Hay Festival Cartagena 2024

Gerardo 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.

What lies behind the scenes of an assassination, coup d’état or a swindle? In his latest book Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks, the acclaimed writer Patrick Radden Keefe (United States) takes us around the planet to discover some of the most startling crimes committed by rogues of all kinds, whose crimes or eccentric behaviours are portrayed in the book. Radden Keefe writes for the New Yorker and is the author of critically-acclaimed works such as Say Nothing and Empire of Pain. In conversation with the journalist Ana María Roura.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

In 2022, the Hay Festival and the British Museum teamed up to create the anthology Volver a contar: escritores de América Latina en los archivos del Museo Británico, in which a group of ten writers delved into narratives on the past using a collection of Latin American objects in the museum, a collection never seen by the public. In 2023 we present the anthology Exploradores, soñadores y ladrones, in which six fiction writers visit the museum’s collection to come up with a new compilation of texts that question and reimagine the predominant narratives, with Selva Almada (Argentina), Philippe Sands (France/UK), Josefa Sánchez Contreras (Mexico), Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia) and Gabriela Wiener (Peru) in conversation with Felipe Restrepo Pombo (Colombia), editor of the anthologies.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

The comedian, actor, writer and activist Ruby Wax is an outstanding media personality in the United Kingdom. The author of various bestsellers, the latest is I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, in which she deals honestly and with humour about her mental health, shedding light on a matter that is not always easy to tackle, and inviting the reader to an exercise in empathy. She will talk to Silvana Paternostro about her work as an activist, raising awareness about mental health and its importance in our lives.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

It has been a century since the publication of one of the landmarks of Colombian and Latin American literature: La vorágine. The novel, written in 1924 by José Eustasio Rivera, tells the story of the two protagonists, Alicia and Arturo, who flee into the Amazon rainforest on a legendary journey that is scarred by the violence of history and the violence of nature. Despite the years that have passed, the condemnation of the problems of the frontier and the exploitation of rubber workers made by Rivera continues to be relevant, making this work a timeless classic that shines as brightly as ever. With Juan Cárdenas, Juan Carlos Flórez, Javier Ortiz Cassiani and Erna von der Walde in conversation with Daniella Sánchez Russo. Presented by Juan David Correa, the Minister of Culture.

The Cartagena native Alfonso Múnera (Colombia) is a Doctor in Latin American and Caribbean History from the University of Connecticut; he has been Colombian Ambassador in Jamaica and in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as General Secretary of the Association of Caribbean States. He has written three essential works for understanding Colombian history: El fracaso de la nación, Fronteras imaginadas and La independencia de Colombia: olvidos y ficciones. He will talk about his work with Raúl Román.

What happens when great artists and athletes get to the end of their careers? In The Last Days of Roger Federer, in his characteristic style, Geoff Dyer portrays figures as different as Bob Dylan, Friedrich Nietzsche and Boris Becker, offering a lucid reflection on success and decadence. Through anecdotes and history, the author shows us the last days of these geniuses, demonstrating that it is possible to find meaning in the finite, and to continue to reinvent ourselves long after youth has ended. In conversation with the journalist Fernando Gómez.

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

Juan Carlos Flórez will chair a very interesting conversation about proposals for changes, and adjustments in our lifestyles that can make a difference in the search for a more just, sustainable and plural society, with some marvellous guests: Mauricio García Villegas (Colombia), Mariana Mazzucato (USA/Italy/UK), Rebecca Solnit (United States) and Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe).

Simultaneous translation from English to Spanish available

The award-winning journalist, writer and documentary-maker, Eliane Brum (Brazil), lives and works in Altamira, in the Amazon rainforest. She has received around 40 journalism prizes. She writes for Spain’s El País and is the author of La Amazonia: viaje al centro del mundo (2024), a book that narrates her move from Sao Paulo to Altamira, a city where the construction of one of the world’s largest (and most ecologically devastating) dams is taking place. She writes about the negligence and corruption that is changing the face of the Amazon. In conversation with Erna von der Walde.

Simultaneous translation from Portuguese to Spanish available

Héctor Abad Faciolince (Colombia) is one of Colombia’s most acclaimed and loved voices, author of the contemporary classic Oblivion. A Memoir. Winner of various prizes for fiction and for journalism (including the Simón Bolívar Prize), his works have been translated into 15 languages. In 2016 he founded the Colombian independent publishing company Angosta. His latest novel, Salvo mi corazón, todo está bien, is based on true events and tells the story of a priest who is waiting for a heart transplant. He will speak to Ricardo Silva.

Two writers will talk to Daniella Sánchez Russo about their recent work. With the acclaimed author of The Adventures of China Iron (shortlisted for prestigious awards such as the International Booker and the Médicis), Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (Argentina) returns with the powerful Las niñas del naranjel (2023), about the historical figure Catalina de Erauso, the Nun Alférez, who was born in Spain in the late 16th century and who crossed America dressed as a man. And with Gloria Susana Esquivel (Colombia), writer and podcaster, creator of the popular programme Womansplaining, and author of several books, including the recently published novel Contradeseo (2023), which explores the lives of three young adults who share an apartment. Written with a complex, unsettling prose, the author tells the story of a newly-married couple and a friend who has recently ended a relationship and who stays with the couple in exchange for domestic work.

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.

Our book clubs are intimate events with guests selected from the Hay Festival programme. These small-scale events will be a chance to talk in depth about the most recent work published by those invited. At this event, Javier Moro (Spain) will talk to Margarita Valencia about his book Nos quieren muertos. In this rigorous, dramatic book, Moro deals with the life of a figure who is important for an understanding of contemporary Venezuela: Leopoldo López. Upon being jailed in 2014, after leading massive protests against the Maduro government, López became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in the country.

The book should be read before attending.