After twenty-one consecutive editions, the Festival Encuentros en el Mar, Transculturalidades, enters a period of consolidation and maturity, supported and reinforced by the fact that it has established itself as a necessary and essential product in the cultural scene of the islands.

The interdisciplinary proposal of Encuentros en el Mar covers several disciplines and is at a point of current debate with the latest offers of culture, combined with other potentialities such as the emergence of new talents, spaces for thought and analysis and artistic observation. The schedule spread over three months and a diversification of the Festival's venues also make it a solid alternative for the cultural consumer.

Encuentros en el Mar has chosen, for some years now, the concept of Transculturalities as its banner and raison d'être. ‘Transculturality is a process of rapprochement between different cultures, which seeks to establish links above and beyond the culture itself in question, almost creating new cultural facts that are born of syncretism and not of union, nor of the cultural integration that interests a certain transaction, that is to say, that if things are done well, the coexistence of cultures, facilitated in turn by modern means of travel, communication and information, can be a fundamental element that contributes to the maturing of cultures, If things are done well, the coexistence of cultures, facilitated by modern means of travel, communication and information, can be a fundamental element that contributes to the maturing of humanity, manifested in the agreement, respect and promotion of universal values above the peculiarities of race, ethnicity and even religion, moving decisively towards universal fraternity’, said Verónica Hidalgo, doctor of the University of Cadiz.

It was the Cuban philosopher Fernando Ortiz who coined this term, using it in a general way in contemporary studies on globalisation and interculturality. For him, transculturalities are the interaction, fusion and transformation of different cultures in a shared space, generating new cultural expressions that go beyond simple coexistence or superficial mixing. Transculturality implies a profound transformation and the creation of a hybrid culture.

In short, the Transculturality of this Festival is given by a genuine interest in highlighting, analysing and highlighting the ‘other’ as opposed to the ‘unique’, going through paths that are not circumscribed to a specific and differentiating fact. Trans’ may seem to be linked to a single content, related to gender identities, but nothing beyond the intention and purpose of this festival. The Transcultural is everything that transcends the established, the solid and immobile and travels paths that start from the differences to find points of contact and celebrate the differences.

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The Festival Encuentros en el Mar, Transculturalidades 2026 establishes four groups of actions, which have a common denominator between them, but which act as independent, both in the places and dates of celebration as well as in their contents. Thus, in this 2025 the Festival Encuentros en el mar, Transculturalidades proposes a critical look at the Spanish musical identity of the late eighties and nineties. After a period of overwhelming musical effervescence, Spanish musicians faced a desert crossing loaded with questions related to cultural identity.