More than 60 authors from 15 countries will converge on Guatemala to confront the “turbulent times” facing Central America, debating freedom of expression, migration, and more at the Centroamérica Cuenta literary festival, organizers announced. “It is no secret that Guatemala, and Central America as a whole, face significant challenges” regarding freedom of expression, said festival director Claudia Neira of Nicaragua during the event’s presentation, pointing to authoritarian measures imposed by some regional governments.
Set for May 19–24, 2025, the festival begins in the indigenous communities of San Juan Comalapa and Totonicapán before moving to Guatemala City, with an inaugural talk by Spanish singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat. Among the notable participants are Nicaraguan poet Gioconda Belli, Salvadoran writer Horacio Castellanos Moya, and American novelist Richard Ford, joining festival founder Sergio Ramírez—a 2017 Cervantes Prize winner exiled in Spain after being stripped of his nationality by Daniel Ortega’s regime.
Neira noted a setback: Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder of El Periódico, was scheduled to attend but was returned to prison on March 10, 2025, after a judge revoked his house arrest, granted in October 2024. The Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of money laundering, though international human rights groups call it persecution for his corruption exposés under the previous right-wing government. “Hopefully, we can have his participation in person and not just via video from prison,” Neira said.
The event will also address migration amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal border crossings, which has pressured countries like Honduras and El Salvador to accept deported migrants, straining local economies. “In these turbulent times, it is essential to discuss migration,” Neira added.
Expect workshops, book presentations, concerts, and discussions on democracy, human rights, cinema, and gastronomy, all free and open to the public. Organizers anticipate thousands will attend, supported by sponsors including the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and Penguin Random House. Online streaming options may be available, pending confirmation.
The 2025 edition honors the late Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Literature, with a special event depositing his legacy into the Instituto Cervantes’ Caja de las Letras in Madrid, witnessed by President Bernardo Arévalo. This marks the festival’s second time in Guatemala, following its 2022 debut there.
