El Maleficio de La Mariposa

A friend of mine in Texas took some beautiful pictures of a recent theater production of Federico Garcia Lorca's 1919 play El Maleficio de La Mariposa, the Butterflys' Evil Spell. The pictures triggered a desire to read the play again in the original Spanish. So I got out my copy of Obras Completas by Lorca and started reading this enchanting play. At the time he staged this play Federico Garcia Lorca was 22, and the play was laughed off the stage within an hour, leaving an impact on the brilliant young poet that hurt him deeply, but over time his plays only became stronger and more impressive. At the end of act II, scene II, Lorca has one of the characters say these telling words: "No hay desgracia mayor que la de ser poeta. ", and that he would burn them all, as "There is no disgrace bigger than that of being a poet". The response of a fellow character is : "Los quemara el olvido", "Being forgotten will erase them." The young poet achieved international fame and his death at the hands of the fascist Spanish regime in 1936, at the age of 38, was mourned worldwide. He certainly will never be forgotten, he needn't have worried about that. He was prophetic about his tragic end, when referring to the suffering many a great poet endures, and there is a sense of urgency in the young writer's first play, an awareness of things hidden that would reveal themselves and make him vulnerable to the contempt repressive regimes have for outspoken, free spirits. I love the introduction Lorca wrote to El Maleficio de La Mariposa : "Senores : La comedia  que vais a escuchar es humilde e inquietante, comedia rota del que quiere aranar a la luna y se arana su corazon", telling us the play we are about to hear is humble and unnerving, a play that wants to touch the moon, only to hurt its own heart. Again, at such a young age, the poet and playwright had a strong sense of premonition about how his talent would ultimately lead to personal tragedy. It must have been excruciating for this hyper intelligent and skilled artist to be laughed off the stage, as he was burning inside with passion for his craft and the desire to share his vision with the world. It should be encouraging to all artists everywhere that Lorca achieved greatness in his country and abroad in spite of an untimely and brutal death. I am sure that 500 years from now, people everywhere will continue to honor and remember and celebrate and be inspired by this great writer. As a poet and writer trying to break out of anonimity and invisibility, I know Federico Garcia Lorca will be one writer who will continue to make sure I keep following my heart and its dreams.