Hay Festival Arequipa 2022 – History

In 2022, Hay Festival and the British Museum came together to organise the anthology Volver a contar: Escritores de América Latina en los archivos del Museo Británico, for which a group of ten writers examined narratives about the past through a collection of Latin American objects in the museum never seen in public before. In 2023 we presented the anthology Exploradores, soñadores y ladrones, in which six authors looked at the museum’s collections in order to create new compilation of texts that question and reimagine the predominant narratives. With Felipe Restrepo Pombo (Colombia), Philippe Sands (United Kingdom) and Gabriela Wiener (Peru), in conversation with Cristina Fuentes La Roche (Spain).

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

The podcast and book It’s a continent are two of the best contemporary introductions to the history and current affairs of African countries intended for a broad public. Created and produced by two British communicators with African origins, Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata, it explores in an entertaining and accessible way the history of each African country, dismantling myths and celebrating the cultural and historical riches of a set of countries and peoples that constitute a very large percentage of the world population. Together with the BBC journalist Matías Zibell, Madimba and Ukata will tell us how the idea for the podcast arose, and why it is important to communicate the reality of each African country to a world that still has much to learn and a long way to go in terms of decolonising.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

Philippe Sands (United Kingdom) is a well-known human rights lawyer and author of acclaimed works such as East West Street and The Ratline, and at this event he will talk to Felipe Gálvez about his most recent book, The Last Colony. Sands tells the painful story of the forced displacement of Liseby Elysé and other inhabitants of the Chagos archipelago in 1973, due to the strategic interests of the Cold War. Displaced to Mauritius in order to make room for a US military base, this book condemns British colonial injustice and its effects. With a story that includes history, essay and personal drama, Sands reveals the human tragedies behind the great historical events, underlining the need for justice and reparation, exploring the recent history of Chile and taking as a point of departure the lives and works of iconic figures such as Bruce Chatwin, Roberto Bolaño and the dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

Find out how Machu Picchu was constructed. Discover all the ingenuity of the Inca civilisation when it came to great architectural achievements. Understand how ancient societies faced technical, geographical and social challenges when carrying out monumental projects such as Machu Picchu. This masterclass inspires and motivates children to seek creative and innovative solutions to face contemporary challenges. Furthermore, it will teach them to appreciate the cultural heritage of humanity and understand the importance of preserving these historical monuments for future generations. With José Carlos de la Puente and Sergio Vilela.

Historical archives are sources of an incalculable value for understanding the past, present and future of nations. Natalia Sobrevilla is a historian, researcher and lecturer in the History of Latin America at the University of Kent (United Kingdom), and is also the author of Independence and Nation Building in Latin America. In the context of the crisis affecting the National General Archive, we want to highlight the importance of protecting this legacy, which belongs to all citizens. In her contemporary classic, Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World, Irene Vallejo explores the development of the book and libraries in the ancient world, and how they became effective ways for transmitting and preserving ideas, while also pointing out that “a dislike of books is a tradition with strong roots in our history”. In conversation with the Head of the Riva-Agüero Institute’s Historical Archive, Magally Alegre Henderson.