Hay Festivalito

Starting from the reading of some excerpts from the illustrated book Operación Bikini, Júlia Barceló worked with the participants of this workshop on concepts such as aesthetic pressure or dieting culture using humour and personal experience. The goal of the workshop-talk consisted in delving into the structural pressure that beauty canons imply, the problems that they bring and how we can fight them in real life as well as on social media. It is important to find tools to educate a kinder way of looking at other people's bodies as well as our own, to improve our coexistence and empower ourselves in regard to this.

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.

At this performance, poetry and language shared the spotlight with games, and also with the participation of all the children who attended the event. It involved telling (and singing, as Machado wanted) the experiences and adventures of the poet child Chamaquili and his close companion Mapá (a character who is both a mother and father figure), with moments of fun, tenderness, nostalgia, brightness and energy, lit up with the drawings of Jorge Oliver Medina and the improvisations in rhyme of our maestro Alexis Díaz Pimienta.

CaminaLee is an initiative that organizes walks aimed at connecting your feet and your brain, letting you listen to stories, characters, history, legends and adventures, all from a different perspective. Connecting with your imagination and your inner wisdom while you walk, feeling what you see. Walking but also reading to visit other worlds, fantastic worlds that you were not aware of, worlds where you can learn about the past, the present and the future. With CaminaLee, we will go out and tour iconic locations in the old quarter, finding the most important sites, monuments and churches. An explanation will be given about each of them, including the Teatro de la Ciudad, the Guerrero Gardens, the Palacio Municipal, the Church of Santa Clara, the Fountain of Neptune, the Casa de la Marquesa, the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro route and many other places, with rest stops and discussion of historical figures and the chance to draw them too.

To participate in this activity, please click here to fill in the registration form

Ages 6 to 12. Every child must be accompanied by an adult

How can we change the world? In this activity, the Hay Festival invites children to write their dreams or wishes on a Post-it in order to build up a little wall full of big ideas. The wishing wall will be put together throughout the day, with all the ideas that come from the hearts of the rebellious children who are ready to imagine a better world.

CaminaLee is an initiative that organizes walks aimed at connecting your feet and your brain, letting you listen to stories, characters, history, legends and adventures, all from a different perspective. Connecting with your imagination and your inner wisdom while you walk, feeling what you see. Walking but also reading to visit other worlds, fantastic worlds that you were not aware of, worlds where you can learn about the past, the present and the future. With CaminaLee, we will go out and tour iconic locations in the old quarter, finding the most important sites, monuments and churches. An explanation will be given about each of them, including the Teatro de la Ciudad, the Guerrero Gardens, the Palacio Municipal, the Church of Santa Clara, the Fountain of Neptune, the Casa de la Marquesa, the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro route and many other places, with rest stops and discussion of historical figures and the chance to draw them too.

To participate in this activity, please click here to fill in the registration form

Ages 6 to 12. Every child must be accompanied by an adult

The life of Alina changes drastically the day she receives some terrible news: Daniel, her best friend, has killed himself because of the bullying he was suffering. What is the worst? Nobody seems to care and Mauricio and his gang, the bullies of our story, go unpunished. Only Alina’s grandmother has an answer to her granddaughter’s concerns, when she tells her about a creature who can act as a defender, and she teaches her the recipe to create one, assisted by Lenny, her golem. At this event, we reflect together with Teresa Alcántara about of El extraño caso de Lenny Goleman, by author Liliana Blum, on this evil which affects so many young people, how to tackle it and, above all, how to bring justice in cases of bullying. The event will be moderated by Óscar Pedra Nieto.

Ages 14 and over

At this event, we present one of the most talented and entertaining of illustrators, the author of books such as Soñar no cuesta nada, No apagues la luz, Dino y Laura, Solo necesito un gato and Ansiedad as well as the blog En Dosis Diarias. We will meet Alberto Montt (Chile) to talk about illustration, reading, childhood and growing up.

Carmen Pachas Piélago, writer and scholar on ancient Peru, will tell her story El sombrero de plumas inspired by a feather headset that is located a the Museo de Sitio Arturo Jiménez Borja – Puruchuco, Lima, Perú. This piece belongs to the ichma culture that developed from 1,100 to 1,450 AD in Lima between the valleys of Chillón and Lurín.

Alberto Vergara presents his first book for children, Otta, la gaviota que tenía… ¡vértigo!, which tells the story of an unusual friendship between a seagull and a pelican, showing that much more important than differences is the affection that can arise between friends. Vergara will read parts of this charming and special story, in an activity moderated by Doris Zuzunaga. With the participation of Andrea Lértora, the illustrator of the book.

The illustrator Andrea Lértora presents and activity based on her books Sayri y el mensaje del cóndor and Sayri y el telar de las estrellas, which tell the tale of Sayri, a very special boy who discovers great secrets in nature, accompanied by condors, the mountain, the sea and the stars. Andrea will share these stories with the young attendees and will lead a drawing session.

The Peruvian writer Katya Adaui presents a beautiful book for children, illustrated with the delightful artwork of Eduardo Tokeshi. Paty is a little dog who is growing older, but her companion Ciro is ready to look after her, learning about the passage of time, loyalty and affection.

Fernando Ampuero, a wonderful Peruvian writer presents a book for children that tells the story of a fox that is in captivity, thus dealing with the subject of the mistreatment of animals. Nobody knows what muddles life will get you into; this is something that Run Run the fox discovers at an early age when he is obliged to pretend he is a dog, since fate has decreed that he will move from one family to another, interfering with his nature and his freedom. Moderator by reading promoter Estefani Bengoa.

Children’s literature is a genre that is dedicated to a very specific public: those going through infancy. The quality of its content and relevance in terms of the intellectual and emotional education of young children are crucial. Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua) and Claudia Piñeiro (Argentina), two outstanding Latin American authors, will talk about their experiences writing for this particular readership together with the promotor of children’s literature Cynthia Rodríguez (Venezuela/Canada).

Adela Muñoz Páez (Spain) is one of the most brilliant essayists writing today. A professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Seville University, her other great passion is women scientists. She is the creator of Científicas: Pasado, Presente y Futuro, a series of dramatic representations aimed at school children aged between 8 and 14. At this event, we will see some of these works and find out from the scientist Muñoz why her work has been so important.

The writer, journalist and illustrator Yero Chuquicaña studied Literature and Linguistics at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín in Arequipa. He has published the books of short stories Falsos cuentos: La primera vez que alguien te habló de mí (2017), Peruanos de segunda mano (2019) and ¿Qué carajo es el amor? (2021). In 2017 he won the National Literature Prize in the children/young adult category for his book Falsos cuentos: Taca-Taca, and in 2021 he won the Nuestros relatos contest, organized by the Proyecto Especial Bicentenario de la Independencia del Perú. His most recent book is Un zorro en la ciudad, the story of a fox from the Andes that ends up in a busy city.