Morella inaugurates this Friday, June 3, the first edition of its literary festival. Prominent personalities of culture, journalism and gastronomy such as Eduardo Mendoza, Gemma Nierga, Empar Moliner, Ramón Besa, Walter Oppenheimer, Simon Kruper, Rosa Badía, María José Martínez, Germán Carrizo and Santiago Álvarez will be present in the capital of Els Ports over the weekend.
The new festival, which will be inaugurated by the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, wants to bring top-level authors to the town and makes clear Morella's ambitious commitment to culture.
The Morella Literary Festival will have tables on different themes, such as women's literature, football, crime novels or gastronomy. In addition, the organizers explain, the public will also be able to enjoy activities such as a poetic-theatrical performance, a night visit to the castle of Morella, vermouths with the festival's authors, a country excursion, guided literary tours of the city, a meeting with students literature institute of Morella and a photographic exhibition, as well as various children's activities.
With a great advantage for the public: All events will be free, since the Morella Literary Festival is born from the idea that culture is for everyone and to share.
Given its geographical position, between Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon, Morella has a strong tradition as a point of union and celebration of different cultures, as its mayor, Rhamsés Ripollés, has pointed out. Now, the capital of the Els Ports region wants to stand out for its connection with culture and literature.
The festival aims to be a celebration around culture, conceived as a meeting point and not a point of separation. In the words of its director Elena Moya: "In this time of great divergences and tensions, it is necessary to see the narratives that move the worlds of culture, politics, sports, gastronomy... The festival is born with an open and critic who tries to discover and articulate what these narratives are and what they are based on".
As the writer and journalist from La Vanguardia pointed out to Víctor Amela, the objective is for culture to serve as a link of understanding and relaxation, of understanding the other party. The festival emerges with that open spirit, of building bridges, following the model of the British Hay Festival and the William Darlymple in Jaipur.
