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Javier Cercas in conversation with Juan Gabriel Vásquez

The atheist who spoke to the Pope

Cartagena 2026, 

The publication of El loco de Dios en el fin del mundo coincided with the death of Pope Francis. Before this, Javier Cercas (Spain) —an atheist, anti-clerical and militant secularist— travelled to Mongolia with him: “a madman without God following God’s fool to the end of the world”. With unprecedented access, he has written a novel without the fiction, a spiritual thriller. This is Cercas at his most personal, one that resonates with successes such as The Impostor and The Anatomy of a Moment.

All events on Saturday, January 31st will be free for people with ID from the department of Bolívar. Complimentary tickets can be requested —up to capacity— at the box office of the Hay Festival (Centro de Convenciones) showing your identification on the same day the event is taking place.

Javier Cercas in conversation with Juan Gabriel Vásquez