The Festival of Deep Song was a two-day celebration of flamenco song held on 13 and 14 June 1922 in the Plaza de los Aljibes at the Alhambra in Granada. Organised by Federico García Lorca with Manuel de Falla and Miguel Cerón, it brought together Lorca’s public advocacy of deep song and his creative work inspired by the tradition.

Origins and Preparation

The festival followed Lorca’s February 1922 lecture on deep song at the Arts Club of Granada. His interest was not only a matter of public presentation: during the previous year he had written a series of poems inspired by deep song, which he hoped to publish in conjunction with the festival. The event thus connected performance and cultural advocacy with a body of poetry already taking shape.

Organisers and Setting

Lorca helped organise the festival alongside composer Manuel de Falla and Miguel Cerón. They held it over two days in the Alhambra’s Plaza de los Aljibes, placing the gathering in a prominent Granada setting. The evidence identifies the organisers, dates, and venue, but does not detail the programme or the performers.

Significance in Lorca’s Work

The festival forms part of Lorca’s early-1920s engagement with popular and traditional forms. In 1922, alongside his work on deep-song poetry and the festival, he completed a puppet play, The Tragicomedy of Don Cristóbal and Señorita Rosita. The planned connection between the festival and the poems shows how he sought to bring his writing into dialogue with the musical tradition he was presenting; the available account does not establish whether the poems were published at the event.