Hay Festivalito

Cositas is a character created by the endearing Alma Gómez, who has been playing with children though tv for more than 30 years, and is now on social media. Gina Jaramillo is an art historian, coordinator of cultural projects and author of children’s books such as El sueño de Andrés (2019) and Cositas y Duna. Una aventura por la tierra (2021). This last book is an exploration of our planet’s diverse ecosystems and a look at some of the wonderful creatures that live in them. Alma and Gina will share the stories of this fabulous book, accompanied by a craft workshop that will give free rein to our imagination.

For children aged 5 to 8

If classic works have something in common, it is that they can be interpreted and reinterpreted again and again, each time finding new perspectives and possible meanings, and so each era has its own dialogue with the work. The entertaining and versatile Mexican illustrator, writer and musician Juan Gedovius presents Lewis Caroll’s great works, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and The Hunting of the Snark, illustrated by him. This activity is a look at the fantasy world of Lewis Carrol, with images shown to help the audience explore the English writer’s mythology. Here, Juan will share the story of Alice, the girl who, one summer’s day, saw a white rabbit with a jacket and a pocket watch, and followed it, falling into Wonderland and there discovering a strange, varied and unforgettable series of characters. Juan will share with us his own adventure of transforming this great story into his own images.

For children of all ages

Santiago Díez coordinates the Graphics Department of the Queretaro Centre for Emerging Art, a space that promotes the creation of artistic and cultural projects in the city. At this event, Santiago will teach the use of stencils, something essential for making street art as well as offering a medium for art in small formats as a form of expression for children and young people.

Ages 11 and over

Trocito. Un pedacito de tela que soñaba con ser bandera is a book written by Carmen McEvoy and Mariana Sansone about a grandmother and her granddaughter who together transform a bit of cloth lost on the ocean into one of the most important of patriotic symbols: the flag. McEvoy and Sansone, respectively a historian and a political scientist, and also mother and daughter, present this wonderful illustrated story for children, one that deals with, among other things, the construction of Peruvian identity.

For children ages 4 to 6

If there is something that classic works have in common, it is that they can be interpreted and reinterpreted again and again, and at each turn we can find a new view or possible meanings, in such a way that the dialogue between the work and each new period is always up-to-date. The entertaining and versatile Mexican illustrator, writer and musician Juan Gedovius presents the classics by Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and The Hunting of the Snark, in versions illustrated by him. At this event, Gedovius will share the story of Alice, the girl who, one summer’s day, came across a white rabbit who was wearing a jacket and carrying a pocket watch, and followed it until she fell into the legendary Wonderland, and discovered a varied and unforgettable group of characters. He will talk to the children who attend about his own adventure transforming these great works into pictures.

For all ages

mónimo is an independent Latin American publishing house born in 2021 that seeks to build a children’s catalogue focusing on fiction, from Peru. Its first book is the collection of Peruvian Gods, beings and spirits in the form of the alphabet: Diosario. Using humour and with a unique visual narrative, it seeks to bring us close to the fantastic world that this country embraces. With an interdisciplinary group of talents from different nationalities, Diosario is built with its feet on the ground, placing the most venerated creatures at a close distance while we touch the sky. With the writer of the book Elena Fernández Ferro (Argentina), the illustrator Mariana Río (Portugal) and the editor Julia Viñas (Argentina).

For children ages 2 - 8

El ABC de los seres fantásticos en Perú, the most recent publication by the gifted children’s writer Christian Ayuni, is an album book that presents the alphabet illustrated with extraordinary figures from the ancient myths and legends of Peru. Christian will share the stories and images of these marvellous beings at this event.


For children ages 5 to 10

Amaia Arrazola is an illustrator, writer and muralist. She is the author of the book and game Animales fantásticos, which can be used to combine shapes and the sounds that animals make to create new, fantastic animals. Amaia invites us to free our imaginations to roam through the pages of this book full of extraordinary creatures yet to be discovered.

For children ages 1 to 3

Download Amaia's drawings to do this activity here

Jorge Eslava is the prolific author of over fifty books for children and young adults, as well as several poetry books and works of non-fiction. He has won the IBBY Prize for Children’s Literature, the 1981 Peru Young Poetry Prize, and the 1982 Copé Prize. At this event he presents his most recent title, Rodillas sucias, a book with six stories about the traditional games enjoyed by Peruvian children, written for the bicentenary of the nation’s independence, to be commemorated with the assistance of the country’s children.

Ages 8 and above

Nadia Hafid is a Spanish illustrator, the child of Moroccan parents, whose comics have appeared in major media outlets such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Economist, Monocle magazine, El País and others. She is the author of the graphic novel El buen padre (2020), which combines text and illustration to tell the story of her family, beginning with the life of her father who emigrated to Spain and disappeared during her childhood and continuing with the conflicts of identity that result from this past. At this workshop, Hafid offers some key points for narrating with both words and images.

