Hay Festival Arequipa 2023, the journey begins

The start of the Hay Festival, this afternoon in Arequipa.Juan Santy Cusiatan

Arequipa, that city of cobblestone hills and colonial aura that coexists with three volcanoes, hosts for the ninth time the Hay Festival, the famous intellectual meeting that has captivated the world for 36 years. This Thursday afternoon, at the Mario Vargas Llosa Regional Library, this mega event began, with 145 guests from 15 countries and more than a hundred activities until Sunday, November 12. "This experience is a journey: choose the destination and airline of your choice, because we guarantee you an unforgettable flight that will be piloted by extraordinary guests," said Ángela Delgado, Director of Development of Hay Festival Arequipa.

And the truth is not lacking: the novelist and poet from Madrid, Pilar Adón, recently winner of the National Narrative Prize for her work De bestias y aves; the Portuguese storyteller and playwright Gonçalo M. Tavares, considered one of the most original voices in contemporary literature; the Mexican Guillermo Arriaga, a renowned screenwriter who perceives himself as a film writer and several others. The Peruvian trio in terms of literature is made up of Rafael Dummett and his award-winning novel The Inca's Spy; Karina Pacheco, winner of the 2022 National Prize for Literature for her novel The Year of the Wind and Gustavo Rodríguez, winner of the 2023 Alfaguara Novel Prize, among others.

The opening ceremony was attended by the British Julie Finch, executive director of the Hay Festival, who is visiting Arequipa for the first time. "This part of the world, the Southern Hemisphere, is really important to us. We firmly believe in the bridge that culture generates as a factor of understanding between regional, national and international communities." In his turn, Alejandro Alvargonzález, Spanish ambassador to Peru, emphasized the power of words and the need to have the breadth to dialogue with those who think differently. "We understand the word as a fundamental tool to get closer to others. Fundamental to such an extent that sometimes a negotiation is dead from the beginning, but the mere fact of sitting down with someone is already an end in itself. And that is what we must strive for in these days of the festival," he said.

The menu of the Hay Festival Arequipa 2023 promises diversity: the dilemmas of artificial intelligence, technological manipulation and the link between power and technology will be addressed by the Spanish writer Marta Peirano; the never-ending conflict in the Middle East that has the world on tenterhooks will be touched upon by the Chilean of Italian-Palestinian origin Lina Meruane, author of the book Palestine in Pieces; the lawyer Humberto de la Calle, head of the peace process in Colombia, will also have his space. The social discontent, widespread in almost all of Latin America, will be discussed by the director of EL PAÍS America, Jan Martínez Ahrens, together with Jaime Saavedra, former Minister of Education of Peru, and the political scientist Alberto Vergara, author of Defrauded Republics.

As usual, this ninth edition in Arequipa has not lost sight of all audiences and will feature the Hay Joven, designed for schoolchildren and the university community, as well as the Hay Festivalito, designed for children. In addition, it has been proposed to have a social dimension and work on future projects with the High Performance School of Arequipa, as well as with the inmates of the Socabaya prison.

The cultural offer includes the stellar contribution of the Colombian Andrea Echeverri, a character that transcends the music of Los Aterciopelados. Spanish flutist María Toro will also make her appearance on stage, supported by her jazz fusion quartet. And regarding the national artists, there will be a tribute to the Quechua language by the Cusco translator Jorge Alejandro Ccoyllurpuma and Lenin Tamayo, creator of Q-pop, a revolutionary melody inspired by South Korean K-pop. Wiphalas por la memoria deserves a mention, a visual project that is based on the testimonies of the relatives of the dead and injured who marched against the government of President Dina Boluarte.

Cristina Fuentes La Roche, international director of the Hay Festival, urged the public to take advantage of the event and attend en masse. "Literature allows us to delve into human complexity and this festival provides us with the space to do so together. If as a society we are not able to imagine alternative futures, we will never be able to transform the determining narratives. Imagination is the first step to change," he said. Intense days lie ahead at the foot of the Misti.