The second edition of the Lanzarote International Poetry Festival Verses, Volcanoes and Wind experienced one of its most special moments this Saturday with the participation of the writer Yolanda Castaño, National Poetry Prize 2023, who offered a colloquium-recital at El Almacén.
The Galician author, one of the most recognized poetic voices of the current scene, shared with the public her verses and reflections on creation, language and emotion, in an act full of sensitivity and complicity. Castaño was accompanied by several of the poets participating in the festival, who also took the stage to recite their creations, many of them made specifically for the Festival.
The Minister of Education, Ascensión Toledo, highlighted that "having the presence of a poet of the level of Yolanda Castaño is a clear sign of the ambition and solidity that this festival is acquiring." She also stressed "the ability of poetry to connect citizens with thought, emotion and beauty, especially in a territory like Lanzarote."
The festival, directed by Mercedes Minguela and coordinated by Fabio Carreiro Lago, closed its program this Sunday with an open recital at the Casa de la Cultura Agustín de la Hoz, in Arrecife. There, the participatory performance Street Verses was held, in which the invited poets and numerous people from the public shared their voice. The final touch was given by the Pueblo Maho Cultural Association, with an original number in which verses were recited in Canarian whistle, in a unique fusion of tradition and contemporaneity.