The third day of the 42nd International Children’s and Youth Book Fair (Filij) passed as an area of illustrations, music, the beauty of spoken narration and poetry, family picnics and bicycles in the first section of the Chapultepec Forest.
The space was extremely bustling on a sunny Sunday. Hundreds of people walked along the linear corridor where the tents of publishers and institutions participating in the book meeting were set up, which will conclude on November 18 and develops a program with more than 220 activities, including editorial and artistic presentations, workshops and oral narration.
At noon you could already see, for example, a teenager leaving, absorbed in the illustrated title she had acquired, while walking along the wooded paths of the forest. A little further on, parents taking their children to the more than 70 stands on the road known as La Milla.
The Filij has the forums Gabriela Mistral, Mary Shelley, Karla López, Pascuala Corona and, the main one, Amparo Dávila, as well as spaces with workshops and storytellers. Yesterday the books were presented Antonia and the vampire butterflies, by Alejandra Camposeco; Flowers from my neighborhood, by Ángel Uriel López Pérez, and Polyrhythm Second Rhapsody: Quarantine, by Ricardo Rosales de Paula, among others. The recital was also held Mountain soundscape music, a cargo of the Ensemble Xtá returns.
In the Gabriela Mistral space, two young people wrote poems while the children proposed the themes and words. One of them dedicated the text to his grandmother: I love you two Chapultepec Forests
. Another was inspired by his math teacher, with gratitude in small steps, when explaining knowledge
.
Later, a troupe included minor visitors to take some percussion instruments and lead the musical presentation. They received repeated applause from those present.
The Bomba Teatro company appeared at noon at the Amparo Dávila forum with the colorful and vibrant show From tingo to tango. They filled the open space and included children and adults in their fun staging. The children dance and have fun and the adults become children and share that joy.
One of those in charge of the pavilion of the Economic Culture Fund (FCE), José Luis Rodríguez, told this newspaper that this Sunday’s attendance at the Filij exceeded that of last Saturday. Although it is just the beginning, he commented that he sees many people and adventure that is related to the entry into operation of line 3 of the Cablebús. He highlighted that this time the space is more accessible, as it was organized to accommodate strollers and wheelchairs.
He maintained that the atmosphere is lively, because the weather is very good. Regarding the best-selling copies in that imprint, he said that they are those dedicated to young and young readers, those of the classic collections of the FCE and those of the newest ones, such as Spectrographies.
In front of one of the tents, a child sitting on the floor removes the plastic from his book with his teeth. He unwraps it expectantly and then tells his sister. They concentrate on their specimens. The father of both, Paulino Fontes, highlighted the importance of the Filij to encourage reading in children. He said that it is the second time they have attended the fair and that he liked it the first time, because of the space and what it offers. He said that his children like comics and illustrated children’s horror stories. In the FCE the prices are more accessible
.
In front of the large letters that identify the Filij, the children take photographs, some show the copies they bought for them, with joy and pride. This is how the sunny day of books went.