Hay Festival Segovia 2008

The history that shapes Italy before its unification is marked throughout by the struggles of states, kingdoms, families and many conflicting interests. The Medici are the protagonists of many of these stories, which combine acts of bravery and cowardice that go beyond the mere conquest of power. Art, as an expression of opulence and supremacy, has its own prominent role to play.

Member of one of the most emblematic and representative families of European collectors, from the Renaissance to the present day, direct heir to a history entwined with the most admired art in the world, Lorenzo de' Medici has just published the novel El Fiorentino, in which he weaves a tale around a family jewel. He will talk to journalist Irene Hernández Velasco. She worked at El Mundo, as correspondent in New York, Rome, London and Paris until 2023, when she joined El Confidencial, where she is Head of Culture.

Event in Spanish

Can democracy survive 2024? asked the Financial Times at the beginning of this year in one of its big reads. The numerous elections all around the world, the effect of climate change and technological advancements on the loss of trust in our politicians to face the future, the raise of extremism and populism and the fragility of principal institutions have narrowed a reflecting momentum on the future of our political systems. Is better education, fake news dismantlement mechanisms, more opened and representative pollical models, the solution? Reflecting on this are Frederick Studemann, literary editor of FT, and Dr. Ilke Toygür, director of the Center for Global Politics and professor of European Geopolitics at the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs and
Erica Benner, political Philosopher.

Event with simultaneous translation from English to Spanish

At the end of the meeting, the author will sign copies of her work.

We only get one life and certain characters will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams, however unreachable they may be, and even if they come at a staggering cost. The writer determined to explore an unscrupulous character must bear in mind that to avoid cliché, everything has to fit, even when the puzzle has an infinite number of pieces. In his new novel, El mejor del mundo, Juan Tallón tackles the story of a soft-hearted egocentric who essentially understands nothing of the world around him; an outcast despite having it all.

Tallón is a journalist and writer, he has worked as a journalist in media such as El Progreso, Jot Down and El País, among others. He is the author of several books in Galician and in Spanish. He has published non-fiction works such as Libros peligrosos and Mientras haya bares as well as the novels El váter de Onetti, Fin de poema, Salvaje oeste, Rewind, and Obra Maestra. The writer will talk to Nacho Orovio, lead journalist of A Fondo, La Vanguardia newspaper’s investigative journalism team.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in a room located at the entrance of IE University

Event in Spanish

Few literary territories are as fertile as the past. A past that returns, one to return to or one that never completely disappeared. Nostalgia, oblivion, memory, revenge, identity, ghosts. Manuel Jabois, Nuria Pérez and Miqui Otero know these corners well and handle them perfectly in their latest novels. They will talk about them and about the literature that crosses time and space. Jabois is a journalist at El País and Cadena SER. Mirafiori is his latest novel, with which he closes a literary universe formed by Malaherba and Miss Marte. You won't touch is the first novel by Pérez, award-winning publicist and creator of the successful podcast Gabinete de curiosidades. Otero is the author of several novels and has just published Orquesta after winning the Ojo Crítico de Narrativa Award in 2020 for Simón, also a finalist for the Dulce Chacón award.

Event in Spanish

At the end of the meeting, the authors will sign copies of their works

Culture is a powerful instrument for strengthening the Spanish brand in the area of cultural cooperation. This is successfully promoted by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which reaches two million people in 130 countries.

Actress, journalist and television presenter Cayetana Guillén Cuervo and AECID's Director of Cultural and Scientific Relations, Santiago Herrero, will discuss the image both of our culture and our artists abroad, and the opportunities to promote development through them, seeking to answer questions such as whether we are fully aware of our potential in Spain, and is our culture appreciated outside our own country?

Event in Spanish

Memory is not a linear mechanism that needs equal circumstances and identical stimuli. The brain manages to find the ways of learning and how to store the information it receives; and then, apply it to our intelligence with the best use; that is in case it develops the whole process well. And very important, it is neither convenient nor necessary to retain everything in memory, and for it to be efficient, health is an essential element. Ignacio Morgado will talk about this with Inmaculada Ballesteros.

