International improvised oral poetry festival Trovalia wraps up successful 21st edition

The Trovalia International Festival of Improvised Oral Poetry has officially concluded its incredible 21st edition in Mar de Cristal, after touring various venues in the municipality of Cartagena. The event brought together participants from five Latin American countries and several autonomous communities in Spain, re-establishing Cartagena as a global leader in this type of traditional, improvised oral poetry.

A global gathering of traditional verse

For several days, this incredible event turned Cartagena into the epicentre of improvised verse, traditional music and culture between international artists. Finally, the programme was brought to a close in Mar de Cristal after making stops in famed locations across Cartagena including the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and Isla Plana.

This incredible event, over more than two decades of activity, has helped to bring the tradition of trovo close to residents and visitors from different parts of Cartagena and beyond. This year’s edition of Trovalia stood out for its participation from countries including Cuba, Panama, Argentina, Colombia and Puerto Rico, as well as representatives from Spanish autonomous communities of the Canary Islands and Galicia.

Connecting cultures and generations through poetry

This year’s edition of the Trovalia International Festival of Improvised Oral Poetry, at the closing ceremony, was described as “a complete success,” with an excellent reception at all the venues where festival events took place.

This festival has, once more, transformed Cartagena into a space for cultural coexistence where improvisation in poetry serves as a common language and a bridge for the gap between not only different countries, but different generations.

The president of the José María Marín Trovera Association, Pedro Jesús López Salmerón, stated, “Trovo is a way of expressing what one feels. Through words and poetic beauty, positions and opinions are defended without resorting to confrontation, making that expression always pleasing to the ear.”

Preserving Murcia’s iconic trovo heritage

A mix of music, expression, and the art of poetry, trovo is a unique art that has bridged the divide for more than two decades in the shining municipality of Cartagena. With the continued effort put into the editions year after year, officials and participants not only express themselves and have fun, but keep an age-old tradition and one of the most representative expressions of the cultural heritage of the Region of Murcia alive.