Gibraltar’s wartime history, culinary heritage and personal memories to feature at Literary Festival

Gibraltar’s wartime history, culinary heritage and personal memories of life on the Rock will be explored by local authors Richard Garcia, Nhean Haynes de Domecq and Richenda Power as part of the Gibraltar Gibunco Literary Festival. 

Gibraltar Cultural Services has announced three additional events, all taking place at the Garrison Library on November 10. 

The first event will be a morning lecture by Richard Garcia titled Useless Mouths – Gibraltarians at War. Following the sell-out of his original event, an additional session has been scheduled for 10am. 

Mr Garcia will discuss his latest research into the impact of the Second World War on Gibraltar’s civilian population and the lasting effects of the conflict on the community. Drawing on his forthcoming work, he will explore the preparations for war, the evacuation and the experiences of Gibraltarians during one of the most significant periods in the Rock’s history. 

At noon, Nhean Haynes de Domecq will be in conversation with Dr Jennifer Ballantine Perera about Rock Cakes and Other Delights, a collection of recipes and family stories spanning more than a century. 

The book draws on notebooks preserved through generations of the Saccone family, beginning with the author’s great-great-great-grandmother, combining culinary history with an account of one of Gibraltar’s prominent mercantile families. 

At 2pm, Richenda Power will also speak with Dr Ballantine Perera about The Clown and the Dancer, a work inspired by her parents’ letters from Gibraltar. 

Ms Power spent her childhood on the Rock between 1956 and 1960. Her work combines family history, memoir, poetry and social observation to portray post-war Gibraltar. 

The event will explore the contrasting perspectives of her parents, with her mother, a theatrical dancer, embracing local culture and her father, a welfare officer, navigating life on the Rock during a period of change. 

Tickets are available from buytickets.gi, with further information on the festival website at Gibraltarliteraryfestival.gi.