Imagine the world

Hay Festival Cartagena promotes culture & social responsibility. Literature, visual arts, cinema, music, geopolitics, journalism, the environment... all go together with dialogue and celebration. The festival has become one of the most important literary events in the Hispanic world. Hay Festival Cartagena 2013 is our eighth edition.

'Such a beautiful festival and, above all, a significant one. These days, events like this are real bastions of defence for the most wonderful gifts that humans beings have; Hay is a space for freedom, humanism and happiness and for me it was an immense pleasure to participate and fill my lungs with this air of camaraderie and dreams and shared ideas.' – Gioconda Belli.

'Latin Americans embrace life with a fervour that our stale European existence no longer excites in us. This is a privilege and an exception. What really matters here is passion, culture, and living life to the full. The Hay Festival in Cartagena is testament to this.' – Álex de la Iglesia

'It was a marvellous festival, thoroughly enjoyable, and such an insight into Columbia.' – Colum McCann

'Hay is a Renaissance-style festival focused on solving humanity’s problems through literature, science and philosophy.' – Mauricio Rodríguez (Colombian Embassador in the UK)

'Hay Festival has become an excuse, not only to discuss matters concerning written fiction but also to approach current issues, what's happening with life itself and around it.' – El Espectador