Hay Festival Colombia Digital

The priest, philosopher and theologian Pablo d’Ors believes that spirituality and meditation are spaces that fulfil us, allowing us to grasp the meaning of things, so that our gaze can escape the pressures of daily life and everything takes on a new beauty. This process is not a matter of conscious reflection; one simply has to let oneself be drawn into one’s inner self. D’Ors, founder of the Friends of the Desert meditation network, combines his pastoral work as a priest with a prolific literary output of spiritual content, with titles such as Biografía del silencio, that have had a huge international impact. In conversation with Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in Spanish

Inma Ballesteros (Spain) and Sonia Faleiro (India) are two figures who, whilst they may go somewhat unnoticed, end up being indispensable in promoting writers within today’s global literary ecosystem. They are the driving force behind bringing diverse literary voices to festivals and book fairs in every corner of the world. Ballesteros promotes Spanish culture in her role as director of programming at Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), whilst Faleiro is the founder of the South Asia Speaks mentoring programme, which aims to amplify emerging literature in that region. The two organisers will speak with the writer and deputy editor of La Vanguardia Miquel Molina about the importance of building networks to support literary communities of emerging talent and about their work at the helm of AC/E and South Asia Speaks.

At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of his books

Event in Spanish

An accident can split a life in two. It can also become a way of looking at the world. Marta Jiménez Serrano and Nerea Pérez de las Heras draw on extreme experiences that nearly cost them their lives to create two books that transcend autobiographical narrative and delve into universal themes. In Oxígeno, Jiménez Serrano recalls the carbon monoxide poisoning that nearly killed her while weaving in reflections on love, family, housing, and precariousness. In Fantasma, Pérez de las Heras transforms the loss of part of her leg following a boating accident into a luminous and incisive reflection on the body, identity, public healthcare, exposure, and friendship. With sensitivity, humor, and a remarkable ability to transform personal experience into literature, both authors confront death head-on to celebrate the daily wonder of still being here.

Following the event, the authors will sign copies of their books

Event in Spanish

Some lives are enough for many lives; and there are family stories whose recollection brings to light the history of their surroundings, sometimes dramatic. Margaryta Yakovenko emigrated to Spain at the age of 7 with her parents, leaving her loved ones behind in Ukraine. Today, everything has taken an unexpected turn, and that family now finds itself in an area invaded by Russia. Together with Jesús García Calero, a journalist and one of Spain’s leading experts in cultural outreach, she will explore the last century of a region that has been particularly turbulent. She will draw on her latest work, Ocupación, which serves as a reckoning with her past.

At the end of the event, the authors will sign copies of her book

Event in Spanish

Contemporary Spanish music cannot be discussed without mentioning Ramoncín. Since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s at just 22 years old and with a burning desire to take on the world, this Madrid-born artist is responsible for some of the most important anthems in the history of Spanish rock, such as Hormigón, Mujeres y Alcohol, Como un susurro, La chica de la puerta 16, Miedo a soñar, Marica de terciopelo, Estamos desesperados and Ángel de cuero. Armed with a wealth of experience in music, life, and culture, Ramoncín sits down to talk with Santiago Herrero, director of Cultural and Scientific Relations at AECID, to explain how one can continue to be a trailblazer at the age of 70.

Event in Spanish