The beginning of this new edition of the Hay Festival in Querétaro is less than two months away from now, so we are very happy to finally be able to share with thousands of readers the work we have done throughout the year and to offer them a festival and a programme at the height of their expectations. It is known that not only Mexico but lots of parts of the world are going through a time of great changes, of uncertainties, transformations, and in the midst of a scenario like this one, we are more convinced than ever of the importance that writing, thinking and art in general have to provide new and original ways to approach this reality.
In this sense, we expect the programme -which is composed of more than 140 writers and authors, from 16xx countries from around the world- will offer our audience a wide range of opportunities to enrich their way of thinking as well as, as a way of speaking, spend nice moments listening, participating, laughing or singing and dancing in one of the 106 events that they’ll have at their disposition.
The Hay Festival has always had a close knit relationship with journalism and freedom of press, and for this edition of the festival we count on a powerful contingent, in which we will find figures such as Alma Guillermoprieto, Lydia Cacho, Nayeli Roldán, Denisse Dresser, Salvador Camarena and Marcela Turati, to name a few, who will speak about themes such as the reality of the current state of things nationwide, the dangers of exercising this practice, the feminist movement in favor of gender equality and many other subjects which are relevant to public debate.
Mexican writing is of course represented by authors who form part of what is unanimously considered a vibrant moment for national literature, where highly diverse forms of expression converge, from the generational point of view as well as stylewise. Thus, the audience will be able to listen to acclaimed figures such as Margo Glantz or Hugo Hiriart, writers with the career path of Guillermo Fadanelli or Jorge Volpi, and examples of younger generations who begin to leave their footprint on the literary landscape, such as Emiliano Monge, Daniel Saldaña París, Claudina Domingo or Gabriela Jauregui.
In terms of the Spanish American scene, we count on guests who belong to an extensive literary republic which is composed of the Spanish language in itself, as in the cases of Juan José Millás, Vicente Molina Foix and Sergio del Molino (Spain), Rafael Gumucio and Alejandro Zambra (Chile), Pedro Mairal, Elsa Osorio and Patricio Pron (Argentina). Likewise, some of the members of the Bogotá39 anthology who have been selected among the 39 best authors under 40 years of age will participate in the festival: Emiliano Monge, Gabriela Jauregui, Daniel Saldaña París and Eduardo Rabasa (México), Mónica Ojeda (Ecuador), Felipe Restrepo Pombo (Colombia) and Jesús Miguel Soto (Venezuela).
As for the international narrative, we are pleased to receive literary stars such as André Aciman, who’s novel Call me by your name was adapted to film and acclaimed by critics and spectators from all around the world, as well as two of the major authors from the United States of the moment: Lydia Davis and Vivian Gornick. Two voices from the United Kingdom with great impact on the contemporary scene will participate: Jeanette Winterson and David Keenan.
Since humour can never be absent from an authentic cultural and artistic date, we count on the one and only illustrated stand up comedy, lead by the great comedians Liniers and Alberto Montt, who will confront the challenge of drawing live on stage, with the help and participation of other artists such as Bernando Fernández “Bef”, María Hesse, Peter Kuper, Power Paola and Raquel Riba Rossy.
And last, but not least, our musical programme contemplates the participation of two authentic legends of their respective musical genres: the “Godmother of Punk”, Patti Smith, who will offer a recital of music and poetry and will also participate in a talk about her devotion to literature and her phase as a writer, and the great Celso Piña, who will give a concert accompanied by his group la Ronda Bogotá.
This brief taste of what we will soon have to offer ends here, so for now we bid you farewell, but first we wish to thank the thousands of attendants who make the Hay Festival Querétaro experience possible, and we invite you with much enthusiasm to accompany us in this new edition of what we hope will be a memorable cultural rendezvous.