From October 29 to 31, 2025, the city of Zaragoza will host a new edition of the International Meeting of Oculture, a unique cultural event that combines art, literature, history, and mystery. This year, the focus will be on the lesser-explored secrets of Francisco de Goya, the Aragonese genius whose work continues to raise questions two centuries after his death.
Organized by the writer and journalist Javier Sierra —a recipient of the Planeta Prize and creator of the concept of Ocultura—, the event solidifies its role as a space that asserts that behind every cultural activity, there are hidden elements worth exploring and advocating.
Goya and the Secrets of Art as the Thematic Core
This edition centers on the theme of art as a doorway to other realities. Preparing for the 200th anniversary of Goya’s death, we wanted to approach the mysteries of art with a special emphasis on the figure of Francisco de Goya, explained Sierra during the event’s presentation.
A literary starting point will inspire the entire program: the Manuscript Found in Zaragoza, a work by the Polish nobleman Jan Potocki. According to Sierra, he very likely met Francisco de Goya in the city of Madrid and, very likely, portrayed him, leaving one of the many enigmas that will feed the discussions open.
Three Days, Five Conferences, and Multiple Enigmas
The event will kick off on Wednesday, October 29, with a lecture by Sierra himself titled Art as a Doorway to Other Worlds, where he will present a view of art not only as aesthetic but also as a tool for spiritual, magical, and cultural connection.
This will be followed by writer Dolores Redondo, who will analyze the role of witchcraft in Goya’s work. She is an expert in Navarrese witchcraft, which is not far from Aragonese witchcraft, stated Sierra, adding that Redondo will dissect the influence of witchcraft in Goya’s work, which, as you will know and see from this year’s poster, is prominently present.
On Thursday, 30th, Dr. Florencio Monje Gil —a specialist in maxillofacial surgery— will present The Cursed Faces of Goya. He has been researching how certain diseases and deformities are represented in the artist’s black paintings: He will provide a diagnostic talk about all those faces with anomalies, Sierra revealed.
On that same day, Montse Aguer, director of the Dalí Museums, will speak about Dalí, the Endless Enigma, and its conceptual connection to Goya. What Dalí fundamentally pursued with his art was immortality… He also sought it in alchemy and witchcraft because he inherited it from adults, from prominent painters like Goya, said Sierra.
A Grand Finale with Guided Tours, Live Radio, and a Legendary Author
Friday, the 31st, will be an especially intense day. In the morning, alongside the Goya Foundation in Aragon, there will be a guided tour of the exhibition Goya: From Museum to Palace, at the Aljafería. In the afternoon, the RNE program Espacio en Blanco, one of the longest-running shows in Spanish broadcasting, will be recorded live.
That day, writer and journalist Clara Tahoces, a descendant of the Countess of Chinchón, Goya’s muse, will also speak. She will tell us how for the countess and for the palace she had on the outskirts of Madrid, Goya painted his famous witches’ sabbaths and his most magical or esoteric paintings, explained Sierra.
The grand finale will be delivered by the American Katherine Neville, author of the global phenomenon The Eight, who will present a lecture titled Memories of the Future: Art and Memory. Sierra emphasized: Neville will come specifically from Washington to attend these sessions. She has just received an award that will be presented to her after her visit to Zaragoza at the Festival of Souls in Soria.
Culture with a Symbolic Perspective
Beyond the program, Ocultura offers an alternative vision of cultural facts: We are not talking about superstition or magic in the most trivial sense of the word, but rather of culture in any case. And that is what inspires all the activities this year, emphasized Javier Sierra.
With free entry and an audience capacity of 600, the event aims to bring the general public closer to topics that often fall outside academic discourse: hidden connections, forgotten symbols, and historical figures from new perspectives. A project that looks to the past —and the future— with ambition, in Sierra’s words: To turn what is hidden in culture into culture. I believe that is the spirit of this meeting.
