Àngel Guimerà
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Àngel Guimerà i Jorge (; 6 May 1845 or 6 May 1847 or 1849 – 18 July 1924), usually known simply as Àngel Guimerà, was a Catalan Spanish playwright and poet. His work is known for bringing together under romantic aspects the main elements of realism. He is considered one of the principal representatives of the '' Renaixença'' movement, at the end of the nineteenth century.


Life

He was born in
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...
, Canary Islands, to a Catalan father and a Canary Islander mother. At an early age, Guimerà's family moved to
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, where they settled at his father's birthplace,
El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a t ...
. Guimerà wrote a number of popular plays, which were translated into other languages and performed abroad, proving instrumental in the revival of Catalan language as a literary language ( Renaixença) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By far, the most famous was his realistic drama '' Terra baixa'' (''Lowlands'', also translated as ''Martha of the Lowlands''). Written in 1896, it quickly became an international sensation. The play was translated into 15 different languages and the Spanish translation was presented regularly for a period of thirty years by the theatre of throughout Spain and Latin America. In English, the play received three Broadway productions between 1903 and 1936. In addition to being a popular stage play, ''Terra baixa'' was made into six films, including a silent film in the United States, entitled ''"Martha of the Lowlands"'' (1914) and
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...
's '' Tiefland'' (1954). Furthermore, it served as the source material for two operas: Eugen d'Albert's German opera '' Tiefland'' (1903) and Fernand Le Borne's ''La Catalane'' (French). Guimerà was nominated twenty-three times for the
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
, though he never won. Guimerà had a number of close relationships with men. He lived for many years with journalist and politician Pere Aldavert i Martorell; on 14 February 1910 they granted each other legal powers for the other's affairs before a notary. They were buried in the same tomb. When Guimerà died in 1924, he was offered a state funeral in Barcelona of a proportion which had never been seen before and was buried at the  Montjuïc Cemetery. In his hometown of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a theater built in his name ( Teatro Guimerá).


''Terra baixa''

'' Terra baixa'' is the story of Marta, a poor girl from Barcelona, who finds herself the young lover to Sebastià, the most important landowner in the Catalan lowlands. Sebastià must marry a woman of prominence to keep his land and inheritance. To squelch gossip of his relationship with Marta but still keep her as his lover, Sebastià marries her off to the unsuspecting Manelic, a young shepherd from the Pyrenees, and sets the newly weds up in the house attached to the town's mill. Marta finds herself torn between her old domineering lover and her new caring husband.


''La filla del mar''

Another well-known work by Guimerà is the play ''La filla del mar'' (The daughter of the sea, 1900), that recounts the story of Àgata (Agate). Her name is that of a precious stone, in sharp contrast to the contempt in which she is held. Her uncertain origins, and the fact that she had been born "among Moors" renders her an object of hate, branded as a heretic. One of the few people who does not exclude her is Baltasanet, who states that "When we are born, we are all Moors." Àgata is perfectly conscious of the fact that she is considered a "nobody" and a "nuisance". "What evil have I done, that everyone despises me?", she asks. The discrimination she faces leads ultimately to her death. Àgata feels attracted by the sea, which seems to be calling out to her, in the voices of her parents. For her, there is a symbolic opposition between sea and earth, the latter being all about misery and tears, whereas the sea harbours peacefulness and truth. Drowning, for her, would be a return to the '
amniotic fluid The amniotic fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a gravid amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing fetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products betwee ...
' of the sea from which she was born. Like a sailor, she is strong, brave, and vital. At the same time she is sensitive, and when she finds in Pere Màrtir the affection she had desperately lacked, they are able to connect. She excuses his past as a ladies' man, but, overcome by jealousy, threatens him with death if he relapses. The story of Àgata involves numerous literary allusions and archetypes, from mythological aquatic characters, to the legend of
Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...
committing suicide by throwing herself from a cliff into the sea. Translated by Rudolf Lothar, the work was the basis of Eugen d'Albert's 1912 opera .


Tributes

The main theater of
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...
, the oldest on the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, is called Teatro Guimerá after this playwright. On the facade of the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes de Santa Cruz de Tenerife are a number of marble busts representing famous people from Tenerife, among them Guimerà. Avenida Ángel Guimerá, where the theater is located, is also named after the playwright and poet, as this was the street on which he was born. A seated bronze statue of Guimerà was made in Catalonia in 1920 by Josep Cardona i Furró (1878–1923). This original model was then expanded by Josep Maria Codina for Barcelona's Plaça del Pi in 1983. Two replicas were made of this statue, one of which was gifted to the town of
El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a t ...
(in the
province of Tarragona Tarragona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's po ...
) in 1986. The other is located opposite the stated Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. He was also named adopted son of Barcelona in 1909.Àngel Guimerà i Jorge. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Islas Canarias), 1845 – Barcelona, 1924
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Notes


References


External links

* *
Àngel Guimerà
website in Catalan with English translation. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guimera, Angel 1840s births 1924 deaths People from Santa Cruz de Tenerife Renaixença writers Spanish male writers People from Baix Penedès Burials at Montjuïc Cemetery Spanish LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights