Marpoética unfolds ten days of live poetry in Marbella with about thirty authors

The ninth edition of Marpoética kicks off this Thursday, April 9, in Marbella with the voice of Colombian poet Piedad Bonnett and a program ... that, over ten days, will unfold an intense cultural agenda with about thirty authors and nearly 40 activities. The festival, organized by the city's Culture Department, will transform the city into a poetic map that extends from the sea to the mountains, featuring meetings, recitals, workshops, and stage proposals that deviate from the usual formats.

The opening ceremony will take place on Thursday evening at the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella, where Bonnett, Queen Sofia Ibero-American Poetry Award 2024, will talk with the festival's literary director, Javier Vicedo, in a meeting that will set the tone for this edition. The evening will be rounded off with a performance by La Tania, Goya Award 2025 for Best Original Song for 'Los Almendros', in a proposal that merges words and music to officially open ten days of programming.

That same Friday, the theatrical cycle "Poetry on its Feet," directed by playwright and poet Alberto Conejero, will start with 'Viva!' by La Loquace Compagnie at the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella. The program unfolds over the weekend with 'Sewing and Telling' by Irene Maquieira at the Engraving Museum (Saturday and Sunday), along with new performances of 'Viva!' and the contemporary circus proposal 'Re.cuerda' by Luichi Leal, on Sunday at the theater.

There will be a literary trail led by Andrés Neuman and recitals aboard a catamaran and at the Costa del Sol Hospital, featuring winners of the Loewe and Manuel Alcántara awards

In its effort to take poetry out of the solemn spaces in which it is traditionally presented, Marpoética has scheduled a Poetic Trail for Saturday, April 11. A route designed by José Antonio Morán through the Marbella sierra during which participants can enjoy the Mediterranean scrubland landscape along with the voice of poet Andrés Neuman, who will recite his work at different stops along the walk.

Also on Saturday, the Central Library Fernando Alcalá Marín will host the writing workshop "Words on the Run," led by Lina Botero. A proposal based on experimentation, intuition, and error as a creative impulse: two hours of dynamism to stimulate experimental writing that will return on Sunday to the same venue.

Poetry will take to the sea with the "Verses at Work" cycle, recitals aboard a catamaran that will take place on Sunday, April 12, with Erika Martínez and Elsa Moreno, and on Saturday, 18, with Agustín Pérez Leal and the young poet from Marbella, Samuel Díaz Castañeda.

On Monday, April 13, poetry will return to high schools with "Word of the Sea." Coordinated by Carla Nyman, it will take place throughout the week in different educational centers with some of the main voices under 35 years old from today's poetry scene: Lana Corujo, Luis Mario, Julia Peró, Jesús Ponce, Alba Moon, Juana Dolores, and Lina Botero.

Juan Manuel de Prada and Fernando León de Aranoa

Also in the educational framework, "Visiting the Classics" returns. Poet Aurora Luque, National Poetry Award winner, will meet with Humanities students at the Villa Romana de Río Verde for a reading of ancient Greco-Latin poems.

In the afternoon, the first meeting of the cycle "Dialogues" with the writer and columnist Juan Manuel de Prada will take place at the Hospital Real de la Misericordia. Marta Jiménez, author of the bestseller 'Oxygen', will be the guest at the second meeting, at the same venue, on Tuesday, April 14. The cycle will close with filmmaker Fernando León de Aranoa on Thursday, 16, in a conversation that will address the relationship between the seventh art and writing. The festival's literary director, Javier Vicedo, will conduct these meetings. The first two will be preceded by an Open Mic, an invitation to the public to read, both their own works and those of others, at the entrance of the Hospital Real de la Misericordia.

Three poetic recitals will complete the program on Wednesday, 15. Early in the morning, Basilio Sánchez, a doctor and poet awarded the Loewe prize, and Agustín Pérez Leal, Manuel Alcántara prize winner, will bring poetry to the Costa del Sol Hospital with a recital aimed at patients and medical staff.

The poet, playwright, and video artist Juana Dolores will bring her work closer to the audience at the DeLibros bookstore. Additionally, the National Poetry Award 2025 winner, Miriam Reyes, will perform a performative recital at the Hospital Real de la Misericordia. An innovative and groundbreaking proposal to delve into her work 'With'.

National Award winner Yolanda Castaño and the last Marpoética Poetry Award winner, Gerardo Rodríguez Salas, will perform a joint reading at the Hospital Real de la Misericordia

Meanwhile, the programming on Thursday, 16, is completed with the live recording of the podcast "Sonorous Stings," with Paula Ducay and Inés García at the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engraving. A unique opportunity to approach one of the most followed spaces of thought and literature in the current scene.

Children will be the main protagonists on Friday, 17. In the morning, a large group of students from Kindergarten and Primary schools in the municipality will gather at the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella, where the V School Poetry Prize will be awarded, a contest involving nearly 2,000 students from 18 educational centers.

The day will end with two recitals that represent tradition and avant-garde. On one hand, Yolanda Castaño, National Poetry Award 2023, and Gerardo Rodríguez Salas, winner of the Marpoética Poetry Award 2025, will perform a joint reading at the Hospital Real de la Misericordia, preceded by an Open Mic session. On the other, at the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engraving, the play 'Cutting Fish in Manila', a production by Miguel and Andrés Monteavaro, in which poetry dialogues with contemporary audiovisual expression forms, will be staged.

The renowned Héctor Abad Faciolince will talk with journalist Antonio Lucas in a closing that will feature the established flamenco voice of Mayte Martín

The ninth edition of Marpoética will come to an end on Saturday, 18. In the afternoon, the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella will host the closing with writer Héctor Abad Faciolince, author of 'The Oblivion We Shall Be'. The renowned Colombian narrator will have a conversation with the poet and cultural journalist Antonio Lucas that will culminate with the established flamenco voice of Mayte Martín. A golden clasp to ten days in which poetry will meet the city to leave an indelible mark.

Details of the schedules and participation in each activity can be found on the website: https://marpoetica.es/