Cartagena (Colombia), Jan. 28 (Reuters): Novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez wouldn’t travel to Wales to the Hay literary festival ? so the annual bookfest dubbed “the Woodstock of the mind” has gone to him in his native Colombia.

The idea of bringing an offshoot of the festival held in the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye to the beautiful, colonial walled city of Cartagena was suggested by Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, who told festival founder Peter Florence that that was the only way Garcia Marquez would attend.

Colombia’s Nobel Prize-winner is now billed as guest of honour at the four-day event which kicked off on Thursday with talks by authors including Britain's Hanif Kureishi.