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Author's Note: Although years of research accompanied the writing of this play, there is little known about the last few hours that Lorca spent with Galadí, Mergar and Cabezas—the other three who were executed along with him. Some of it was contradictory, (e.g.) in one text Galindo is reported to be a Nationalist (one of the forces that united with Franco) yet another source described him as an ardent Republican. There are many gaps in Lorca's biographies because of letters, plays, poems, and manuscripts either lost or purposely destroyed, partly due to his family's wish to downplay Lorca's homosexuality and his own reluctance to publish his work because Lorca felt they were meant to be heard and not read.
Writing a play based on a true historical incident always taxes the writer, since the demands of dramatic action, conflict, form are impatient with a pure chronicling of events. Facts such as Valdes's characteristic command for execution was "Give them coffee—plenty of it," the napkin given to Lorca by Jose Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Falangist Party, the time Rafael spent the night with a girl are all true. However, Francisco Galadí's hidden sexuality in this drama may raise the hackles of his friends and family.
Lorca himself guided me in writing this play through the example of writing of his own play, Mariana Pineda. Like Lorca, I have used as many facts as possible, as well as the complex and contradictory nature of Lorca in order to not set the hero apart from the man.