Literary encounter: "Cosamala", by Alana S. Portero

Literary encounter of the Foro Cervantes with Alana S. Portero, who presents her new novel, «Cosamala», at the Auditorio-Palacio de Congresos Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo. The author will be accompanied by Fernando Menéndez.

«Cosamala» turns a real-life crime from the Civil War into a witch story. Andalusia, 1937: the Carranza column, made up of horsemen, bullfighters, Falangists, landowners, and civil guards, advances through the northern sierra of Seville toward Huelva with the Marquis of Soto Hermoso at the head. A group of women, wives, mothers, and neighbors of fugitives and the persecuted, guided by Trinidad, the camacha, learn the dark language as a form of resistance and form a coven to heal the land, fight in the war, and bring life back to an infertile country with the help of their dead and ghosts.

It is a southern Gothic, Lorquian, and antifascist novel that starts from several real-life crimes of women murdered during the conflict. Following «La mala costumbre», the author combines her Gothic and romantic influences (Mary Shelley, Carson McCullers, Shirley Jackson, the films of Robert Eggers, or the Penny Bloods) with a tribute to 20th-century Spanish literature, especially to Lorca, flamenco, and oral legends.

Practical information

• Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 19:00 h
• Doors open: 18:30 h
• Venue: Auditorio-Palacio de Congresos Príncipe Felipe, Oviedo
• Limited capacity