published his first works. His first collection of poems, ‘Libro de Poemas’, appeared in 1921. His big breakthrough came with the volume of poetry ‘Romancero Gitano’ (Gypsy Romances) published in 1928. His music teacher De Falla familiarised him with cante jondo, the heartfelt singing of flamenco. Inspired by this music, he found a language in which traditional lyricism merged with avant-garde elements. In just a few years, the Gypsy Romances became the most widely read volume of poetry in Spain. His love of travelling brought him into contact with many other artists.

In Madrid in 1919, he became acquainted with Dalí and thus with Surrealism, which inspired him to realise his critical ideas more consistently. Between 1929 and 1930, he lived in New York and Cuba. He then returned to Spain, where the Republic was proclaimed in 1931 after only two years of existence. Appointed director of the travelling theatre ‘La Barraca’ by the Minister of Culture, he toured Spain with a group of students and performed the classics of Spanish drama for the common people. In the period that followed, he wrote his most important dramas and tragedies, such as ‘The Blood Wedding’, ‘Yerma’ and others. As he not only described the beauty and uniqueness of his country in his writings, but also the social narrowness of society and thus clearly criticised society, he was a thorn in the side of the political right. Even though he did not join any political party, he made no secret of his political orientation. This, and probably also his homosexuality, contributed to his violent death in 1936. As the situation became increasingly tense, he fled from his parents’ house in Granada to the home of his friend Luis Rosales, whose family belonged to the Falangists. He was arrested there on 16 August 1936 and shot three days later. Until the early 1950s, Lorca’s writings and plays were banned under the Franco regime and some of them were publicly burnt.

Gazpacho is a cold soup from Andalusia made from uncooked vegetables. The ingredients, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, garlic and some other vegetables, are cleaned for preparation. Then one half is pureed and mixed with water or vegetable stock, and the other half is finely diced. Season with salt, pepper and, depending on taste, crushed caraway seeds and chilli, as well as a little wine vinegar. Gazpacho is served well chilled with a dash of olive oil and freshly fried croutons or diced white bread. The diced vegetables are mixed in or served in separate bowls so that you can choose the mixture yourself. In the traditional preparation, soaked white bread and hard-boiled egg yolk are added to the soup before it is pureed, which makes it thicker and creamier.

As Romani, also known as Romanes, is related to the Sanskrit of the ancient Indian language, it can be assumed that India is the common origin of all Gypsies. The reasons that led to their emigration in the 9th/10th century are not clear. In the 15th century, a larger group of Gypsies arrived in Spain. Like the Jews and Moors, they were persecuted and discriminated against as an ethnic minority group. Integration was easier for them in Andalusia, which was strongly influenced by the Orient, than in other provinces of Spain. The Spanish Roma or Gypsies are called Gitanos. Today, between 250,000 and 700,000 Gitanos live in Spain. Life in the family or clan is of the utmost importance to them. They also have a very extensive code of honour and morals. To this day, they are often mistrusted by the payos, the non-Gitanos. Although the word ‘gypsy’ is used internationally as a generic term, it is perceived as derogatory in German-speaking countries and is rejected by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, while the Sinti Alliance Germany is in favour of it.