Hay Festival Cartagena 2025

The twentieth edition of Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias will be held from 30 January to 2 February. In this page you can find the events in the general programme as well as Hay Festival Joven activities for university audiences, Hay Festival Comunitario sessions which took place in different areas of Cartagena, Reading Clubs and Talento Editorial.

For any inquirie, please contact tickets@hayfestival.org and contacto@hayfestival.org. Consulta el programa en PDF.

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Event HFJ23

Charlotte Higgins in conversation with Jesús Arroyave and Janiel Melamed

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Auditorio Marvel Moreno)
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Charlotte Higgins (United Kingdom) is the chief culture writer for The Guardian. In her book Greek Myths: A New Retelling, she explores the myths of Heracles, Theseus, and Perseus, the Trojan War—its origins and consequences—and tales from Thebes, Argos, and Athens. The book is composed of stories of extremes that deeply resonate with our times: mysterious diseases devastating cities, environmental disasters that destroy lives, and women enduring violence at the hands of men. In this new and thrilling interpretation by Charlotte Higgins, female characters take center stage, with Athena, Helen, Circe, Penelope, and others weaving stories in imagined elaborate tapestries. In conversation with Jesús Arroyave and Janiel Melamed.

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Charlotte Higgins in conversation with Jesús Arroyave and Janiel Melamed

Event HFJ29

Leonardo Padura in conversation with María Claudia Peñas Arana

 Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Sede Manga
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Leonardo Padura (Cuba) is an outstanding novelist, journalist and critic, winner of numerous literary awards, including the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award and the 2023 Pepe Carvalho Prize. His international fame was consolidated with the Havana Quartet series, featuring the detective Mario Conde, and with The Man Who Loved Dogs, which is a reflection of his piercing and critical view of Soviet socialism. His new book, Ir a la Habana, is a long essay on his relationship with the city, supported by fragments of his novels and journalism, created together with his wife, Lucía López Coll. In conversation with María Claudia Peñas Arana.
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Leonardo Padura in conversation with María Claudia Peñas Arana

Event HFJ24

Rodrigo Quian Quiroga in conversation with Pilar Garavito

What Makes us Human?

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Juan Manuel Ruiseco K21)
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Rodrigo Quian Quiroga (Argentina) is a physicist, mathematician and neuroscientist, as well as an authority on the neuronal mechanisms of visual perception and memory. In his latest publication, Cosas que nunca creerías. De la ciencia ficción a la neurociencia, the author explores the working of the brain. Quian Quiroga is the discoverer of “concept neurones”, sometimes known as “Grandmother cells”, and he investigates neurological advances that, in some cases, are bringing us close to possibilities that, until now, seemed to be from the realm of science fiction. Since 2019 he has been a member of the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences, and he currently lectures at the Hospital del Mar’s Research Institute in Barcelona. He will offer his conference What makes us Human? In conversation with Pilar Garavito.
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Rodrigo Quian Quiroga in conversation with Pilar Garavito

Event HFJ25

Daniel Mordzinski in conversation with Toni Celia

The Writer's Photographer

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Museo Mapuka)
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Daniel Mordzinski (Argentina), known as the “writer’s photographer”, has created a body of photographic work and an aesthetic closely linked to literature and its mystique: from his first photos of Jorge Luis Borges in 1978, including hundreds of writers who have passed in front of his camera, and with over 15 years of work linked to the Hay Festivals. He will talk about his extraordinary career, which has been built up at the frontier of images and words. In conversation with Toni Celia.
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Daniel Mordzinski in conversation with Toni Celia

Event HFJ26

Susan Neiman in conversation with Iván Luzardo Luna

Izquierda no es woke

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Museo Mapuka)
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Susan Neiman (United States) is an outstanding philosopher and writer known for her contributions in the fields of moral philosophy, the Enlightenment, metaphysics and politics. Educated at Harvard, Neiman has taught at Yale and the University of Tel Aviv, and, since 2000 has directed the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Germany. Her new book, Left Is Not Woke, is a critical examination of the distinction between the principles of the left and the phenomenon sometimes known as woke, arguing that the true spirit of the left is based on universalism, justice and the possibility of progress, values that she considers have been distorted by some contemporary currents which prioritise tribal identities, tending towards conservatism. In conversation with Iván Luzardo Luna.

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Susan Neiman in conversation with Iván Luzardo Luna

Event HFJ27

Yuliana Ortiz Ruano in conversation with Josef Amón

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Bambú 1)
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The Ecuadorian poet and writer Yuliana Ortiz Ruano is the author of Fiebre de carnaval, a novel that pays homage to dance, Latin American culture, and African roots. She presents this book and talks about her experiences as an author and activist. In conversation with Josef Amón.
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Yuliana Ortiz Ruano in conversation with Josef Amón

Event HFJ28

Wolfram Eilenberger in conversation with Daniela Pabón

 Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla (Salón Gabriel García Márquez)
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Wolfram Eilenberger (Germany) is a philosopher, journalist and writer. His passion is the application of philosophical ideas in everyday life, whether politics, culture or sport. Founding Editor of Philosophie Magazin, he has published Time of the Magicians. The Invention of Modern Thought 1919-1929, and now presents Geister der Gegenwart, an exploration of the thought of Theodor W. Adorno, Susan Sontag, Michel Foucault and Paul Feyerabend. The book follows the path of a set of ideas that are essential for our times: from dismantling the myth of blind faith, to the progress of conspiracy theories; from sexual liberation to the most reductionist wokeness. In conversation with Daniela Pabón.

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Wolfram Eilenberger in conversation with Daniela Pabón

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