18th Pepe Sales Independent Art Festival

Today the Pepe Sales Festival 2025 is presented at the Espai LGTB in Girona. As a novelty this year, the festival begins with a Carnival Party, a temporary exhibition of Plastic Arts curated by “L'última Estació” and a photography exhibition curated by Josep Burset. The Festival is dedicated to the figure of Carolina Maria de Jesús and will take place from February 1 to 15 in Girona. For this edition we have interviewed the directors of the Festival, Lluís Llamas and Consol Ribas.

Alexandra Planas. What is the central theme of the Pepe Sales Festival 2025?

Pepe Sales. The 18th Pepe Sales Independent Art Festival is dedicated to Carolina Maria de Jesús, a Brazilian writer who lived in a favela and used writing as a form of resistance to social inequalities. A black woman who rebelled against her imposed fate, her work became a publishing phenomenon and a powerful denunciation of inequalities in Brazil. In this edition, the festival will explore themes such as hunger, structural racism, ecofeminism, life in the favelas and globalization.

AP. What news can you tell us about the next edition of the Pepe Sales Festival 2025?

PS. The great novelty of the Festival is always the chosen author. So depending on their origin (there have been Iranians, Catalans, Koreans, French, etc.), their time and their personality, boxing matches, cabaret, gastronomic days, mariachis, theater, motorcycles, etc. have been programmed.

AP. What activities, artists and outstanding projects do you have scheduled?

PS. In this edition we present: theater, music (from classical to flamenco), dance, performance, visual arts exhibition, photography exhibition, capoeira, women's boxing, cinema, short film exhibition. All, as we said, unpublished productions related to the author and a lot of surprises that we leave waiting for the publication of the definitive program... There always has to be some surprise...

AP. In terms of organization, how is the management of the 2025 edition approaching?

PS. The management is the usual one, we continue to be Consol Ribas and Lluís Llamas, and this year, as always, with the reinforcement of very powerful people from the world of Culture, Entertainment and Politics.

AP. Have you introduced changes in the management and structure of the Pepe Sales Festival?

PS. The Festival, starting from the second edition, maintains a stable structure that adapts perfectly to both the budget and the spirit of the project: citizen participation, open debate, free entry to all events and absolute solidarity of the technicians and artists, who participate selflessly in the project and are the true sponsors of the Festival.

AP. What spaces or routes have you designed for the Festival this year?

PS. This year the bulk of the activities will be located at the Mercè Cultural Center and the Truffaut Cinema in Girona. Apart from parallel activities, which we already have scheduled, that may take place in other spaces in the city.

AP. What do you think has been the most significant contribution of the Pepe Sales Festival to the cultural scene in Girona? And on a national and international level?

PS. As for Girona, we believe that it has been the fact of putting the names of many local artists at the forefront, making known and translating into Catalan great authors, some of them very little or not at all known in our country. In the international arena, it is worth highlighting such important facts as the participation of relevant figures such as Charles Bukowski's daughter, messages from Tehran and the Cuban poet Carilda Oliver Labra.

AP. How has the festival influenced the visibility of local artists and the creation of new opportunities to promote new talents?

PS. Local artists have had the opportunity to share the stage with great figures in the arts, such as Sol Picó, Albert Serra or Alfonso de Vilallonga.

AP. How do you think the Festival has influenced the emotions and artistic sensitivity of the people who follow it?

PS. Pepe Sales generates entertainment, knowledge and emotions, with a loyal audience that responds by filling all the activities.

AP. Do you have any plans to expand the Festival to other cities or collaborate with other international festivals?

PS. It is not within the plans to expand it, but collaborating is necessary and is done whenever the opportunity arises.

AP. Speaking in terms of audience growth, is there any segment or group that you would like to reach in the future?

PS. We would like to reach children and "Martians": to leave a message of understanding and knowledge.

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