Colors Sitges Link’s Working Group on LGBTIQ+ Memory (GdTmemòria) is launching “Sitges a Lorca, Lorca a Sitges” [Sitges to Lorca, Lorca to Sitges], an initiative that seeks to rediscover the poet’s connections to Sitges through a guided tour and a 60-page colour fanzine. The activity marks the 90th anniversary of the murder of Federico García Lorca and next year’s 50th anniversary of the tribute to Lorca at the Casino Prado Suburense.

The cultural programme celebrates Lorca’s legacy, his role as a symbol of freedom and sexual dissidence, and his close ties to Salvador Dalí and the poets of L’Amic de les Arts magazine. Through documents, photographs and first-hand accounts, the working group has been able to reconstruct his time in Sitges. The guided tour covers fourteen iconic spots around the town, including the Casino Prado Suburense, Cau Ferrat and Passeig de la Ribera, which reflect Lorca’s presence and Sitges’s tributes to him over the decades. The accompanying fanzine for the tour features articles, images and accounts of his connections to Sitges and his approach to freedom and artistic creation.

“This initiative highlights the importance of culture as a tool for memory and community,” says Xavier Ripoll, the city councillor for Social Rights, City Residents and Equality. “Lorca represents freedom of expression, creativity and diversity, values that Sitges has fully embraced and wants to continue defending. This tour is a dynamic, collective way to keep his memory alive.” Meanwhile, Isidre Roset, a researcher with Colors Sitges Link’s Working Group on LGBTIQ+ Memory, explains that “the initiative seeks to celebrate the strength of García Lorca’s poetry and show how his memory has survived over time. It takes participants to Sitges spots that bear witness to Lorca’s time here, as well as to the experiences of artists whose works feature nods to him: Artur Carbonell, Josep Miquel Serrano, Peter Todd Mitchell, Josep Maria Rosselló and many others who have drawn inspiration from him.”

The first guided tours will take place on 15 and 16 November, with morning and afternoon sessions (at 11 am in Catalan and Spanish and at 4 pm in French) lasting approximately two hours. The registration fee is €15, which includes a copy of the 60-page fanzine. The tours, which will be led by expert volunteers, can be booked on www.colorssitgeslink.org. Groups of more than five people can arrange tours for other days and times, as long as they book in advance. There will also be guided tours in English.