Abel was a keeper of sheep, Cain a tiller of the ground. That is, the first was a nomad and the second a sedentary. The quarrel of Cain and Abel has gone on from generation to generation, from the beginning of time down to our own day, as the atavistic opposition between nomads and sedentaries, or more exactly as the persistent persecution of the first by the second. And this hatred is far from extinct. It survives in the infamous and degrading regulations imposed on the gypsies, treated as if they were criminals, and flaunts itself on the outskirts of villages with the sign telling them to ‘move on.’
The Ogre, Michael Tournier

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response: reyerta + romance sonámbulo

 response: 'reyerta'
  
    During and after the translation of ‘Reyerta,’ I had one image in my head: West Side Story (or at least the famous duel between the Jets and the Sharks).  Granted, there are various factors here that beg a careful comparison of these two; however, the duel between the young rival gangs seems to be a fair comparison to Lorca’s Albacete brawl.
    The words flow quickly and you feel a fast pace at the beginning as you learn that Lorca has taken you to Albacete - both a town as well as a province in Central Spain.  Palpable is the summer heat as we walk up to the scene of knives scattered around the grass, “Midway through the ravine / the blades of Albacete, / beauties of enemy blood, / shimmer like the scales of fish” (lines 1-4).  There seems to have been a knife fight - the cause of which is unknown.  As the scene sets in, the repugnance of the incident becomes apparent and in a horrifically beautiful way Lorca creates a snapshot of the image in four simple lines.  Describing the scene, it’s as if the image leaps from the page and bursting light surrounds the profiles of horses and men (lines 5-8) who, although previously in the ravine, are now fleeting images seemingly flickering in and out of the scene.  This is the setting Lorca first presents in the first eight lines and it begs two questions: who was involved and why did this happen?
    Perhaps we can make the assumption that, because Lorca doesn’t include such information in the poem, there is a purposeful method to the madness.  A lack of actors invokes  a sense of mystery - who did it?  If the person or persons involved in the fray can’t be found, it’s likely they are the type of people with experience in staying out of sight, doing so quickly, and staying that way.  Another question it asks is if Lorca doesn’t include much information about the brawl then one might infer that there is essentially nothing to include and therefore a search for reasoning is pointless -  a symbolic and poetic gesture describing the true cause of the brawl: senseless.  Therefore, we see a new image developing in this piece as compared to the first two.  The Roma, involved in the brawl, are quick to make an escape.  Deducing from this is an assumption and blatant stereotyping of the Roma as apt to anger - quick anger - and capable of disappearing without trace.  It only adds to the already mysterious nature commonly attached to the Roma community.
    Continuing along in the poem the reader then finds the battlefield being surveyed by two old women and an unspecified number of blade-winged, black angels who are mourning the death of a young man, “Juan Antonio de Montilla / [who] rolls down the slop, dead, / his body full of lilies / and a smear of pomegranate in his temples” (lines 17-20).  Soon after a judge flanked by two Guardia Civil officers come to, one might assume, survey the scene and the body.  Juan Antonio appears to be a Roma and as the judge and officers prepare the blood of Juan Antonio mutely cries out as a serpent-like and seemingly sinister voice quickly tries to turn the judge away, telling him that these events often occur and that those who died were just the Romans and Carthaginians (lines 23-30). 
    This “serpent voice” that causes the blood to moan mutedly is curious.  What Lorca could be referring to is that, as the death is judicially and legally overviewed, there exists a third, faceless actor who seems to be pushing the judge and officers away by telling them that this is nothing unusual and it always happens and doesn’t beg an investigation.  Perhaps then Lorca is symbolically using this faceless voice as a voice of the non-Roma in Albacete who are wishing the judge and Guardia Civil to spend their time on something more meaningful - a Roma death is nothing of their concern nor should it ever be; or, perhaps this third voice is a Roma person, quickly attempting to usher away the court and law in attempt to reduce intrusion from a non-Roma entity in what it specifically a Roma concern.  This could be characterizing an insular nature of the Roma who wish not to be bothered by nor influence by the culture of the non-Roma society. 
    Lorca closes the poem with a dream-like calmness to the end of the day.  All return’s to normal and it’s as if the brawl and death are floating away like the black angels that are described flying around through the wind (lines 31-35).  The death, it seems, no longer concerns the day.  The Guardia Civil and judge have long gone, the women are down from the tree, and Juan Antonio is gone.  This may be Lorca’s way of emphasizing that events related to the Roma have a way of climaxing quickly and losing importance just as quick; but, that this could be the cause of both non-Roma society and Roma society itself.  A mutual lack of interest in having to deal in the others affairs - a quiet duel that goes on for generations. 
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response 'romance sonámbulo'

