Hay Festival Arequipa 2025 is here! The eleventh edition of the festival in Peru will take place from November 6th to 9th, featuring 99 events and over 130 local, national, and international participants. The form to request free tickets for university students and seniors will be available soon.
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Event HFC1
Enmanuel Grau in conversation with Raúl Romero
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Establecimiento penitenciario de hombres de Arequipa
Since 2019, the Hay Festival Arequipa has been running sessions in men’s and women’s prisons in Arequipa with the aim of fulfilling its goal of reaching the most vulnerable sections of the community. This year, the Peruvian writer, Enmanuel Grau, will talk about his book of short stories El fin de los tiempos, which relates the experiences of marginal, and marginalised, characters who have been powerfully marked by a failed system. He will talk to Raúl Romero, reading mediator of La Bibliobici de Arequipa.
Paula López Espinosa in conversation with Carla Galdós
Followed by workshop in emotional restoration, healing and forgiveness
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Establecimiento penitenciario de mujeres de Arequipa
Since 2019, the Hay Festival Arequipa has been running sessions in men’s and women’s prisons in Arequipa with the aim of fulfilling its goal of reaching the most vulnerable sections of the community. At this event, together with reading mediator Carla Galdós, the Colombian-Spanish writer Paula López Espinosa will talk to prisoners about her book of emotional healing, Transforma tu dolor, in which she will help them to find the diamond in their souls, through a skilful and inspiring method. The conversation will be followed by a workshop lead by the author.
Laura G. de Rivera in conversation with Daniel Mitma
What the algorithm tells us
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Universidad Continental (auditorio)
We are puppets of the algorithm, although sometimes we don’t realise it. The puppet master is not always artificial intelligence itself, but rather those who pull the strings to predict and mould our behaviour. The science journalist Laura G. de Rivera (Spain) has spent years researching the consequences of this invisible control. In Esclavos del algoritmo she offers a necessary and critical view of the impact of algorithmic systems on our lives. In conversation with Daniel Mitma.
This event has taken place
With the support of Acción Cultural Española, AC/E
Rodolfo Sánchez-Aizcorbe in conversation with Pablo Quintanilla Bedregal
Understanding the Palestine-Israeli conflict
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Universidad Católica de Santa María, Instituto Confucio
In order to understand the reasons, implications and consequences of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, it is important to listen to those who know the conflict well. Rodolfo Sánchez-Aizcorbe is the co-author of Para entender el conflicto palestino-israelí, a long essay that gets beyond the stereotypes and analyses the narratives involved in a conflict whose consequences are being felt by the entire Palestinian civil population. In conversation with Pablo Quintanilla Bedregal, professor at the School of Political Science and Government.
Culture influences people; it provides a sense of identity and belonging, and guides values and perceptions of the world. Understanding it helps societies to face challenges and handle conflicts, and comprehending cultural contexts constitutes a basis for professional approaches. María del Milagro Lozada (Peru) will explore non-verbal communication, as well as the theoretical frameworks and strategies that favour the recognition and understanding of cultures.
María Galindo, Arwa Mahdawi and Rafia Zakaria in conversation with José Luis Ramos Salinas
South to North Conversations: feminisms
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Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (teatro)
A look at the diversity of feminisms that have forged our ways of thinking in conversation with José Luis Ramos Salinas. With the anarcho-feminist and “techno-shaman” María Galindo (Bolivia); the journalist and writer of The Guardian’s Week in Patriarchy column,Arwa Mahdawi (United Kingdom/Palestine); and the lawyer and journalist, Rafia Zakaria (Pakistan), author of Against White Feminism.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
This event has taken place
With the support of Open Society Foundations and the British Council
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Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (auditorio)
Carla Arce Tord, better known as @astrocarlaa, is a young Peruvian astrophysicist and science commentator. She shares her passion for the stars and the cosmos in El universo extremo, a work that brings astronomy to the general public, presenting concepts such as the Big Bang, superclusters, quasars, blazars and antimatter using an engaging, simple language. As she herself says “science is for everyone”. In conversation with Ana Pais.
