Ghazal of the Morning Market from Federico Garcia Lorca.
Through the arch of Elvira
I want to see you pass,
so I may hear your name
and weep.
What pale moon in the hour of nine
has bled upon your cheek?
Who gathers up your scarlet seed
flaring in the snow?
Whose swift cactus needle
assassinates your crystal?
I want to see you pass,
Through the arch of Elvira so I may drink your eyes
and weep.
Whose voice has risen high
chastising in the marketplace?
Whose alienated rose carnation
hides in a heap of wheat?
So close you are when here with me
how nearer, when you go...
Through the arch of Elvira
I want to see you pass,
so I may see your thighs
and weep.
From Diván del Tamarit (1934), F.G Lorca.
translated by KJ. McGuigan
A Brief Historical note on The Puerta de Elvira, or Gate of Elvira.
Elvira was a Roman province, known as Hispania Baetica. During the 3rd century AD, Granada became the Concilio de Elvira, or Synod of Elvira, Concilium Eliberritanum. A synod was a Christian council assembly of bishops and members of the regional church. The Gate of Elvira was built during the reign of Yusef I and the Zirid sultans, when the Moors occupied the region in the 11th century. The gate served as the entrance into the city of Granada. The wall was built as a defensive fortification. However, the city was recaptured by the Catholic monarchy of Ferdinand and Isabella, as the Spanish royal procession paraded through the arch, amidst a celebrating throng in the jubilance of victory. During the Peninsular War, part of the Napoleonic Wars, the Imperial French, lead by General Milhaud, invaded Granada. In the subsequent battles, the Gate of Elvira was destroyed by gunfire and dynamite. When the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1938, Granada became a Nationalist stronghold. With the resistance of pro-Franco counter insurgencies against the nationalists, further desolation fell upon the streets of Granada. Today, it is only this historical arch that remains from the former gate of Elvira.
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