Morgado is a renowned neuroscientist and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the Institute of Neurosciences and the Faculty of Psychology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His works include La fábrica de las ilusiones, Emociones corrosivas, Deseo y placer and Aprender, recordar, olvidar. Ballesteros is an expert in cultural policies, institutional relations and digital transition. She is an advisor to national and international organizations and is Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)'s Director of Programming.

At the end of the meeting, the author will sign copies of his works.

Event in Spanish

Concepts such as algorithm, data, and artificial intelligence overlap in an ever-accelerating race toward horizons that are increasingly distant from the common good. The demand for European digital sovereignty or decentralization of digital infrastructures is gaining strength, But the concentration of Big Tech in the market is increasing in the light of the passivity of many governments.

Francesca Bria is an innovation economist, professor, and digital and technology policy advisor to the European Commission. She is also part of the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board to the Spanish government. Along with Miquel Molina, writer and deputy director of La Vanguardia, she will discuss a key question: Are we still in time to reverse this trend?

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish

History and fiction; essay and literature. Everything is valid when it comes to fighting against totalitarianism. Culture, with a capital C, as a transformative power for the benefit of the common good and social justice. And in that field, Julia Navarro moves like a fish in water. Journalist and writer, she became known in the literary world with The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud, which was published in 30 countries. The success of her books, common on the best-seller lists, led her to leave journalism. Among her titles are novels such as Tell me who I am, Shoot, I'm already dead, You won't kill, or, the latest, A shared story.

Navarro will talk about her work, experiences, and inspirations with Jesús Ruiz Mantilla, a journalist and writer who works at El País, where he writes for the cultural section. He has written novels such as Los ojos no ven, Preludio and Gordo, which won the Sent Soví Prize for gastronomic writing, Ahogada en llamas, Placer contra placer and Contar la música. Hotel Transición won the Fernando Quiñones Unicaja Novel Prize.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of her book in the Plaza Mayor bandstand in front of the theatre.

Event in Spanish

New performance of Propios y Ajenos, a cycle of readings held for the 16th time at the Hay Festival Segovia. The event will be held in the Romeral de San Marcos, the most personal and private garden of the landscape designer and architect Leandro Silva, who, in addition to other projects, restored the Botanical Garden of Madrid.

Quico Serrano, Javier Gila, Elisabeth Grüniger, Carlos Giménez Rengifo, Javier Giráldez, Beltrán Gambier, José María Parreño, Ignacio Gómez de Liaño, Maribel Gilsanz, Sergio Artero, Claudia Schaefer, Manuel Gómez Anuarbe, Miguel Ángel Moreno, Gervasio Posadas and Sheila Cremaschi will read texts of their own or by their favourite poets in memory of the cherished Julia Casaravilla, recently deceased, museologist and owner-curator of Romeral de San Marcos, and wife of Leandro Silva.

José Antonio Municio, an expert in the history of the garden, which he has written a book about, will reveal some of its secrets. Félix Valdivieso will lead the readings as master of ceremonies.

These readings are closed by the winner of the XXXVII INTERNATIONAL POETRY PRIZE of the Loewe Foundation, for Young Creation, the Cuban poet Ernesto Delgado.

In case of rain, the event will be moved to the IE University Sala Capitular

With readings in Spanish

There are cells that make the journey to malignancy and begin to mutate over and over until they become so self-centred they create a cancer. On top of that, they aspire to be immortal, something which should go against their own nature. Carlos López-Otín will talk to journalist Helena de Bertodano about this journey, science’s study of it, and the treatments to cure these cells.

López-Otín is one Spain’s most internationally renowned researchers. Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oviedo, he combines his teaching work with research on cancer and aging. He is a member of the European Academy and Spain’s Royal Academy of Sciences. His group’s work has led to the discovery of more than 60 new human genes; the deciphering of the genomes of hundreds of patients with cancer or other diseases; the discovery of new genes which cause accelerated aging, sudden death and hereditary cancer. De Bertodano is a journalist specializing in celebrity interviews and profiles, as well as features and travel articles for publications such as The Sunday Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Observer, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire. She has interviewed more than 1.000 people over the past 25 years, including the Dalai Lama, Meryl Streep, George Soros, Ringo Starr, George Best, Yehudi Menuhin, and Jacinda Ardern.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the room next to the entrance.