Alexandra Pareja and Olenka Soto Cárdenas in conversation with Ruhuan Huarca Llamoca
Publishing Talent: publishing
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Teatro Arequepay
We talk about the publishing trade with two publishers from independent companies: Alexandra Pareja (Colombia), co-founder of Angosta Editores, and Olenka Soto Cárdenas (Peru), editorial director of El Pasto Verde Records and part of the editorial board of Leche de Trigre and Nuveliel, will talk about the challenges of the job with Ruhuan Huarca Llamoca.
L.M. Bracklow in conversation with Ángela Valeria Mya Pazo Romero
Fantasy literature
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Universidad Católica de Santa María, Instituto Confucio
El reino de Belmar by L.M. Bracklow is the latest book of the Islands of Iros series. With this third book of the adventures of Luke, Damien and Kaori, the bestselling young Peruvian author has captivated millions of readers around the world, and the acclaim she has received has made her books a standard of Peruvian fantasy writing for young adults. She will talk about her creative process and will share with the audience tips about how to publish work on different platforms, as she has done, actively and successfully. In conversation with Ángela Valeria Mya Pazo Romero, professor at the School of Social Communication.
Alexandra Pareja in conversation with Jullisa del Pilar Falla Aguirre
Publishing funds
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Universidad Continental (auditorio)
Building an independent publishing house is like jumping into the void without knowing if there is a safety net. When she co-founded Angosta Editores with Héctor Abad Faciolince, Alexandra Pareja found many readers that supported an artisanal care for design, a curated selection that gave space to a diversity of literary genres, and an open door for emerging writers. Angosta Editores has turned into a success story, and its shelves include relevant authors such as Esteban Duperly, Orlando Echeverri Benedetti or Sara Jaramillo Klinkert. In conversation with the coordinator of the Editorial Collection of the Continental University Jullisa del Pilar Falla Aguirre.
Jeremías Gamboa in conversation with Juan Gabriel Vásquez
More ambitious than ever
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Teatro Municipal
With a style that is reminiscent of Miguel Gutiérrez and Leon Tolstoy, Jeremías Gamboa (Peru) has recently published El principio del mundo. Manuel, the main character, aims to find his true identity, while he travels through a Peru that is characterised by a mixture of cultures and all the contradictions this brings with it. After the success of Animales luminosos, he returns, more ambitious than ever, with a bildungsroman. In conversation with Juan Gabriel Vásquez.
LSP Peruvian Sign Language interpretation available
Arwa Mahdawi and Rodolfo Sánchez-Aizcorbe in conversation with Natalia Sobrevilla
South to North Conversations: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
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Colegio de Arquitectos (auditorio)
In order to understand the reasons, implications and consequences of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, it is necessary to listen to those who know the situation well. Arwa Mahdawi (United Kingdom/Palestine), a US-based Guardian journalist, has written columns such as What did you do during the genocide in Gaza?, which examines the question of Western complicity. Rodolfo Sánchez-Aizcorbe (Peru) is the co-author of Para entender el conflicto palestino-israelí. In conversation with Natalia Sobrevilla.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
Patricia del Río and Fernanda Trías in conversation with Dante Trujillo
Inhabiting the wild
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Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (auditorio)
A mountainside, in the novel by Fernanda Trías (Uruguay), and an Andean village, in the novel by Patricia del Río (Peru), are the settings for El monte de las furias and Jauría respectively. Two places for a discussion of the wild, and memory. The first is narrated by a woman in whose garden dead bodies begin to appear. The second is told from the point of view of the ten dogs who have become the guardians of the memory of the village’s last inhabitant. In conversation with Dante Trujillo.
Nelly Luna and Josefina Townsend with David Marcial Pérez
South to North Conversations: this democracy is not democracy
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Teatro Arequepay
The rise of authoritarianism, disinformation, inequality and organised crime is threatening democracy as we know it. Nelly Luna, head of OjoPúblico, and the journalist Josefina Townsend present Esta democracia no es democracia, which analyses the interaction between the climate crisis and democratic collapse in the region through eleven interviews that explore matters such as the democratic promise, stories of resistance, memory, transformation and community work in order to rethink these urgent times. In conversation with David Marcial Pérez.
Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost (USA/Peru) had been a quiet but important figure in the Peruvian church. He spent 40 years in the country, from his early days in the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, to his appointment as Bishop of Chiclayo. The journalist Elise Ann Allen, who specialises in Catholic affairs and writes for Crux, has recently published his biography. In conversation with Paola Ugaz.
Dario Sztajnszrajber in conversation with Daniel Mitma and Jorge Jaime Valdez
Love is impossible
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Universidad Continental (auditorio)
Darío Sztajnszrajber (Argentina) has brought philosophy to thousands of people, filling venues and appearing on television and radio. He has captivated non-specialist audiences, dealing with the big philosophical questions of history and in contemporary ideas. In the eight theses of El amor es imposible, he dismantles the myth of normative romantic love. The philosopher questions ideas such as the perfect partner and invites us to rethink the notion of falling out of love as part of the desire for the impossible. In conversation with Daniel Mitmay Jorge Jaime Valdez, professor of the Communication Sciences programme.
Pedro Cateriano in conversation with David Marcial Pérez
El País lecture: Vargas Llosa, political biography
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Teatro Municipal
Vargas Llosa, su otra gran pasión is the first political biography of Mario Vargas Llosa. Pedro Cateriano offers a detailed reconstruction of the ideological background of the Arequipan intellectual: from his Communist youth, through his rupture with the Cuban Revolution, to his transition to liberalism and failed bid for the presidency. This portrait offers a political life of one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most influential thinkers. In conversation with David Marcial Pérez.
LSP Peruvian Sign Language interpretation available
Marie-Pier Lafontaine and Rafia Zakaria in conversation with Nelly Luna
South to North Conversations: in first person
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Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (teatro)
The feminist struggle can be looked at from various angles, and this event features two authors who do so from the intensity of their own experience. Marie-Pier Lafontaine (Canada) resists in the face of family abuse and breaks the silence that surrounds it in Chienne, while Armer la rage takes an angry swing at shame and trauma. The Pakistani lawyer and journalist Rafia Zakaria advocates a dismantling of the hegemony of white, Western, middle-class feminism, complicit in capitalist imperialism. Against White Feminism aims to break a yoke and create a future free of racism. Feminism will be intersectional, or it will not be feminism. In conversation with Nelly Luna.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
This event has taken place
With the support of Open Society Foundations and the Canadian Embassy in Peru and Bolivia
Alberto Fuguet in conversation with Enrique Planas
Fuguet: yesterday and today
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Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (auditorio)
It is a great time to read Alberto Fuguet. Missing, his fifth novel, mingles fiction and reality in order to talk about the disappearance of his uncle. It is the third Fuguet book to be republished this year, after Aeropuertos and No ficción. What is more, the Chilean writer published Ciertos chicos last year, a coming of age novel about two teenagers, Tomás y Clemente, in 1986, during the Chilean dictatorship. In conversation with Enrique Planas.
Pedro Salinas in conversation with Santiago Vanegas
Sodalitium: rise and fall
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Colegio de Arquitectos (auditorio)
The Sodalitium of Christian Life was a machinery of power and abuse, and one of the darkest cases involving the Church in Latin America. In La verdad nos hizo libres, Pedro Salinas (Peru) reconstructs the workings of the sect through personal testimonies and rigorous research. This was a network of power and concealment that began to unwind when victims raised their voices and finally the truth became stronger than impunity. The writer will talk to the BBC Mundo journalist, Santiago Vanegas.
