In 2012 Cartagena Colombia will host one of the most important art festivals, The Hay Festival of Literature and Arts January 26-29.

Originally held in Hay-on-Wye in Wales over a decade ago, the festival started out small but quickly grew in popularity and locations. Hay-on-Wye is a tiny town with only 1300 yet it boasts 39 book stores, it is this reason it was primarily a book festival in the beginning Today the festival has grown to include live theatre performances, music concerts, film screenings and many other cultural events.

In 2001, Bill Clinton called it “The Woodstick of the mind” and today it is celebrated around the world, including Italy, Brazil, London and Nairobi. Held in locations throughout the city nicknamed the jewel of South America, this is the seventh year in Colombia and is considered one of the most important Hispanic art events. The Colombia event will host local and international artists and provide incredible opportunities for attendees to experience speeches and readings with authors and poets.

Like many cultural events in Latin America, making art accessible to the community has always been an important part of the festival, particularly exposing it to youth. For this reason there are specific events for Hay Festivalito (Hay Festival for children and young people). With its own program, the festival tries to further encourage participation by providing twenty percent of the tickets free to students.

For those who are visiting or not fluent in Spanish you don’t need to sit on the sideslines.

Head to Plaza Santo Domingo, Casa Mapfre, Adolfo Mejía Theatre and other city venues for daily scintillating talks, discussions and readings on a range of subjects, that are translated where necessary for both an English and Spanish speaking audience.

The Hay Festival of Literature and Arts also includes a number of notable programs:
Literature With such an acclaimed history, this festival attracted the world’s best authors and this year is no different. In addition to Ian McEwan there are events with world-renowned authors Mario Vargas Llosa, Michael Ondaatje and many others. There are many opportunities to listen to authors read, discuss and debate literature in an open and amicable fashion.
The festival also hosts the National Short Story Competition, an associated event that is organized for students and youth. Children and young adults are encouraged to enter their best stories and the winners will be awarded during the festival. Given Colombia’s rich history of poets and writers it is a particularly important award for aspiring authors.

Music and film
Although the festival began as a celebration of books, music and film certainly do not take a back seat. Throughout the festival there will be numerous film screens and music events in the evening along with other photography and art events.

Around the world artists flock to Colombia to share their expression of music and this year internationally applauded saxophonist Manu Dibango from Cameroon with be sharing traditional African music styles along with jazz and his unique afrobeat-sax star style. For those unable to attend the concert he will be at other events.

Photography: Shoot Nations An experimental photography group from the United Kingdom, their mission is to use photography as a tool for discussion and to provole dialogue with the photograph and its context.

The Colombia festival was chosen this year to deliver photography training workshops. These will be included in the events produced for Hay Festivalito (Hay Festival for children and young people). With the theme Living in the city, forty youth from from vulnerable communities in Cartagena will participate.

Tickets and further information
The festival consists of a number of free and paid events. Tickets can be purchased online at the The Hay Festival of Literature and Arts website.

Don’t be discouraged by the prices or if events are sold out. There are a number of free talks and workshops with top writers and musicians for children and teenagers.