Living America in Spain

October, Latin America and Madrid all have something in common: the VivAmérica festival, which is about to embark on its fifth edition this year. Organized by the Madrid-based cultural center Casa de América, the event will bring together over 50 artists, writers, politicians and thinkers from Spain and Latin America, and for the first time the program will extend to Cádiz and 16 cities on the American continent, including Bogota, Buenos Aires and Quito.

The overarching theme is "Ideas that look forward," explains Casa de América director Inma Turbau.

One of the leading events on the program is an exhibition called Otras miradas. Fotógrafas en México (1872-1960), a collection of photographs taken by 50 women between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, from Helen Levitt to Tina Modotti and Frida Kahlo. "It was an effort of historical recovery," which includes images never seen before in Mexico, says the show's curator, José Antonio Rodríguez. Women in general are one of the main themes of the festival, which will devote an entire day to roundtable talks reflecting on their role in Latin American society.

Among the dozens of activities, there is also room for film, with the presence of Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría, Chilean filmmaker Cristián Jiménez and Mexican director Arturo Ripstein. His take on Madame Bovary, Las razones del corazón (or, The reasons of the heart), which recently premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival, is due to be screened at VivAmérica.

Meanwhile, there will also be lectures and talks on a variety of issues ranging from the Indigenismo movement to immigration, new technology and even the "happiness neurons," a talk to be led by the Mexican writer Jorge Volpi.

Casa de América has paid special attention to the issue of new technologies, and its website allows internet users to virtually attend each and every one of the events on the program. As a new feature, this year the website is releasing an application for the iPhone and Android platforms, providing access to a channel called Temas TV, which summarizes the events of each day in 20-minute segments.

Finally, as usual, there will be room for live music. On October 9 Willie Colón, a legend of salsa and Latin jazz, will offer a free concert in Plaza de Cibeles. He will be joined by the members of Instituto Mexicano del Sonido and the Guatemala-based Meneo. Over 20 groups from 12 countries will play on the streets of Madrid, with a special accent on African sounds as a tribute to the International Year of African Descendants.

Festival VivAmérica. October 4 to 9 at Casa de América, Plaza de Cibeles 2, Madrid, and various venues in Cádiz.