Armando Montes de Santiago

For the past 18 years, she has worked on the organizing committee of the FIL, where she was responsible for international sales for many years. She is currently in charge of the General Coordination of Exhibitors and Professionals, as well as other important projects for the FIL, such as the Comic + Graphic Novel Hall and Books to Taste.

Other activities involving the participant:

Opening Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Presentation of: Foráneo
Presentation of the Pura Pinche Fortaleza Graphic Novel Award

Kike Infame

He is a graphic designer, illustrator, and comic book artist. He is currently the president of Euskal Irudigileak (the Professional Association of Illustrators of Euskadi) and Fadip (the Federation of Professional Illustration Associations).

As an author, he is known for his work as a comic book artist, publishing titles with Astiberri (“El hombre que vino del cielo”) and Dolmen (“Corina y el pistolero,” “Quatroccento”), as well as self-publishing the series Morirse en Bilbao.

He collaborates in various media as a disseminator, particularly known for his work as an interviewer and event organizer. Along with Mikel Begoña, he co-authored the book Komikia about Basque comics (1975-2017). Later, with Álex Oviedo, he co-wrote Irudigileak and Hormetan, books focused on illustration and posters in Bizkaia. He has also published interview-based books: Con los codos pegados al torso with Mauro Entrialgo and Back to Black with Víctor Santos.

Other activities involving the participant:

Social Context: Album and Comic as Engines of Change

Estibaliz Zearsolo

Esti holds a BA (Hons) in Arts & Events Management from Arts University Bournemouth. For 14 years, she has been working with Euskal Irudigileak, the Basque Professional Association of Illustrators. During this time, they have organized a wide range of activities, including workshops, talks, exhibitions, collaborations, and fairs, all aimed at promoting local talent and providing visibility to illustrators. Eight years ago, under the leadership of Elisabeth Pérez Fernández and a team of colleagues, they co-founded Irudika, the International Professional Illustration Fair. Today, they continue to explore new ways to support professionals in the field by recognizing and defending their rights as authors, promoting illustration, and fostering a collaborative and enriching environment for all association members.

Isidro Ferrer

Invitado de Honor

He is an illustrator and graphic designer whose work spans a vast physical and emotional geography. A graduate in dramatic arts and scenography, Isidro Ferrer is a graphic artist in the broadest sense of the term: he is the creator of hundreds of posters, book covers, objects, toys, editorial design, monumental infographics, animated shorts, textiles, brand imagery, sculptures, and lamps. Any medium, technique, or communication channel serves him to express with images his passion for the theater of life.

As an illustrator, he has published over 50 books, including: El vuelo de la razón (1993, Ministry of Culture Award for Best Edited Book); Yo me lo guiso, yo me lo como (1996, Laus Silver Award for Illustration); El verano y sus amigos (1996, Lazarillo Award for Illustration); En Cosme i el monstre Menjamots (2000, Serra d’Or Criticism Award); Una casa para el abuelo (2003, Daniel Gil Award for Illustration; 2006, Junceda Award for Illustration); Libro de las preguntas (2006, AEPD Award and Cálamo Award); Un jardín (2017, Bologna Ragazzi Award Mention); Enciclopedia visual de los sonidos (2022, BRAW Amazing Bookshelf. Bologna Children’s Book Fair); Frankenstein o el Prometeo moderno (2023, National Award for Best University Edition); Piedra a piedra (2023, Ministry of Culture Award for Best Edited Book).

His work has been exhibited in numerous countries across Europe, America, and Asia. He has received the National Design Award in 2002 and the National Illustration Award in 2006. Since 2000, he has been a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale).

Other activities involving the participant:

Design Beyond the Book: Publishers Who Understand Typography

Miju Lee

Miju Lee is a South Korean visual artist known for her sensitive and poetic approach to the subtlety of everyday life. Her work blends illustration with mixed media techniques, capturing fleeting moments that invite introspection.

In recent years, she has exhibited her work in prominent institutions and galleries internationally. Her most recent solo exhibition, Perfect Days, was held at Labibi Gallery in Mallorca (2024). Additionally, her participation in artist residencies, such as the one at CCA Andratx in Spain (2022), has enriched her practice and fostered connections within the global art community.

Her works are part of significant collections, including the María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation and the Solo Collection in Spain, as well as the Art Bank of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea. These collaborations reflect the widespread impact of her art, which transcends borders and cultures.

