Hours before Cosmopoética was due to start, its director, Pablo Téllez de la Poza, died in a motorcycle accident on Avenida Agrupación in Córdoba. He was 49. The crash involved a car, and police are still investigating what happened. Emergency crews arrived quickly but could not revive him. Information from 112 Andalucía, both Policía Nacional and Policía Local responded.
Téllez de la Poza led Verbo Servicios Culturales and helped shape much of Córdoba’s cultural life. This year, his company organized Cosmopoética, a poetry festival promoted by the city since its inception. His death leaves a gap extending far beyond the event. Regional media and cultural figures have called his passing a major loss for Córdoba’s creative world. His work also encompassed Eutopía and Marpoética, as well as the city’s book fair.
His work reached well beyond poetry. Téllez de la Poza led the Eutopía festival, ran several editions of Córdoba’s book fair and launched Marpoética in Marbella. He also worked with Madrid’s Matadero and partnered with the Centro de Arte Pepe Espaliú and Sala Vimcorsa. Festival Qurtubajazz was another of his partners. After training in scenography at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático, he was drawn early on to producing cultural events, which became his life’s work.
This year, Téllez de la Poza was director gerente for Cosmopoética, while David Eloy Rodríguez managed the cultural program. The festival’s theme is “Borges: 40 aniversario de su muerte.” Its 2026 edition is dedicated to Jorge Luis Borges, marking the 40th anniversary of the writer’s death. Events will run across Córdoba until October 3. Poets and audiences will gather in a city mourning one of its basic cultural leaders. Several Spanish news outlets report that the opening at Teatro Góngora will go ahead as planned, with writer Siri Hustvedt and singer Carmen Linares headlining. The program will not change despite the loss.
El Día de Córdoba reports that Cosmopoética 2026 is expected to gather more than 70 authors and host over fifty events, maintaining its status as one of Spain’s leading poetry festivals. Téllez de la Poza’s death on the eve of the festival is a blow to Córdoba’s creative community. His influence remains visible in the city’s cultural calendar and the institutions he helped build. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
