Primera Persona 2017

The Primera Persona (First Person) festival is directed by writers Kiko Amat and Miqui Otero, and invites authors from all generations, musicians and interesting folks from a variety of professions and backgrounds to share stories from their lives with the festival audiences in a close-up and intimate setting. This is the sixth edition of Primera Persona, and you'll find two sessions a day in the CCCB theatre, with lectures, talks and concerts prepared exclusively for the event.

Four sessions take place over two days, and start on Friday at 7pm with pop feminism from American writer Kate Bolick, author of the bestseller 'Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own', accompanied by Anna Gabriel, a representative of the CUP (left-wing political party); Irish writer Colin Barrett, author of, among other works, 'Glanbeigh', an impressive collection of stories set in a semi-fictional Irish town; and a session dedicated to 'Bacalao', a book by Luis Costa, who will moderate a conversation between other stars on the emerging dance scene in Valencia following the death of Franco: Jorge Albi, Chimo Bayo, Nando Dixkontrol and Carlos Simón.

Anna Curra, an essential part of Spanish bands Parálisis Permanente, and Alaska y Los Pegamoides represents the most radical and complex face of the 'Movida Madrileña', the countercultural movement that took place in Madrid following Franco's death. Curra opens the second Friday session (10pm) talking with music critic Joan Pons about her career. Next up it's Nigel Planer and Alexei Sayle, two of the actors from the subversive BBC comedy 'The Young Ones', which was actually quite popular in Barcelona thanks to TV3, who will recall great moments from the series. Closing out the day are Julián Hernández, leader of Sinestro Total, reuniting with his son Esteban Hernández, with the collaboration of journalist and musician Rafael Tapounet (Los Carradine) in a home-made and improvised jam session to play classic favourites and songs from the famous band.

The second day of the festival gets underway at 7pm with a session started off by Isa Calderón, who has become known for her videos that reveal latent sexism in the world of cinema, and Lucía Lijtmaer, a columnist with a pop yet politicized vision, who now presents a new book: 'Yo también soy una chica lista'. Also on the bill are British writer and journalist Jon Savage, an eminence on the subject of subcultures and author of the key work 'England's Dreaming. The Sex Pistols and Punk'; a talk and concert with Welsh musicians Alison Statton & Spike and Stuart Moxham, formly of cult band Young Marble Giants, which started out in 1978, and Weekend, finishes out the day on Saturday.

The final session of the Primera Persona festival features American musician Joe Pernice, who has been part of the bands Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline and Pernice Brothers, making a solo appearance to talk about his book 'It Feels So Good When I Stop' and to play a few tunes as well; Miguel Gallardo and Juan Mediavilla, who explain everything about their most punk creation, the antisocial Makoki, a comic strip character they created in 1977; and the Barcelona heavy-pop band trio Las Ruinas, with their high-energy live show and presentation of their seventh album, the powerful '100% Maximum Heavy Pop' (2016).