Colombia will be the guest of honor at the Havana Book Fair. The honoree country will pay tribute to the culture of peace. From February 9 to 19, Colombia will participate in the fair with a delegation of more than 25 writers of various genres, regions, ages, and cultures.
Colombia, País Invitado de Honor
Colombia is the guest country of honor at the Havana International Book Fair, which will begin its 31st edition on February 9. The government of Colombia announced that Vice President Francia Márquez will lead the delegation that will participate in the meeting. The maximum literary event on the island will be attended by 120 exhibitors from at least 40 nations and will end on February 19.
The Colombian government’s press release detailed that Márquez will travel together with the Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza, and a commission with writers, promoters and artists from the country.
The Fair will be held simultaneously in the iconic Morro-Cabaña military historical complex and the historic center of Havana. There will be other sub-headquarters, such as the Casa de las Américas, the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, the University of Havana and the José Martí National Library.
As part of the artistic celebration, 4.2 million copies with 4,200 titles will be exhibited, of which 1,300 will be electronic books, reported Juan Rodríguez, president of the Cuban Book Institute and the organizing committee.
Feria del Libro 2023
From February 9 to 19, Colombia will present its own cultural and literary diversity, as well as important reflections on the construction of Paz Total from artistic and cultural initiatives.
“This fair is taking place at a very special moment, because in Colombia we are in the Government of Change, and a fundamental part of change is opening the doors to relations in the most fraternal and cultural way. Second, because we are going to talk about the arts, about literature. We are going to go with a delegation of writers and we are going to have a dialogue with the Cuban people,” expressed the Minister of Culture of Colombia, Patricia Ariza Flórez.
For ten days, Colombia will have the opportunity to highlight the importance of culture in the achievement of peace and, in particular, the role that literature plays in the construction of a new story of the country through poetry, narration, creation, a critical look at society and the recovery of memory. Colombia will have a literary delegation, a bookstore with the most representative of Colombian literary production, a film strip and an artistic exhibition.
“The role of Cuba in the peace of Colombia is fundamental,” Vice President, Francia Márquez Mina.
“Returning to Cuba as Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, after having come a few years ago as a member of the table of victims in the peace talks between the Colombian State and the FARC, is evidence that in Colombia we are making our desire for Total Peace come true. Of course, the role of Cuba in this path has been fundamental,” stressed Vice President Francia Márquez Mina.
“The cultural ties between both nations are a binational asset that must be strengthened, and the Havana Book Fair is a golden opportunity,”
Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez Mina.
The Havana Fair is a starting point for the work that both nations will carry out in 2023, announced the government of Colombia. As part of the collaboration, a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Cultures, Arts and Heritage will be signed.
Colombia’s Participation
Colombia will have an agenda that includes literary activities and artistic presentations by some entertainers of the country; the musical group Enkelé will transport the attendees to Colombia with their melodies, and a varied strip of cinema will be presented with some shorts and feature films that represent the best of audiovisual talent in our country.
In addition, the Colombia stand will have a bookstore that will have more than 620 books by Colombian authors for display and sale.
Colombia will highlight four strategic axes: The Culture of Peace; Living Memory; Art, Education for life, and Colombia on the Planet.
Similarly, the Colombian government has given great importance to the legacy of the Truth Commission and to sharing part of its work with the Cuban people at this fair.
Voices of Colombia in Cuba
To achieve representative participation, a delegation of writers, editors and academics from the Colombian publishing and literary sector will be integrated.
Among the participants are Alejandra Jaramillo Morales, Alonso Sánchez Baute, Álvaro Castillo Granada, Ángela Mavisoy, Carolina Vivas, Celso Román, Eliana Hernández, Ivar Da Coll, Jaime Abello, José Luis Díaz-Granados, José Zuleta Ortiz, Juan Manuel Roca, Laura Restrepo, Lisandro Duque Naranjo, Lucía González Duque, María del Sol Peralta, Sindy Elefante, Velia Vidal, Vito Apushana and Yolanda Reyes.
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In addition, Carolina Delgado Serrano, representative of the musical group Enkelé, and the decimeros Héctor Pérez García, Alfredo Martelo Escobar, Telmo Angulo Cicádeo, Pio Abril, Gustavo Córdoba Soto and Gildardo Cruz Arias will participate.
The 31st Havana International Book Fair will celebrate Reading Inclusivity, as reported by Sputnik news.
“That books arrive through new technologies is a way of stimulating reading, it is a way of motivating interest in learning, as well as the possibility of expanding the reach of books beyond traditional bookstores,” said writer Limbania Jiménez to Sputnik news.
For Jiménez, author of A pecho limpio, Mujeres sin fronteras, De las mujeres y sus memorias, and Heroínas de Angola, each Book Fair held in Cuba “represents a very important cultural event.”
“People follow the presentations, the new titles, and despite the limitations that exist with the current economic crisis and paper production, there are always new things available to the reading public,” she commented.
Writers, editors, translators, designers, illustrators, distributors, booksellers, librarians and the general public will be present to enjoy the exhibition, negotiation, commercialization and promotion of Cuban and foreign literature, as well as the most diverse artistic and cultural expressions, which will turn the event into an arts fair.
After closing, on February 19, the Fair will tour the country divided into three regions: the west (Pinar del Río, Havana, Mayabeque, Artemisa, Matanzas and Isla de la Juventud) from March 2 to 5; center (Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila) from March 9 to 12 and east (Las Tunas, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and Guantánamo) from March 16 to 19.
Dr. Soledad Quartucci | Founder
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