Hay Festival Cartagena 2024
Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias 2024 was held from 25 to 28 January. In this page you can find the events in the general programme as well as Hay Joven activities for university audiences, Hay Comunitario sessions which took place in different areas of Cartagena, Reading Clubs and Talento Editorial.
Events video and audio is available on Hay Festival Anytime.
Event HC1
Catalina Gómez Ángel
Young reporters workshop
Institución Educativa 14 de Febrero - El Pozón
Read moreThe journalist Catalina Gómez Ángel (Colombia) works in the Middle East as a correspondent, covering events in countries such as Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan and Iran, where she lives. Since February 2022 she has dedicated much of her time to covering the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. She is the co-author of the book Balas para todas: Seis mujeres journalists en Oriente Medio y el Magreb (2021). She is a correspondent for France 24 Español, Barcelona’s La Vanguardia and Radio France Internationale. This highly experienced reporter will offer a workshop for young community reporters.
This event has taken place
Event HC2
Musical show offered by Las Estrellas del Caribe
Hay Comunitario opening event
Institución Educativa 14 de Febrero - El Pozón
Read moreLas Estrellas del Caribe, from San Basilio de Palenque, is a traditional group created by Leonel Torres and some of his friends from the town. They are pioneers in which is now known as “terapia criolla” or “champeta roots”, and they come with a performance that combines the traditional music of Palenque with African rhythms such as soukous, highlife and mbquanga. This very special event will connect the audience with essential cultural expressions of Caribbean musical identity.
This event has taken place
Event HC3
'Letras al carbón' and other stories by Irene Vasco
Reading and conversation on some of her books
La Canoa Literaria
Read moreIrene Vasco has dedicated her life to books and reading. As well as writing, she has also worked in bookselling and as a reading promoter. She is the creator of over 30 books of children’s literature, including Conjuros y sortilegios, Expedición Macondo, Letras al carbón and La independencia de Colombia: así fue.
This event has taken place
Event HC4
Juliana Muñoz Toro
Whales at the end of the world
Institución Educativa El Redentor Sede Las Colinas - Nelson Mandela
Read moreJuliana Muñoz Toro is a writer and journalist. Her book 24 señales para descubrir a un alien won the Tragaluz International Writing Competition and was selected by the Munich International Youth Library. In her book Mi hermana Juana y las ballenas del fin del mundo she tells the story of a journey undertaken by a sister, a brother and their mother to see the humpback whales of the Colombian Pacific. Juliana will talk about this book with the attendees.
This event has taken place
Event HC5
Rocio Bonilla
Institución Educativa Puerto Rey
Read moreEsta autora e ilustradora es la creadora de más de cincuenta libros que han sido traducidos a casi 30 idiomas. Estudió Bellas Artes y Pedagogía y por muchos años se dedicó a la publicidad. Desde 2013, Rocio Bonilla escribe y dibuja para las y los más pequeños. Algunos de sus álbumes ilustrados se titulan: ¿De qué color es un beso?, La montaña de libros más alta del mundo y Abuelos, pirañas y otras historias. Es la creadora de la serie Babymoni, sobre una niña que descubre el mundo que la rodea, explorando sus emociones y su cotidianidad.
This event has taken place
With the support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)
Event HC6
Rocio Bonilla
Institución Educativa Felipe Santiago Escobar - Turbaco
Read moreThis author and illustrator is the creator of over 50 books, which have been translated into almost 30 languages. She originally studied Fine Art and Education, and for many years worked in advertising. Since 2013, Rocio Bonilla has written and drawn for young people. Some of her illustrated books include ¿De qué color es un beso?, La montaña de libros más alta del mundo and Abuelos, pirañas y otras historias. She is also the creator of the Babymoni series, which is about a girl who discovers the world around her, exploring her emotions and her everyday life.
This event has taken place
With the support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)
Event HC7
Álvaro Ortiz
Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española (Biblioteca)
Read moreÁlvaro 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.
This event has taken place
With the support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)
Event HC8
'Letras al carbón' and other stories by Irene Vasco
Reading of and conversation on some of her books
Corporación Ruleli
Read moreIrene Vasco has dedicated her life to books and reading. As well as writing, she has also worked in bookselling and as a reading promoter. She is the creator of over 30 books of children’s literature, including Conjuros y sortilegios, Expedición Macondo, Letras al carbón and La independencia de Colombia: así fue.
This event has taken place
Event HC9
Valentina Toro
The imaginary children
Salón Comunal de Malagana
Read moreValentina Toro studied Graphic Design and later did a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. She is the author and illustrator of eight books, a number of which have been shortlisted for international prizes. Valentina is interested in stories about ghosts, animals, magic and supernatural beings. In her latest book, Los niños imaginarios, she deals with matters including the family and mourning. It tells the story of Lorenzo, who, after the death of his father, moves with his family to a house near a forest, one that his grandmother says is full of monsters. One day, guided by a dog, the child enters the wood and starts to discover all kinds of mysteries.
This event has taken place
Event HC22
Raúl Ballesteros
Biblioteca Popular de Playa Blanca
Read moreArtist, historian and creator of the 'Ciudad Parapeto' series, Raúl Ballesteros is the illustrator of the book Alba y el pequeño gran Toto, written by Carolina Cabarcas. On this occasion he will offer an art workshop, one that will help us think about the world around us through creativity.
This event has taken place
Event HC10
Juliana Muñoz Toro
Whales at the end of the world
Casa Comunitaria de Tierra Baja
Read moreJuliana Muñoz Toro Juliana Muñoz Toro is a writer and journalist. Her book 24 señales para descubrir a un alien won the Tragaluz International Writing Competition and was selected by the Munich International Youth Library. In her book Mi hermana Juana y las ballenas del fin del mundo she tells the story of a journey undertaken by a sister, a brother and their mother to see the humpback whales of the Colombian Pacific. Juliana will talk about this book with the attendees.
