BCNegra kicks off its return to in-person events

The quintessential festival of crime fiction, BCNegra, will once again fill the city in the coming days with talks and discussions to address the genre, with the participation of authors of the stature of Don Winslow, Irvine Welsh, Elena Medel, Andreu Martín, Ricardo Menéndez Salmón, Núria Bendicho, Eduardo Mendoza, and Alan Parks, not forgetting new phenomena such as Carmen Mola and Virginia Feito. More than 110 authors and 40 moderators will participate from this Thursday until Sunday, February 13, in the event, one of the most important crime fiction events in the world, explains its curator, Carlos Zanón.

"Here, tomorrow" summarizes the spirit of this 17th edition, which returns to in-person attendance, after last year's edition had to adapt to the new reality imposed by the pandemic, making virtuality the solution. The motto of the current edition, precisely, wants to talk about the multitude of technological changes that occur at a speed that makes their assimilation difficult, as well as making it impossible to imagine what the future should be like. Crime fiction, and BCNegra, must contribute to being able to read both this fleeting present and this complex imminence.

"Every festival is different, just as every novel is," Zanón emphasizes, a will he has followed since he took charge of planning it five years ago. This 17th edition places a special focus on music, featuring performances at the Casino de l'Aliança del Poblenou by singer-songwriter Joana Serrat and the duo formed by The New Raemon & Ricardo Lezón. There will also be theater, with a selection of texts by Belgian author Georges Simenon, father of Inspector Maigret, and poetic battles between Salva Soler and Dani Orviz.

The festival's desire to make literature transcend beyond the pages of books will also lead to pairing Italian writer Andrea Camilleri and the popular Commissioner Montalbano in La Boqueria, discovering and tasting the Sicilian food they like to eat. BCNegra, as it could not be otherwise, will tour the streets of Barcelona that have inspired local authors such as Francisco González Ledesma or Alícia Giménez Bartlett, with Commissioner Méndez and Inspector Petra Delicado walking along La Rambla. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the character Pepe Carvalho, the meaning that the city had for both the detective himself and his father, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, will be explored.

Beyond the literary routes through Barcelona, BCNegra will also expand its radius of action "to be for the whole city," emphasizes Zanón, going beyond its most common setting, between the Raval and the Gòtic, and reaching Poblenou, l'Aliança, and Paral·lel, in the Molino. Another space where it will be held will be at the Jaume Fuster library, where this Thursday the festival kicked off with an exhibition on González Ledesma, which can be visited until April 3, and a colloquium on his figure as a chronicler. It will also stop at the Gigamesh and Jaimes bookstores. American Don Winslow will pass through the Barcelona City Council to receive the Pepe Carvalho Award 2022.

For those who do not want to leave home, the crime novel festival can also be watched on Filmin. For the first time, the platform will offer a selection of ten films that can be viewed during the ten days of the event, selected by Zanón, who could not feel prouder to choose them after Filmin helped him cope with confinement. Films will also be screened, in person, from l'Aliança, or some will be discussed, such as El Cerco, El Fugitivo de Amberes or A tiro limpio in a round table on Mario Lacruz, Rafael Tasis and Luis Romero, moderated by our collaborator Alberto Valle.