Cristina Fuentes La Roche OBE is International Director at

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, ...

, which she has worked at since 2005. She has been involved in creating and directing these festivals in areas including Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Lebanon, and Perú.

Career

La Roche’s early career had her working three years at

Canning House Canning House is a British not-for profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to the discussion of social, political and economic affairs across the region of Latin America through research and debate. Founded in 1943, Canning House serv ...

, and was later the Director of the National Events at Arts and Business for five years. In 2006, she created

Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, Hay Festival Segovia, Spain (where she served as a co-director), and in 2010, Hay Festival Querétaro in Mexico. She later worked on Hay Festival Beirut, Lebanon since 2011, though it has since been interrupted. In 2015, she began work on Hay Festival Arequipa, Perú since 2015. She has also been responsible for multiple projects which sought to promote upcoming literary young talent. These included Bogotá39 in both 2007 and 2017, Beirut39 in 2010, and Africa39 in 2014 at the Port Harcourt Unesco World Book Capital. In 2015, she managed Mexico20, Aarhus39, and in 2020 Europa28.

Honours

Fuentes La Roche has received multiple honours. * Fuentes La Roche was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her service in promoting British culture and values in the Spanish-speaking world. * In 2020, She collected the

Princess of Asturias Awards The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

for Communication and Humanities, which was awarded to the Hay Festival. * In 2021, she served as a judge of the

Alfaguara Prize The Alfaguara Novel Prize ( es, Premio Alfaguara de Novela) is a Spanish-language literary award. The award is one of the most prestigious in the Spanish language. It includes a prize of (about ) making it one of the richest literary prizes in th ...

References

{{reflist Living people Festival directors Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people)