This event has taken place
Event HC11
Beatriz Helena Robledo
A festival of riddles
Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española (biblioteca)
Read moreBeatriz Helena Robledo studied Spanish and Latin American Literature and lectured in Children’s Literature at the Universidad Javeriana. She has contributed to numerous anthologies of short stories and poetry, has been on the juries of children’s literature prizes such as the Iberoamericano Prize for Child and Young Adult Literature, the Casa de las Américas Prize for Literature for Children and Young People, and the RCN-Ministry of Education National Short Story Prize. Her books include Así somos. Tradiciones de Colombia; El otro Simón, an illustrated book about Simón Bolívar; Flores blancas para papá, a young adult novel; and various biographies: Rafael Pombo, la vida de un poeta; María Cano, la Virgen Roja; ¡Viva la Pola! and Teresita Gómez. Música, toda una vida. She currently runs the Consultorio Lector, a personalised attention programme for reading, writing and literature. On this occasion, Robledo presents a festival of riddles at which participants will join in, in groups, to try to answer the others’ conundrums.
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Event HC12
José Andrés Gómez
CDI Camino de Luz - El Pozón
Read moreThis author loves horror films.José Andrés Gómez studied Biology, then Audiovisual Communication and then baking. He collects strange comics and board games. Some of his books are Los cuadernos del doctor Calamar, Marsálida: guía turística para el visitante indefenso and Índigo no puede salir de vacaciones. He likes to mix everything and learned to use pens and dice at the same time, creating stories by playing, almost without meaning to.
Ages 12 and over
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Event HC14
Gerardo Meneses
Bashir’s last journey
Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española (Biblioteca)
Read moreGerardo studied Literature at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and has written over 20 books. He has received a range of national and international prizes, recently being ‘highly recommended’ by Fundalectura and put on the IBBY List of Honour, Greece (2018). His most recent book, El último viaje de Bashir, tells the story of Isaac, a thirteen-year-old boy who wants to be like Bashir the magician, who comes to his town with the circus once a year. Yet to be a magician, Isaac will have to leave his town and his family, and try new and unexpected things in order to enter into the world of magic… A story about the transition from childhood to adolescence.
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Event HC15
Elisa Guerra
How to develop the potential of all children
Corporación Ruleli
Read moreElisa Guerra (México) has a Master’s in Education from the University of Harvard and for over 20 years she has been the voluntary Director for Latin America of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, an international non-profit organization that works with the parents of neurodiverse children. This talk aims to offer a look at child brain development and explore how parents can become the most influential teachers and therapists for their own children.
This event has taken place
Event HC16
José Andrés Gómez
Biblioteca Pública de Clemencia
Read moreJosé Andrés Gómez loves horror films. He studied Biology, then Audiovisual Communication and then baking. He collects strange comics and board games. Some of his books are Los cuadernos del doctor Calamar; Marsálida: guía turística para el visitante indefenso and Índigo no puede salir de vacaciones. He likes to mix everything and learned to use pens and dice at the same time, creating stories by playing, almost without meaning to.
Ages 12 and over
This event has taken place
Event HC17
Velia Vidal
Biblioteca Popular de Playa Blanca
Read moreIn 2022, the writer, cultural manager and reading promotor Velia Vidal was named as one of the world’s 100 most influential women by the BBC. This Colombian from Chocó is the founder and Director of the Motete Cultural and Educational Corporation which works to promote reading and culture in her region. With her first book, Aguas de estuario, the author tells of her personal return to her homeland to dedicate her life to offering reading support and cultural management, how the tensions between the centre and the periphery in a country like Colombia have defined much of this journey, and her struggle to dissolve these divisions. Her most recent publication, Para vernos mejor, is a reflection on representation in children’s literature, which questions a system that continues to privilege hegemonic discourses. The author proposes, with experiences and examples, a way of building more diverse role models.
This event has taken place
Event HC18
Pilar Lozano
Institución Educativa Técnica de La Boquilla - Sede Principal
Read moreThe radio, press and television journalist, writer of children’s literature and reading promotor, Pilar Lozano, is the author of almost 20 books exploring the country’s richness and diversity. Her stories also deal with the most painful sides of our recent history. Some of her books are La historia, los viajes y la abuela; Colombia, mi abuelo y yo; La estrella que le perdió el miedo a la noche and Historias de un país invisible.
Ages 8 to 12
This event has taken place
Event HC19
Elisa Guerra
Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española (Biblioteca)
Read moreElisa Guerra (Mexico) has a Master’s in Education from Harvard University. In 2015 she was named Best Educator in Latin America and the Caribbean by the Inter-American Development Bank, and has been on UNESCO’s International Commission on the Futures of Education. At this event she will talk about her latest book, Las voces de los árboles, a work that leads readers through a parallel world in which trees of different species and from places around the world tell us their stories and let us reflect on the damage we are doing to the planet.
From 8 to 12 years old
This event has taken place
Event HC20
Gerardo Meneses
Bashir's last journey
CDI La Abejita - Membrillal
Read moreGerardo studied Literature at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and has written over 20 books. He has received a range of national and international prizes, recently being ‘highly recommended’ by Fundalectura and put on the IBBY List of Honour, Greece (2018). His most recent book, El último viaje de Bashir (Bashir's last journey) tells the story of Isaac, a thirteen-year-old boy who wants to be like Bashir the magician, who comes to his town with the circus once a year. Yet to be a magician, Isaac will have to leave his town and his family, and try new and unexpected things in order to enter into the world of magic… A story about the transition from childhood to adolescence.
This event has taken place
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