Event in Spanish

José Carlos Plaza invites us to a masterclass based on a famous theatrical text and joined by actors Jorge Torres and Olga Rodríguez. Plaza is a stage director and acting teacher, three-time winner of the National Theater Award. Creator of famous productions based on acclaimed works of literature, such as Las bicicletas son para el verano, las Comedias bárbaras íntegras, Crime and Punishment, Hamlet, and La casa de Bernarda Alba, he has distinguished himself in directing actors such as Ana Belén, Concha Velasco, Berta Riaza and Charo López.

Haz. Otra mirada a la vida desde el escenario is his first book; a story about life in the inspirational theatre industry.

In this masterclass, using textual analysis and character interpretation, he will unravel the great mystery of the act of theatre.

Event in Spanish

On August 21, 1622, two hired assassins brutally murdered the Count of Villamediana in the middle of Madrid’s Calle Mayor in a crime that many attributed to his love for Queen Isabella of Bourbon, while others saw it as an act of revenge for his satirical verses on the ministers of Felipe III and Felipe IV. Don de la insolencia, by Carlos Aganzo, revives the figure of Don Juan de Tassis, one of the most important poets of the Spanish Golden Age. Together with Luis Alberto de Cuenca, a great connoisseur of Tassis' work, and Diego del Alcázar Silvela, Founder and President of the IE University Foundation, he will explore the Count of Villamediana’s eventful life and how his legend lives on to this day.

De Cuenca is a poet, linguist, classicist, translator, essayist, columnist and literary critic. He is Spain’s National Poetry Prize winner and member of the Royal Academy of History as well as being one of the foremost cultural figures of our time. Aganzo is the author of some twenty books of poetry and as many travel books. Former editor of Diario de Ávila and El Norte de Castilla, he is currently director of the Vocento Foundation.

Event in Spanish

Where does the expression tía buena come from? What makes a hottie hot? What exactly is sexy? Why does a woman's success still largely depend on her looks, even in this day and age? How does feminism deal with the sociocultural aspiration of beauty? Is beauty a gift or can it sometimes be a curse?

Columnist and writer Alberto Olmos, author of the essay Tía Buena and film critic an editor of El Confidencial Marta Medina discuss the evolution of the relationship women have with men, with their bodies, and with the marketplace. Because ever since women's bodies were first used to sell products, there has been a constant and often unhealthy capitalisation of the female physique. Cinema and advertising have turned this business of looks into one of the most successful profitmaking phenomena of all time.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event.

Event in Spanish

Women must keep fighting to achieve the transformation that unlocks the power of the present and prepares for the future. This is true despite the fact that women bring enormous potential to their work environment and an exceptional capacity for motivation. However, that alone is still not enough for them to achieve full inclusion and professional equality.

Sally Helgesen will delve into this topic with Stephen Adamson, academic director of IE Business School and Vera Bercovitz, editor-in-chief of Forbes Women magazine, after working for other publications as S Moda, Yo Dona, Vanitatis, El País Gente, Harper’s Bazaar or Icon. Helgesen has been named by Forbes as the world's foremost expert on women's leadership. She is an internationally best-selling author of books on leadership, and member of the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. Among the books she has written are How Women Rise (where she includes her now famous "12 Habits Holding You Back"), Rising Together, The Female Vision and The Female Advantage.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the room next to the entrance of IE University

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish

January 26, 1936. Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is being performed for the umpteenth time. But this is no ordinary performance. That night, hidden behind the curtains of one of the boxes, Comrade General Secretary Joseph Stalin is watching. He leaves the theatre before the end and the next day Pravda publishes a devastating critique that many attribute to Stalin himself. From then on, a silent struggle ensues, with Shostakovich trying to save his art from a bureaucracy set on breaking him. Xavier Güell, joined by the director of ABC Cultural, Jesús García Calero, reflects on power, its oppressive force and the chances of emerging unscathed.

Güell, author of the novel Shostakóvich contra Stalin, has a musical background, having conducted several orchestras. He is also the author of La música de la memoria; Yo, Gaudí and Nadie logrará conocerse.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event.

Event in Spanish

While the debate rages on about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) making music into something uniform and trivial, there is a sudden proliferation of initiatives that show how technology can, in fact, help expand this form of expression’s creative boundaries.

