The Vargas Llosa Chair has presented the program for the VI Mario Vargas Llosa Novel Biennial , which will be held from October 22 to 25 with Cáceres as the main venue and activities in Badajoz and Trujillo, thanks to the support of the Junta de Extremadura.
This is the first edition to be organized outside the American continent, a milestone that consolidates Extremadura as a cultural benchmark in the Spanish-speaking world and pays posthumous tribute to Mario Vargas Llosa, a key figure in Spanish literature.
Dates and main venues
The program was announced at the Gran Teatro de Cáceres with the presence of Victoria Bazaga (Minister of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports), Álvaro Vargas Llosa , Raúl Tola (Director of the Chair) and the Councilor of Culture Jorge Suárez.
Over four days, the Biennial will feature debates, tributes, recitals and meetings in theaters, bookstores, libraries and urban spaces in Cáceres, Badajoz and Trujillo , reinforcing the dialogue between Spain and Latin America.
Councillor Bazaga emphasized the role of the book as a solid and resilient cultural industry , generating employment and enhancing the city's image, and highlighted the event's driving effect on the hospitality, restaurant, and local commerce sectors.
In addition to its economic impact, the Biennial seeks to promote reading , bring contemporary literary production closer to the general public, and consolidate Cáceres as a major cultural stage , in line with its bid for European Capital of Culture.
In addition to its economic impact, the Biennial seeks to promote reading, bring contemporary literary production to the general public, and consolidate Cáceres as a major cultural center, in line with its bid for European Capital of Culture.
Program and tribute to Vargas Llosa
The opening, entitled "Mario, a fish in water" , will take place on the 22nd at the Gran Teatro de Cáceres with a posthumous tribute directed by Edu Galán and presented by Álvaro Vargas Llosa , with interventions from creators and journalists from both sides of the Atlantic.
Participants will include, among others, Ana Belén , Ángeles Mastretta , Héctor Abad , Manuel Jabois , Magüi Mira , Ayanta Barilli , Juan Cruz , Juan Gabriel Vásquez , Pilar Reyes and Karina Sainz Borgo , with a special appearance by Aitana Sánchez-Gijón.
The Gran Teatro will host the main literary dialogues with voices such as Fernando Savater , Enrique Krauze , Juan Gabriel Vásquez , Juan Manuel de Prada , Marta Fernández , Rubén Amón , Ángeles Mastretta or Juan Luis Cebrián.
In parallel, the Tatiana Foundation will celebrate the professional cycle of the publishing sector, while the Helga de Alvear Visual Arts Center (Helga de Alvear Museum) will host performative poetry with artists such as Violeta Gil , Elsa Moreno , Ruiseñora and Juan Carlos Panduro.
Novel Prize and jury
The Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Novel Prize , endowed with $100.000 , will recognize the best novel published in Spanish in the last two years and will be awarded on Saturday, October 25th at the Gran Teatro in Cáceres.
- Gustavo Faverón (Peru) — Minimosca
- Pola Oloixarac (Argentina) — Bad man
- Ignacio Martinez de Pisón (Spain) — Castles of Fire
- Sergio Ramirez (Nicaragua) — The Golden Horse
- David Ucles (Spain) — The peninsula of empty houses
- Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua) — A silence full of murmurs
The jury will be chaired by Juan Manuel Bonet (former director of the Cervantes Institute), who will announce his verdict during the closing ceremony.
The Biennial, promoted by the Chair since 2014 , has distinguished in previous editions David Toscana , Juan Gabriel Vásquez , Rodrigo Blanco Calderón , Carlos Franz and Juan Bonilla , consolidating itself as a reference of the Ibero-American literary ecosystem.
According to Raúl Tola , the Chair not only honors established careers, but also promotes new generations of authors; a vision shared by Álvaro Vargas Llosa , who champions the constant renewal of literature and the family's close ties to Extremadura.
Extensions and parallel activities
In Badajoz , the Church of Santa Catalina will host a cycle of historical novels with María Reig , Jesús Sánchez Adalid , Fernando Iwasaki and Isabel San Sebastián ; and the Congress Palace will host a concert by the Extremadura Orchestra with works by the Peruvian composer Jimmy López.
In Trujillo , the Barrantes-Cervantes Palace will host the series The Craft of Writing (in collaboration with Zenda) with Karina Sainz Borgo , José Carlos Llop , Patricia Soley and Luis Alberto de Cuenca , in addition to children's workshops , exhibitions and activities linked to Library Day.
With a proposal that brings together creation, industry and audiences , this edition reinforces the natural bridge between Spain and Latin America, focuses on the finalists of the award and turns Extremadura into a great forum for literature in Spanish.
