Guayaquil Poetry Festival: 15 years betting on poetry without geographical borders and without public or municipal budget

That I could be reborn from the ashes, he said Ileana Espinel Cedeno in one of his poems, but the truth is that each time he is reborn from the verses that are conjugated in the Guayaquil Poetry Festival. “Every year he has more readers and his poetry sounds louder in the world”, maintains its director, Augusto Rodriguez. The meeting, which bears the name of the poet, commemorates its first fifteen years of existence with an edition that for eight days will bring together 80 authors, coming from 20 countries such as Taiwan, India, Iraq, Tunisia and more.

Rodríguez defines this edition as a complete celebration. “We will honor the literary career of important poets such as Piedad Bonnett, Kuei-Hai Tseng, Sara Vanegas Coveña, Olga Martínez and Paco Robles from the Candaya publishing house, etc.”, mentions.

This year they resume the face-to-face format, which will take place from November 14 to 18; but they will also keep the format on-line of November 9 to 11. Doing it in this way -hybrid- allows reaching more countries and monopolizing new audiences, says Rodríguez. “This modality helps us to have (albeit virtually) African and Asian poets that sometimes it is difficult for us to bring to Guayaquil. The same with the poets who come from Europe. For example: this year we will have a poet from Ukraine as a guest”, says the also writer and editor.

Virtual readings will be transmitted through the Ileana Espinel Cedeño Festival networks. While the venues for the face-to-face meeting will be: Salesian Polytechnic University (Centenary headquarters), French alliance (center headquarters), Casal Catala (Urdesa), North American Ecuadorian Center (central headquarters) and House of Culture, core of Guayas.

Among the authors who will join this literary event are Mercy Bonnett (Colombia), miao-yi You (Taiwan), Raphael Courtoisie (Uruguay), H. S. Shivaprakash (India), Carlos Manuel Villalobos (Costa Rica), hua qing (China), Jorge Palma (Uruguay), mpesse geraldin (Cameroon), maryna sushko (Ukraine), Natalia Garcia Freire (Ecuador), the editors Olga Martinez Y Paco Roblesamong others

“It is the oldest, largest Festival, the one that attends the most public and that more poets convenes in Ecuador”says the director of this meeting organized by the Cultural Corporation El Quirófano, with the support of public and private entities. “I always highlight the importance of the Salesian Polytechnic University, especially the Communication degree, which is a pillar within our festival.”

Patience and tenacity are key to sustaining a festival like this over time. “We do not have the support of the Most Illustrious Municipality of Guayaquil, nor the Prefecture of Guayas, nor the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Practically with private support and it is hard, very hard ”says Rodriguez.

“I have the faith that they read this interview and decide to support us by 2023. Especially the Ministry of Culture and Heritage that designated us the Emblematic Festival of Ecuador for two consecutive years and now nothing”, indicates.

And it is that the greatest motivation of this cultural day is “to continue uniting cultures, having to the poetry of dialogue and peace in the world. Pay homage to our Guayaquil poet Ileana Espinel Cedeño and create bridges between Ecuadorian poets and their peers on planet Earth”.

How is the festival projected in a few more years? “May it continue to grow and that we can have more important poets from around the world in our city and above all have more public and readers of poetry and literature in general,” replies Rodríguez.

All activities are free access. To find out the daily schedule, or more information about the festival, visit www.festivaldepoesiadeguayaquil.com.

Tamara Mejía, winner of the Poetry Contest

This year the National Poetry Contest awarded its unique award to Tamara Mejia Molina, for his set of poems titled as Swallows at war The author participated under the pseudonym Federica Lorca in this contest that takes place in the context of the XV National Poetry Festival Ileana Espinel Cedeño 2022.

According to the verdict of the jury, the recognition was given “for his imagination, depth of images and his fine work with language. A set of successful, creative and painful poems”.

Three honorable mentions were also announced. The first mention was for Mijail Alvarado Almeida (pseudonym: Ramón Benítez), for his collection of poems Poetry (A) temporary, “for his powerful poetic prose of great magnitude.” The second mention was for Amber Apollo Girl (pseudonym: Killa), for his collection of poems Intimate diary of a non-domesticated animal, “for its solid and very well elaborated images”. And the third honorable mention went to Victoria Vaccaro Garcia (pseudonym: Leonora), for her collection of poems And then we saw the minotaur’s daughter, “for his verses and his creativity”. (YO)