Barcelona's Sónar + D festival has become a global forum for debate on how music and new technologies intersect. Ricard Robles, founder and co-director of Sónar, will explore the topic along with the future of macro-festivals with Miquel Molina, deputy editor of La Vanguardia and writer.

Event in Spanish

Jon Fosse's theater has not yet been represented in Spain in an open way. With this presentation, Editorial De Conatus wants to show the power of this author who has written more than 30 plays. All the innovation of Fosse's style is felt above all in the dialogues. Fosse has said many times that he writes music and that is how it can be felt in the reading aloud that a great actress like Marta Nieto can interpret. Silence and expressiveness, poignancy and depth. In addition to the 2023 Nobel Prize, Fosse was a finalist for the International Booker Prize 2022, National Book Award 2022, Circle Award, as well as Book of the Year in The New Yorker. Among his books, Trilogy and Septology stand out: The Other Name (I and II); I is another and A new name.

The event will be presented by Silvia Bardelás, editor of Editorial De Conatus

Event in Spanish

Many of the women who have made their mark in centuries past did so in spite of the conventions of the time and thanks to intelligence, ambition and passion combined in equal measure into a force that sometimes destroyed them. Writer Reyes Monforte tells one such story in depth in La condesa maldita, the real-life Countess Maria Tarnowska, descendant of the Scottish queen Mary Stuart, member of one of the most important Russian aristocratic families of the court of the tsars and closely connected to the Romanovs. Overnight, she became the first femme fatale of the belle époque and the focus of the 20th century’s first true crime story. She was accused of instigating the murder of her soon-to-be husband, with the help of two of her lovers: Moscow's most famous lawyer, and the Russian translator of Charles Baudelaire’s work. It was the scandal that shocked the whole of Europe at the beginning of the 20th century.

Monforte will discuss the novel with Carlos Aganzo, author of some twenty books of poetry and as many travel books. Formerly editor of Diario de Ávila and El Norte de Castilla, he is currently director of the Vocento Foundation.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event

Event in Spanish

Violeta Gil, Angélica Tanarro, Violeta Serrano, Norberto García Hernanz, Alberto Martin and Blanca Baltés. Six poets, six senses, six forms of expression. Each poet by vocation demonstrates the nuances of the word, of their word, as personal as it is universal. Gil is a linguist, dramatist and translator; she received the 2022 Castilla y León Critics Award. Tanarro is a journalist and writer, author of three books of poetry. García, maths professor, is the author of eight books of poetry and has participated in numerous poetry publications. Martín teaches a degree in advertising and Public Relations at Universidad de Valladolid and it's the author of five novels, and combines poetry and narrative. Baltés is a playwright, theatre researcher and audio entrepreneur. Serrano is a writer, disseminator and TedSpeaker; Her works include Flowers in the Garbage, Daughters of Nobody and Power Migrant.

The master of ceremonies for this poetry gala, in which the authors will perform excerpts of their own work, will be Juan Carlos Monroy, Councillor of Culture at Segovia City Council.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the bandstand in the Plaza Mayor in front of the theatre.

Event in Spanish

Víctor Erice's films and María Zambrano's poetic philosophy cover common ground in their exploration of an inner gaze performed with closed eyes; and in their own sweeping portrayals of Segovia, both present in Erice's filmography —including in his recent film Cerrar los ojos— and in Zambrano’s life and works. Coming together to discuss these points are: Mercedes Miguel Borrás, director of the Master's Degree in Film, Communication and the Audiovisual Industry at the University of Valladolid; José Manuel Mouriño, essayist, researcher, filmmaker, and patron of the María Zambrano Foundation Audiovisual Poetics Laboratory; and Juan Carlos Gargiulo, architect, photographer and filmmaker, coordinator of the Film Studio at the Palacio Quintanar Centre for Design, Innovation and Culture.

Presented by Sheila Cremaschi, Director, Hay Festival and chosen by Forbes among the 75 Latina women to follow 2024, and Agustín García Matilla, Vice-Rector, María Zambrano Campus UVA (Segovia).

16:00 - 18:50pm Film Screening: Cerrar los Ojos ('Close Your Eyes'), Víctor Erice

19:00 - 20:30pm Discussion: S.E.Z. (Segovia/Erice/Zambrano)