Hay Festival Cartagena 2023

Two journalists from one of the world’s most respected media outlets will give this journalism workshop aimed at university students. Carlos Serrano (Colombia) and Ana María Roura (Ecuador), members of the BBC Mundo team, will explain the Spanish-language work model of this British news service, which is over a hundred years old and is renowned for its news rigour and quality. Our guests will talk particularly about broadcasting content creation and managing the social media.

Álvaro Ortiz is a comic illustrator and author, the winner of numerous prizes and the creator of several graphic novels. His latest is written for children and is entitled La pequeña genia y la partida de shatranj. His work deals with matters related to the history of art, the past, travel and remote cultures. In conversation with Lisette Urquijo.

Tei Shi (Valerie Teicher Barbosa) is a Colombian-Canadian singer and songwriter. Her lyrics, which were initially all in English, have gradually come to terms with her Hispanic roots, the result of the Latin music that was always playing around her; and also due to a particular source of inspiration, which is wishing to set poems written in Spanish to music. Her latest work, Bad Premonition, is composed of six songs that demonstrate how well she has consolidated her artistic personality after ten years of searching and introspection, thus opening a new phase of creative freedom and growth. She will offer a brief concert and will talk about her music career. In conversation with Federico Ochoa.

The Hay Festival and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) present the anthology Verdades compartidas, a project that reimagines Colombia after the peace process, written by ten Latin American authors. The project presents an inclusive and holistic vision of the peace process, and portrays not only the diversity of the country, but also sets the nation within the Latin American context. Three contributors to the anthology, Ana Paula Maia (Brazil) and Fernanda Trías (Uruguay) will talk about their texts, perspectives and feelings. In conversation with the Rector of Cartagena University, Willian Malkún Castillejo.

Simultaneous translation from Portuguese to Spanish available

Jorge Comensal is the author of the novel Las mutaciones (2019) and the essay Yonquis de las letras (2017). He has contributed to media outlets such as Gatopardo, Tierra Adentro, The Literary Review and The Paris Review. He has also edited the Revista de la Universidad de México magazine, been a recipient of the Foundation for Mexican Literature and the National Fund for Culture and the Arts, as well as a resident with the Jan Michalski Foundation. He presents Este vacío que hierve (2023), a novel that explores matters such as the malleable nature of space-time, the environmental crisis, family secrets, addiction and fanaticism. It knits together the stories of Karina, a 25-year old physicist; her alcoholic grandmother Rebeca; the parents of Karina, who died 18 years previously; Silverio, a guard at Mexico City’s biggest cemetery; a cryptic pyromaniac priest; Daenerys, an environmental activist; and the animals at the burning zoo of this story of fauna, mystery and solitude. He will talk to Laura Martínez Salcedo.

Over the course of four decades, and with 15 years as a columnist, Margarita Rosa de Francisco has become one of the most entertaining and influential personalities in the Colombian media. Her roles in soap operas such as Gallito Ramírez (1986-87) and Café con aroma de mujer (1994-95) made her a star of national television. She has acted in around 20 film and television productions, has contributed to media outlets such as El Tiempo, SoHo, Ellas and El Espectador and has won many prizes, including the Simón Bolívar, TV y Novelas, Macondo and the India Catalina awards in Colombia, as well as the recent Horizon Award at the 2023 Venice Film Festival for Best Actress in the film El Paraiso, directed by the Italian Enrico María Artale. She will talk to Ricardo Chica Gelis about her second book, Margarita va sola (2023), a collection of memories and reflections on matters that range from revealing one’s body and erotic initiation, to her thoughts about God and identity.