Miju Lee’s work explores universal themes such as memory, the passage of time, and the small details of daily life, establishing her as a prominent figure in the contemporary art scene.

Araiz Mesanza

Araiz Mesanza (n. 1983) es una ilustradora vasca afincada en Oslo, Noruega. Licenciada en Bellas Artes por la Facultad de Pais Vasco. (Bilbao, España) consta con especialización en Ilustración en la Escola Massana. (Barcelona, España). Y con un Master en Diseño e Ilustración de la Academia Nacional de las Artes de Oslo (Noruega). Mesanza trabaja como ilustradora independiente, con albumes infantiles, ilustración editorial y cómics. Ademas tiene especial interés en la autoedición y el material gafico, lo que le ha llevado a fundar su propio sello llamado Toki press. Un lugar para explorar cómics, narrativas, diseño, formatos y autoedicion y sobre todo para indagar en la frontera entre publicaciones e impresiones.

Francisca Yáñez

Visual artist, illustrator, and designer based in Santiago, Chile. She grew up in exile across various countries, including Argentina, Germany, and Costa Rica. Her work focuses on institutions and publishing houses related to culture, education, and human rights, and is deeply influenced by her childhood experiences of displacement and the blend of cultures and influences. Her itinerant project on childhood and migration, "From a Country Without a Name," travels to different cities around the world. As an illustrator and author, she won the Marta Brunet Award from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage in 2018.

Yolanda Mosquera

Yolanda Mosquera, licenciada en Bellas Artes con especialidad en diseño gráfico, ha trabajado como docente y diseñadora. En 2013, sus ilustraciones en Caballitos de sal fueron reconocidas con una Mención honorífica en la Feria del Libro de Sharjah. En 2018, ganó el Premio Euskadi de Ilustración. Sus obras han sido seleccionadas en exposiciones internacionales como Ilustrarte (Portugal), BIB (Eslovaquia) y la Feria del Libro de Guadalajara (México).

Higinia Garay

Higinia Garay (Bilbao, 1978). Licenciada en Bellas Artes y posgraduada en Diseño de Publicaciones en el Instituto Europeo de Diseño de Madrid, trabaja como ilustradora y diseñadora gráfica desde 2002, y está a cargo de su propio estudio desde 2013. Además, compagina estas actividades con la docencia en másteres y talleres. Su trayectoria y sensibilidad artística la han llevado a especializarse en temáticas relacionadas con la cultura, la desigualdad de género y la vulneración de los derechos humanos. Es la ilustradora de la novela gráfica Todas nosotras (Astiberri, 2020), con guion de Elizabeth Casillas, y entre sus últimos trabajos destacados se encuentran proyectos realizados para el Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Cruz Roja Juventud, Obra Social La Caixa, Tabakalera Donosti, Farmamundi, Anesvad, Mundubat y BBK Live, entre muchos otros.

Bea Lema

Invitado de Honor

She is an illustrator and comic author. She uses embroidery and weaving as mediums to transfer her images. Her work, generally autobiographical, addresses themes related to madness, trauma, family relationships, religion, and popular rituals.

In 2018, she published O Corpo de Cristo, which won the XII Premio Castelao from the Diputación de A Coruña. El cuerpo de Cristo (Astiberri, 2023), based on the previous edition, has been published in France and Italy, and will be released in Portugal soon. The project was awarded a grant for a graphic novel residency at the Maison des Auteurs in 2022, thanks to Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Cité Internationale de la Bande dessinée et de L’image, with the collaboration of the French Embassy in Spain. In 2024, she received the France Télévisions Public Award for this work at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, a globally recognized event.

Other activities involving the participant:

Arpilleras Workshop

Lale Sonja Westivind

Lale is an animator/illustrator based in Pennsylvania, USA. Her work has been published internationally in Kramers Ergot (USA), Strapazin (CH), Lagon Revue (FR), La Cruda Negra (ES), The Lifted Brow (AU), Hidden Champion (JP), and many others. Her animated music video for Lightning Bolt's "Metal East" won an award at LIFF in 2015. She has self-published over a dozen comics and two anthologies. Her comic Hot Dog Beach #2 won an Ignatz Award in 2012. She received a Koyama Provides grant in 2022 to create her comic series Void Packer. Her book Grip has been published in four languages and received critical acclaim. Original artwork from her pages was exhibited at the Formula Bula festival in Paris in 2023 and at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery in Philadelphia this year. Perfectly Acceptable Press in Chicago published a collection of her work titled Grand Electric Thought Power Mother this year. Her solo art exhibition in Treviso, Italy, with Strane Dizioni during this year's TCBF coincided with the release of a new book titled Becoming Being. Next year, a mural she designed will be exhibited at Philadelphia Airport, and Breakdown Press will publish a new art book titled Hax Memora.

