BBC News Brasil
·23 Aug 2026
The mystery surrounding the remains of poet García Lorca 90 years after his death
Federico García Lorca was probably executed with two anarchists and a republican teacher between Víznar and Alfacar in Granada in August 1936, but his remains have never been identified. The absence of wartime records, contradictory oral accounts, decades of Francoist silence, altered terrain and possible family and political concealment have complicated repeated searches. Excavations in 2008, 2013 and 2016 failed to locate the grave. Researchers disagree over the reliability of competing theories about the burial site, while Lorca’s family maintains that leaving his remains mixed with those of other victims is symbolically preferable, provided other families can pursue searches for their relatives. The unresolved case reflects Spain’s wider struggle over historical memory, accountability and the recovery of victims of the Civil War and Francoist repression.