Cristina Fuentes La Roche
Cristina Fuentes La Roche has worked at Hay Festival since 2005. She created and has directed Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias, Colombia since 2006; Hay Festival Segovia, Spain (co-director) since 2006; Hay Festival in Mexico since 2010; Hay Festival Beirut, Lebanon since 2011 (now interrupted), and Hay Festival Arequipa, Perú since 2015. Together with Unesco World Book Capital, she has managed specific projects promoting young talent: Bogota39 in 2007, Beirut39 in 2010 and Africa39 in 2014, as well as the Port Harcourt Unesco World Book Capital in 2014, Mexico20 (celebrating the Year of Mexico in the UK and the Year of the UK in Mexico in 2015) and has developed within Hispanic festivals a ‘publisher sector get-together‘.
Before joining Hay Festival, Cristina worked for three years in Canning House – the House of Latin America in London promoting cultural understanding between the region and the UK – and was Director of National Events at Arts and Business for five years. She has a Bachelor of Business and Administration degree from the Autónoma University Madrid in Spain and a Masters degree in Cultural Management from Birbeck College, London.