Hay Festival Segovia 2023

In the 80s, the group Mecano, with Ana Torroja at the microphone, formed the centre of a web of thousands of anonymous voices which sang their songs anywhere, at any time and in any place. The relationship between music and words is as true as it is ambiguous at times, as is the relationship between historical and personal time.

Blanca Baltés and Emilio Peral Vega reflect on this, and how it manifests itself in literary and musical forms of expression. Baltés is a playwright, theater researcher and entrepreneur in the audio world; she holds a PhD in Spanish Linguistics and is the author of Mamá no lo sabe todavía, a novel that tells the interconnected stories of several Spanish women during the second half of the 20th century. Peral Vega is professor of Spanish Literature, Vice-Dean of Culture, Institutional Relations and Library at Madrid Complutense University. Together with Elena Torres Clemente, he has published Mecano. Inspiración poética y genio musical.

There will be a book signing by both authors at the end of the conversation

Event in Spanish

The British Council School Orchestra is formed by school students, teachers from the Music21 programme, and alumni who get together to enjoy musical expression. Their repertoire includes from baroque and classical pieces to popular and current ones. The school is committed to musical development, not only for the artistic results that are gained through learning, but also for the values that are acquired through teamworking, which include loyalty, challenge, flexibility, resilience, and care for one another.

The British Council School is a bicultural School which contributes to the British Council’s global mission of promoting British culture and its language, as well as building connections with cultures from all around the world.