This year, Ocultura is celebrating its most ambitious edition to date, dedicated to the enigmas of the painter Francisco de Goya and the hidden symbolism in his work. With its presence, we honor the connection between American mystical narrative and our rich Iberian tradition.
Under the leadership of Javier Sierra, Ocultura has become a unique meeting point for lovers of historical mysteries, symbolism, and esoteric narrative.
It is important to renew that Renaissance spirit that some call humanism, but which I refer to as sprezzatura. It is the feeling that we are alive and moving, in harmony with the universe. After spending more time at Ocultura, perhaps we will need to export it to other parts of the world!
“Reality, here on Earth and throughout the cosmos, is a multifaceted, fascinating, and kaleidoscopic universe.”
I attended a previous edition of Ocultura as an audience member. I came to the Ocultura Festival by chance. I had secretly traveled to Spain, Italy, and Switzerland to research for my new book about artists. I didn’t want my literary agents to know I was here; I just wanted to take off my «author’s hat» for a while.
The only person who knew of my arrival was Javier Sierra, whom I have known for over 25 years. When William found out that the festival was about extraterrestrials in New Mexico, he wanted to go!
Ocultura had movie images and interviews that I had never seen. It was very exciting, and I was able to meet all the readers, booksellers, and other authors, and see Zaragoza, the only part of Spain I had never been to.
During that visit, was there a place, moment, or work of art that left a lasting impression on you? What impacted you the most about Aragón or Zaragoza?
On my last visit, I went to the retrospective exhibition of Francisco Pradilla Ortiz. It was astonishing: many of his drawings were better than those of John Singer Sargent, his round paintings reminded me of Tintoretto, and he even had some works that resembled those of Sorolla.
“Art is a hand that reaches out from the past to our time, giving us an image of a long-forgotten era.”
It would take an entire book to share my experiences in different parts of Spain. First: I was in the Balearic Islands when I lived in Algiers (I even set a scene of Los ocho in Formentera).
With my late husband, Dr. Karl Pribram, I visited the painted sacred forest of Oma, where we met the artist Agustín Ibarrola; we visited the caves of Altamira. I spent a lot of time in Compostela and A Coruña, and I was inspired by the Museum of Letters of Fournier in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Ocultura merges history, mystery, science, and arts into a unique cultural format. What value do you think events like this hold in today’s world?
The most important thing is to remember that, although the world seems to be becoming more bits and bytes, reality is indeed a multifaceted, fascinating, and kaleidoscopic universe.
“Our task is to interpret it with the only tools we have today: our memory. And our imagination!”
This year’s central theme is Francisco de Goya, the tormented Aragonese genius whose Caprichos and Pinturas Negras pulse with prophetic intensity and hidden codes. What fascinates you most about Goya’s work?
The first painting I saw by Goya, when I was a child, was Saturn Devouring His Son. But years later, I saw the paintings of Las Majas and The Duchess of Alba, and one painting in particular that seemed magical to me: The Poupee.
I am eager to discover what other secret codes may be hidden in Goya’s works! For example: did he place the paintings of the witches in the fields we filmed in central Spain?
Your closing speech, titled “Memories of the Future: Art and Memory”, is scheduled for October 31 at 8:00 PM. What led you to choose this particular topic for your talk?
I took the theme from Karl Pribram’s last book: The Form Within. The truth is that we are analog creatures, not digital, and we experience the world through input in wave forms.
How well-known is Goya in the United States today?
Goya is not as studied or exhibited in the United States as many artists from his era. My imagination sees so many new connections between what I have written in the past and what I am about to discover.
And finally: What message or reflection would you like to share with the audience of Ocultura 2025?
As my friend Woodward used to say: All art tells us a story. Art is a hand that reaches out from the past to our time. Our task is to interpret it with the only tools we have today: our memory. And our imagination!
Learn more about Katherine Neville’s experiences in Spain through these links:
