Hay Festival Querétaro joins the digital world in 2020

Hay Festival Querétaro

will take place from September 2 through 7 with a vast program of free online activities for all ages, thus adapting to the new normal and opening its digital program for free for people in Mexico and all over the world.

On Monday afternoon, Hay Festival announced the celebration of this meeting that will gather the best of Querétaro, Mexican, and international culture.

Organizers announced Hay Festival Querétaro will have renowned guests such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Malala Yousafzai, and Paul Krugman, as well as other international guests like Salman Rushdie, Siri Hustvedt, Ida Vitale, Michelle Bachelet, Gael García Bernal, and Valeria Luiselli.

Other writers that will partake in the festival include Elena Poniatowska, Juan Villoro, Carmen Boullosa, Irene Vallejo, Elizabeth Duval, Emiliano Monge, Jon Lee Anderson, Alma Guillermoprieto, Julia Carabias, Adela Cortina.

There will also be concerts by Julieta Venegas and Sarabanda.

Hay Festival is interested in expanding the conversation to everyone through the digital platforms that will allow it to reach spectators and interact with the participants via online through Q&A sessions and social media.

In a statement, the literary festival said that through the official website of the event, spectators of all ages and genres will be able to enjoy 70 activities that will include great celebrities of the world of culture and science, with live lectures and conferences, as well as educational content for both children and adults.

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“Along with our main partner, the Querétaro municipality, that has opted to support and celebrate culture in all its expressions one more year,” said the organizers of Hay Festival Querétaro, which is part of the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts which was awarded in past days with the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award of Communication and Humanities along with the Guadalajara’s International Book Fair.

The jury of the prestigious award said the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, from its base in the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye, encourages the habit of reading and strengthen the publishing industry. The Hay Festival, first held in 1988, has expanded from its birthplace of 1,800 residents to hold several literary events on three continents.

The award of 50,000 euros ($56,400) is one of eight prizes handed out annually by a foundation named for Spanish Crown Princess Leonor. They recognize achievements in the arts, social sciences, sports, and other disciplines.

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The award ceremony usually takes place in October in the northern city of Oviedo.

On August 4, Hay Festival presented its full program of activities; spectators are able to register on its official website www.hayfestival.org/queretaro since July 20.

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Querétaro

Querétaro is a Mexican state located 222km away from Mexico City. As Hay Festival mentions in its website, this place was inhabited by indigenous people, such as the Chichimeca and Otomí cultures, until the Spanish colonized the region in 1531 and founded Santiago de Querétaro.

Since then, Querétaro has been an important witness of Mexican history since it was part of the Independence movement at the plot that took place at the house of Doña Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez on September 13, 1810.

Querétaro was also part of other important chapters of Mexico’s history, such as the trial against emperor Maximilian and his generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía and their execution at the Cerro de las Campanas; it was also the place where the 1917 Constitution was created.

Moreover, Querétaro is home to amazing tourist attractions such as its iconic Aqueduct, which is 1,280 meters long and that provided water for the region once its construction was finished in 1735; its historical center, which is full of old houses, plazas, and gardens and that was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site due to its baroque architecture that makes it the best example of a Spanish viceroyal city.

Other tourist attractions in Querétaro include its Plaza de Armas, the Guerrero Garden, its Art Museum, its Regional Museum, the Theater of the Republic, and the House of Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez.

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