Ages 12 and older

Roxana Valdivieso, known for her talent as a singer, now shares with the world two great passions of hers: illustration and writing. She presents her book Las aventuras de Sami, a storybook that invites us to think about the importance of caring for the animals with which we share the planet, particularly those in danger of extinction. In this story, Sami, a finch that lives in the mountains of southern Peru, must save the egg in which his friend Surito is growing, with the help of many other animals. Roxana presents this wonderful tale about Peruvian fauna.

For children ages 3 to 6

According to Javier Cercas, “a hero is a person who does not fail at the only moment at which failure is unthinkable” and the history of Peru is full of examples of brave men and women who fit this definition. This book commemorates those heroic individuals who have contributed to building the nation and Peruvian culture, some of them who are well known, others who are forgotten or made invisible, but heroes nonetheless. This book reflects on Peruvian identity, the multi-ethnic and multicultural character of the country, with its two hundred year history and development being celebrated now, through images created by some of the country’s most talented illustrators. The book’s editor, Víctor Ruiz, will talk about this engaging compilation of stories and illustrations.

For children ages 9 to 12

The acclaimed Peruvian writer Renato Cisneros presents his first book for children, Julieta salió a buscar. This illustrated book tells the tale of a young girl who is looking to cool down on a hot day. Her search for a pool leads her into all kinds of adventures. Renato presents this entertaining story marking his debut in children’s literature.

For children ages 4 to 6

Ana Pez (Spain) is an illustrator, art teacher and historian. In this fun event Ana shares an activity based on her book Mi pequeño hermano invisible, where we can learn how to draw invisible figures. For this activity we will need: blue and orange markers and red cellophane paper. To share your drawings with Ana, you can send them to contacto@hayfestival.org or tag Ana on Instagram at @ana_pez

For children ages 6 to 13

Mererid Hopwood (United Kingdom) has a degree in Spanish and German and a doctorate in German Literature. Winner of the PEN Wales Emyr Humphreys Award, she is one of the most highly-regarded Welsh authors and she is dedicated to promoting the Welsh language and traditional Welsh poetry. At this event, Mererid will talk about Welsh poetry and culture, reflecting on matters such as the value of literature, language and peace. The roots of the Hay Festival are in Wales, a country that is less well known than its neighbour, England, and a country that has a language and a culture which are very old and very rich. In this talk, Mererid shares some words from her language that are practically impossible to translate to contemplate landscapes, poetry and peace. Mererid is the Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol Hay Festival 2020-21/ Hay Festival Creative Wales International Fellow 2020-21.

The reporter Catalina Gómez Ángel (Colombia) works in the Middle East as a correspondent, covering events in countries such as Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, where she worked after the fall of the government and the surge of the Taliban regime. She is the co-author of the book Balas para todas. seis mujeres periodistas en Oriente Medio y Magreb (2021). This highly experienced journalist offered a workshop for young reporters from the community.

Jacobo Vélez (Colombia) is the leader of La Mambanegra, an orchestra comprising nine virtuoso musicians from Cali who play in a style they call “breaksalsa”. The saxophonist and creator of the research and music creation project El Calle Hueso, Vélez showed us how to set up and present a musical project.

The Colombian psychologist Manuela Molina is the author of Nuestra piel arcoiris, an illustrated book for children, which talks about how all of us have different colours of eyes, hair and skin, and how, far from being a reason to feel or think ourselves better or worse, this is a source of celebration and cheer, since diversity is what makes the human experience something richer and more interesting.

We are in the future, in a world without social media, since world leaders have banned them. On her thirteenth birthday, Amelia, a solitary girl, full of doubts and who has recently lost her voice, discovers a way to create a secret social networking service for girls. There she meets girls like her, “fun girls who are on their own, bored or looking for fun”, with the help of LilaLady, the artificial intelligence that helps her to create the service, called Shhhat. Together they will learn about the world around them, and find practical activities for putting their knowledge into practice. El libro secreto de las niñas, created by the writer, blogger, journalist and influencer Mariángela Urbina and the illustrator Cecilia Ramos Valencia, invites girls, but also their mothers, fathers, teachers and carers, to explore their inner worlds and to reflect on what it means to build an identity free of stereotypes, limitations and fears.

People call Emilia the Bird Girl. Many fear her, not only because she is rather a solitary girl, but also because she talks to birds. Yet there is more: there begin to be disappearances in the town and everyone suspects that these are happening because of Emilia’s curses. Tobias, her neighbour, is the one who is most afraid of her but, with his courage, he will soon discover the true nature of the Bird Girl and the mystery of what is occurring in the town. Valentina Toro, the author and illustrator of La niña que hablaba con los pájaros, shared this beautiful story, one that might instil fear, but also strength, with the children, inviting them to create their own stories in both words and images.