A classic of literature that now becomes a visual experience.
Few things are as magical as the transcendence of art. His ability to travel through time is capable of causing the fusion of two apparently estranged artists , but united through emotion and creativity. The result is works like the new Romancero Gitano, Lorca's most representative lyrical work and, now, also illustrated by Ricardo Cavolo.
An ode to the gypsies and a living expression of latent Andalusia , just as Lorca saw it. A tribute that is born from the entrails of the writer and that takes on color thanks to one of the most popular illustrators of our country today.
THE CONNECTION
When you ask Ricardo the reason for illustrating this classic, he is clear: “I would never have thought of illustrating a work by Lorca. I think it is very difficult to try to be minimally up to him ” . A logical response if we think of a giant like Lorca and a creation like the Gypsy Romancero. Intimidating to say the least.
This masterpiece stems from Ricardo Cavolo's admiration for Lorca, but also from his close relationship with the gypsy universe.
However, the reality is that the link between Cavolo and Lorca goes beyond art . “I lived with gypsies in my family all my childhood and that generated a very special relationship with the gypsy universe” , that connection was what prevented him from resisting the project when his publisher proposed it to him.
To that emotional bond is added the inspiration of the illustrator in the writer in terms of metaphors and symbology it means. So it almost seems hopeless that their jobs will shake hands at some point of history
**THE BOOK" **
In this way, both artists, past and present, converge for 251 pages in a way that only followers of Cavolo and readers of Lorca can imagine. That is why the new personality that is glimpsed in the work exceeds what is a simple book. How could it be otherwise, it becomes a work of art.
Two apparently estranged artists who metaphorically join forces to make way for creativity.
And you will only need to open the cover to find out that what awaits the reader inside is the world of Lorca, not only through the verses, but also through the images . And, indisputably, Cavolo's universe, with that personal style that so characterizes it.
Once you embark on the journey, you will not be able to leave. The Gypsy Ballad takes place as a film, in which the explosion of color reigns, but directs sorrow and tragedy . "I've played around a lot throughout the book with switching shot types, to create that cinematic feel," reveals Cavolo.
Thus, between romance and romance, pages without text are included, only the drawings of the illustrator in front of the reader . First, appears the stage in which the last verses culminated , to continue with the one that will lead the one about to start , creating a sense of introduction that prepares you for what is to come.
For the interpretation of the poems, Cavolo wanted to stay true to the words that detail . “I wanted to be quite literal in terms of the text”, so symbols and metaphors appear perfectly reflected and related in each of the drawings.
Romances that pay homage to inland Andalusia.
Grief is the common thread of Lorca's work . Romancero Gypsy goes down a path that enhances pain and anguish, and that have its maximum expression in the Romance of black pain . This melancholy is intertwined with the author's admiration for the Andalusian gypsy world , and all those emotions are manifested in the accompanying illustrations.
“I have to confess that I am very tempted to illustrate Poet in New York”, said Ricardo Cavolo. After entering the world of this new work, the reader will not stop thinking: "I hope I do" . The fruit of this creative union is, to say the least, enriching, so we can only wish it doesn't end.
Meanwhile, we started the journey in the Gypsy Ballads, “traveling from town to town through Lorca’s Andalusia” , as Ricardo Cavolo says, to culminate in a final dedication that reads: "Long live Lorca, long live the gypsies, long live the black penalty".
Ricardo Cavolo recovers one of the great works of the 20th century.