"Hay avocates, mangos; avocates ... mangos ... !".
The magic of the Hay Festival's sister gathering in Cartagena de Indias, the jewel of Colombia's Caribbean coast, is the sheer beauty and sensuality of the setting.
Shortly after the mango seller awakens your Prospect blogger from his leaden slumber on the first day of the Festival, the shutters of his high-ceilinged room open out onto a street lined with colourful, dilapidated 17th century houses, colonial churches and exuberant bougainvillea at every turn.
The bright sun intensifies the colours and lifts the spirits, while the sea breeze weaving its way through the narrow streets flutters the table cloths and provides welcome relief from the all-encompassing heat.
This was the sixth Hay Festival in Cartagena, and one senses that it is here to stay, with a couple of thousand visitors (the majority Colombian) and a wide range of Latin American and international authors in town.
There wasn't, perhaps, one stellar literary figure of universal renown this year (Rushdie, McEwan and Amis featured in the past two years covered in Prospect), but - amongst others - the Italian Alessandro Baricco (of 'Silk' fame), the Filipino Miguel Syjuco (whose 'Ilustrado' won the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2008), the filmmaker and author Philippe Claudel and a triumvirate of Colombia's most celebrated contemporary novelists -- Oscar Collazos, William Ospina and Tomás González -- participated in interesting, illuminating talks which filled the elegant 19th century Republican Adolfo Mejía theatre.
The cultural, political and historic content of the Festival was rich too. The charismatic former UN diplomat, Shashi Tharoor, gave a spirited account of Indian politics, Gandhi, the prospects for good relations between China and India in the 21st century and a vivid defence of the UN, while the Lebanese feminist, poet, author and editor, Joumana Haddad -- author of 'I killed Scheherazade: confessions of an Angry Arab woman' -- spoke eloquently of literature in the Arab world, the lives of women and the current situation in the Middle East.
David Aaronovitch amused a crowd on the absurdities of conspiracy theories; the BBC's Bee Rowlatt recounted the story of her correspondence with an Iraqi English teacher, May Witwit, and their resulting book 'Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad'; the FT's Latin America editor John Paul Rathbone spoke thoughtfully about his book 'The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon' and on the state of Latin America; and Felipe Fernandez Armesto gave two enriching, eccentric lectures on 'the problem of change: why we live in an unstable world' and 'America and the invention of the world' in immaculate, erudite Castilian.
For the annual British Council lecture, Germaine Greer gave an engaging if unstructured hour-long monologue, reflecting on the forty years since the publication of 'The Female Eunuch', birth control in the developing world and the social problems of contemporary British society. Much to the bemused interest of more than one feminist in the audience, her talk included an affectionate ode to the Latin woman for her strength, nobility and sense of honour.
There was music too: the Festival began with an interview with the iconic Panamian politician, writer and much-loved salsa performer, Rubén Blades, which turned into an impromptu concert as the great man produced a guitar from nowhere and burst into song. Buena Vista Social Club performed the same evening, with inimitable style and panache. And Philip Glass spoke with Peter Florence, the Festival Director, about his work in the opera house and the history of his compositions, before giving an evening piano recital which had most of the audience mesmerised and spellbound (and a handful indifferent).
The highlight of the Festival, for this blogger at least -- for its simplicity, truth and sheer moral power -- was a conversation between the Mexican journalist and activist, Lydia Cacho, and the veteran Colombian journalist Daniel Samper Pizano. Cacho has devoted her working life to exposing child sex tourism, both in Mexico - where she was raped and almost killed by corrupt politicians as a result - and internationally. Her most recent work, Slaves of Power, chronicles her travels around the world in an attempt to understand sex tourism and to interview its victims. The bravery and commitment of the journalist was moving to behold and there was a standing ovation at the conclusion of her talk.
Between talks, Cartagena's bookshops heaved with life, and there were impromptu meetings in the streets with the authors throughout the four days.
All in all, there was jubilation in the air, although a hint of melancholy too, coupled with intellectual exhaustion by the end.
Edward Davey is a freelance journalist based in Bogotá: www.edwarddavey.blogspot.com
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