Javier Mariscal

Invitado de Honor

Who, in 2050, will turn 100 years old, is a creator who has worked across various disciplines and on a wide range of mediums without showing any particular preference. Graphic design, furniture design, painting, sculpture, interior design, urban landscape, gardening, horticulture... all are part of his professional and personal activities. He enjoys just as much looking at a painting by Klee as riding an escalator or driving his scooter along a coastal road. Sometimes, he cannot distinguish between an appliance, a person, or a chair; everything has volume, and they are images that think, laugh, and cry. Each image that appears on his retina, each daily experience, is processed without prejudice in his visual memory, and then emerges in his work.

His first comic strip was published in the mid-seventies in several fanzines of the time. He played a very active role in the Movida and the visual revolution of Spanish comics with his characters Los Garriris (1974). He is known for creating Cobi, the mascot of the Barcelona '92 Olympics, and for the sculpture Gambrinus, located at the Moll de la Fusta.

In 2008, he co-directed with Fernando Trueba the animated film Chico & Rita, which was internationally recognized, won Goya Awards, and was nominated for the 2012 Oscars. In 2023, they released their second animated film, Dispararon al pianista.

Gibrán Turón

Gibrán Turón (1988, Villahermosa) es un artista visual multidisciplinario que explora la ilustración digital, serigrafía, pintura, muralismo y más. Su obra revela lo cotidiano y lo urbano, descontextualizando imágenes y objetos para cuestionar la homogeneización de la sociedad. Dirige el festival Dolor Local, plataforma para el arte emergente.

Elena Odriozola

Elena Odriozola (San Sebastián, 1967) es una destacada ilustradora vasca con más de cien libros ilustrados, traducidos a varios idiomas. Ha recibido premios como el Nacional de Ilustración (2015), el Gran Prix de la Bienal de Bratislava (2021) y la Golden Apple (2015). Su obra ha sido expuesta en prestigiosas muestras internacionales, como la Feria de Bolonia y la Bienal de Bratislava.

Maria Barriga

Invitado de Honor

(Spain, 1996) is an illustrator and animator. She studied design at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her training in animation and illustration was largely self-taught, although she completed her studies in illustration in Belgium at Sint-Lucas Antwerpen, and in animation in Denmark at The Animation Workshop. Her work focuses on seeking a personal expression, free from academic conventions, reinterpreting everything that is "taken for granted." Her art explores the absurd and the dreamlike, blended with everyday life and how it can suddenly break apart.

Tension, humor, and tenderness are elements that always orbit her graphic universe.

She often works in the advertising sector while also developing her more personal artistic projects. In 2024, she was selected to participate in the cross-residencies at the Irudika International Illustration Festival, where she will begin developing her first short film, Próximo destino.

Pablo Mugüerza

Traductor médico inglés-español con 40 años de experiencia, especializado en la traducción de documentos relacionados con la investigación clínica. Profesor de cursos y talleres en este campo. Autor de libros y del primer diccionario de términos médicos nacido digital.

Other activities involving the participant:

Session 2: Training specialized translators: exchange of ideas around training for legal, medical and literary translators
Workshop 4: The making of a medical dictionary

Andy Benzo

Andy Benzo obtuvo sus títulos de abogada y de traductora en Argentina. Ha trabajado como traductora jurídica autónoma durante más de 30 años. Se afilió a la ATA en 1999 y está certificada por la ATA. Andy ha impartido numerosas ponencias en conferencias de la ATA y otros foros nacionales e internacionales. Es vicepresidenta de la ATA.

Silvia Xalabarde

Silvia Xalabarde tiene una empresa de traducción e interpretación que se especializa en idiomas europeos. También es la presidenta de la Sociedad de Traductores e Intérpretes de Columbia Británica en Canadá y la encargada de los exámenes de certificación de traductores e intérpretes a nivel nacional.

Elsy Villegas

Traductora certificada por la American Translators Association y perita traductora ante el Consejo de la Judicatura de Jalisco con 16 años de experiencia en la traducción oficial, jurídica y humanística. Profesora de traducción a nivel de licenciatura, maestría y diplomado. Coordinadora de la Licenciatura en Traducción e Interpretación del ITESO.