Hay Festival Arequipa 2025

Poetic gazes

José Aburto, Jessica Andrews, Vanessa Begazo, Esteban Couto, Moisés Jiménez, Maritza Mejía, Heiner Valdivia and Majo Villegas

Sunday 9 November 2025, 4pm GMT-5 –  Casa Tristán del Pozo - Fundación BBVA

Poetry reading with the participation of six young highly promising authors based in Arequipa and three programme participantes: José Aburto, Jessica Andrews, Esteban Couto, Vanessa Begazo, Moisés Jiménez, Maritza Mejía, Heiner Valdivia and Majo Villegas. Presented by Augusto Carrasco.

Sponsored by Cerro Verde and with the support of the British Council

Register to watch online

Alejandra Moffat and Dany Salvatierra in conversation with Jorge Malpartida

South to North Conversations: inhospitable countries, startling stories

Sunday 9 November 2025, 4pm GMT-5 –  Alianza Francesa de Arequipa

From settings as different as clandestine activities during the Chilean dictatorship or a dystopian Lima in ruins Mambo by Alejandra Moffat (Chile) and Criaturas virales by Dany Salvatierra (Peru) converge on a single idea: situating their work in hostile landscapes through which characters affected by silence and violence travel. From a girl who grows up among murmurs and secrets; to the inhabitants of Villa Diodati, creatures who survive drowning in poverty. In conversation with Jorge Malpartida.

With the support of the Chilean Embassy and of Open Society Foundations

Afra Kane and Sofía Bolaños Núñez Delgado in conversation with Doris Zuzunaga

Musical dialogues

Sunday 9 November 2025, 4.30pm GMT-5 –  Instituto Cultural Peruano Alemán (auditorio)

A unique encounter between musical cultures and languages. The Italian pianist based in Switzerland, Afra Kane, and the Arequipa saxophone player Sofía Bolaños will improvise live, fusing their musical worlds. They will alternate live music with a conversation with Doris Zuzunaga, in which they will talk about their careers, influences and love of improvised music.

Hay Festival Comunitario is sponsored by LXG. This event has the support of the Swiss Embassy, Swiss Cultural Fund and Pro Helvetia

Screening of the documentary A paso de vencedores. The ruta del BICIntenario

Presented by Eric Baumann and Natalia Sobrevilla

Sunday 9 November 2025, 6pm GMT-5 –  Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (teatro)

A paso de vencedores. La ruta del BICIntenario is a short documentary that takes us on a journey of over 700 kilometres, from Huaura, on the coast, to the heights of Ayacucho, on the Pampa de la Quinua. Four cyclists and a film crew emulate the Route of Peruvian Emancipation, stopping at places that were key in the process of making the country independent. Presented by the screenwriter, director and producer of the documentary, Natalia Sobrevilla, and the cyclist Eric Baumann.

Director: Natalia Sobrevilla

Duration: 43 minutes

José Carlos Mariátegui in conversation with Sissi Hamann

What does art contribute to techonology?

Sunday 9 November 2025, 6pm GMT-5 –  Teatro Arequepay

The British Council publication Why Technology Needs Artists: 40 International Perspectives shows how innovation lead by artists not only boosts technological progress but also generates social and economic value, integrates cultural diversity and puts forward sustainable futures centered on human values where ancestral knowledge offers models of shared wisdom. From this dual economic and political perspective, this conversation with José Carlos Mariátegui will reflect on its potential as evidence for public policies, innovation plans and digital governance and will also address the role of copyright in the digital world from diverse knowledge systems. Moderated by Sissi Hamann.

With the support of the British Council

Screening of short films, with Victoria Arias and Edward de Ybarra

Serpentina

Sunday 9 November 2025, 6pm GMT-5 –  Plaza San Francisco

Serpentina is a film festival that lets children and young adults discover in films a place of possibilities, cultural diversity and self-discovery. Together with Victoria Arias and Edward de Ybarra, we screen a selection of shorts, divided into two blocks. The first has short films made in his workshops, inspired by stories from the Andean oral tradition; the second takes us on a journey through the different territories and cultures of Latin America.

Hay Festival Comunitario is sponsored by LXG