    Romance sonámbulo caught my attention by a repetitive use of color as well as portraying what appears to be a young man’s earnest attraction for a young Roma women; yet, he finds himself unable to get as close as he wants.  This universal feeling of wanting somebody you know you can’t have is why I opine that this poem in particular is one of Lorca’s most well-known from the collection.  Delving into the history and possible meanings of color is not my intention in this response and is something I will explore in-depth during my later analysis of the entire collection.  However, I have found that for those readers interested, a background on the color green and its symbolism might be on interest now. 
    As a reader of this poem, special care should be taken in interpreting the meaning of color.  Societies are different and subsequently relate abstract emotions and symbols to abstract colors differently.  Turning the attention on the color green, it is noted that in the US, the color green tends to be related to money and consumer spending (see endnote one); in Ireland the Irish believe its symbolic of both hope and national identity (see endnote two); for Hindus and Buddhists it can relate to life and death; in China it relates to life and disgrace; in Muslim North Africa growth and corruption (see endnote three).  I suggest reading John Hutchings’s article cited below if you find this symbolism of green more intriguing.  In Spain, green is related to fertility and hope (see endnote four) but also has numerous cultural references only noticed in the language.  The color green is used to signify someone who is immature and young or inexperienced and little prepared for something.  Furthermore, it is often used in what some might consider indecent and obscene ways (see endnote five).   
      With this in mind, let’s turn out attention to the poem.  Lorca opens the poem with a cry, a plea, a desperation from an unknown individual looking up at a young Roma girl sitting in the shade of her balcony; he cries out, “Green, oh how I want you green / Green wind.  Green branches,” (lines 1-2).  The individual mentions as the end that the young girl’s eyes are closed and there are other looking at her but she is not looking back. (lines 11-12).  What appears to be happening is that there is a young girl, possibly sick or injured, lying in the shade of her balcony and she is surveyed and surrounded by friends and family.  From below this individual cries out that he wants her green which we can assume is a plea for her to get healthy for he can’t stand not to see her healthy.
    The individual seems to stay watching throughout the nights, mentioning the frosty stars that come and go as the dawn approaches.  Seasons seem to pass by and there is not sign that the young girl will wake up (lines 13-24).  So enamored with her, the individual remarks how easy it would be to give his/her horse for her home, his/her saddle for her mirror, his/her knife for her blanket (lines 25-28).  Whoever this individual is - woman or man - he/she seems to be enamored with the young girl although all efforts to win her over seem unattainable. 
    When looking for symbols and tones of Roma identity, it would be well to note that the entire sense of the young Roma girl being unattainable to the young individual can be symbolic of the huge divide between Roma and non-Roma communities.  Two world separated by no more than a cultural identity.  At least, that’s what Lorca seems to be representing here.  The Roma - as noted numerous times already - are sui generis.  Or rather, what happens in the Roma community stays in the Roma community.  As another watches from below, the Roma girl remains still - perhaps gravely sick - but can’t be approached in the way the person below wants to approach her.
    Then again, we can look at this poem as one of sexual desire.  Green being a symbol of purity and inexperience, then we can make an assumption that the Roma girl is an object of sexual desire for whoever is down below.  This too highlights the divide between the Roma an non-Roma communities; however, it also marks another trait of the Roma - they’re desired.  Consistently Lorca seems to be presenting the Roma in a beautiful light.  A light which attracts admirers like a moth to a flame.  What is it about the Roma that makes them so desirable to non-Roma?  In this poem it seems to be their unattainability - understanding that we can’t get what we want makes us want it even more.  This is such a paradox between how the Roma seem to be treated otherwise.
    Lastly, also worth mentioning is the title.  This translates approximately to “Sleepwalker’s Ballad” or “Ballad of the Sleepwalker.”  Peculiar no doubt given that the figure below seems to be approaching the Roma girl at night when her eyes are closed.  It’s no wonder then that there’s such a longing of the individual below for the young girl.  She shows up as if in a dream, an ethereal state of mind where everything seems fantastic and wondrous.  What this person sees at night he wants to see during the day, bathed in sunlight, green with life.  But this duality of night and day - events that only mingle for a few brief hours of the day - is very symbolic of the relationship between the Roma and non-Roma.  As if two worlds apart; yet, close enough cross paths if only for a few hours each day but never enough time to catch the two at the  same time for more than that brief twilight.  

1 Elliot, Andrew J., and Markus A. Maier. "Color and Psychological Functioning." Current Directions in Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) 16.5 (2007): 250-254. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 14 July 2011.
2 Hutchings, John. "Folklore and symbolism of green." Folklore 108.1/2 (1997): 55. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 July 2011.
3 Qtd. in Hutchings, “Folklore and symbolism of green.” 1997.
4 Heller, Eva.  “Psicología del color.”  Editorial Gustavo Gili: 2004.
5 Real Academia Española.  http://rae.es/rae.html