Summary of ‘Letras y Fútbol’ 2016

One more year the Foundation Athletic Club in collaboration with the ‘Diputación Foral de Bizkaia’ has organized the festival of Literature and football ‘Letras y fútbol’. This year the biggest novelty has been the location of the event, since for the first time has been held at San Mamés, at the East Room of San Mamés VIP Area. From the 7th to the 12th of november 2016, some of the most important writers of the moment have participated, debating the different aspects that unite and separate the universes of literature and football.

The festival started with the street theater Mr. Pichichi, by Phil Otajole (Roberto Ferro), a juggling and clown show for a family audience on November 7. An hour later, the prestigious black novelist Philip Kerr, who has located two of his latest novels in the world of football, was interviewed by Toni Garcia about the reasons that seduced him to use the world of football as the scene of crime novels . The following day there was a debate about the interest of football as a subject for the Basque writers with the presence of Ander Izagirre, Unai Elorriaga and Katixa Agirre.

On November 9, writers Juan Soto Ivars, Miguel Ángel Hernández and Agustín Fernández-Mallo, with the moderation of Pablo Moiño Sánchez, debated whether soccer can really be considered an art, which happened two days later, called ‘El fútbol desde la cultura’ in which the writer Milena Busquets, the bertsolari Alaia Martin and the singer and leader of Los Planeta, Jota, debated with the moderation of Leire Palacios.

The juvenile and child literature the protagonist, in a debate in which the question of whether football can be an ally in the promotion of reading among children was the main theme. Participating writers Pablo Nacach, Patxi Zubizarreta and Jasone Osoro, with the moderation of Julen Gabiria.

Finally, the cycle of meetings was closed with a conversation between the Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince and the Catalan writer Jordi Punti on the football passion and what influence this has on his work and his life.

Like last year, ‘Letras y fútbol’ has been completed with the promotion of reading Athletic Club Reading, through which players and coaches of Athletic Club have received proposals for reading, committing themselves to accept and read at least one of them and to participate in a club of reading around the same. This year have been Eneko Bóveda, Gorka Iraizoz, Xabi Etxeita, Andere Leguina, Maite Lizaso, Alberto Iglesias and Andoni Imaz who have been in this innovative activity.