Urtasun assures that Spain is not going to “show Spanish culture” at the Guadalajara Book Fair (Mexico)

The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun has assured that the role of Spain as a Guest Country of Honor in the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) 2024 in Mexico is not about “showing Spanish culture”, but rather about “celebrating” what both countries are “jointly”.

“We are not going to Mexico with the intention of showing Spanish culture to the country or the world, who know it very well. What we are going to do is a great act of celebration. 25% of the writers who are going to come come from some Latin American region, and 35% are Mexican by birth. Therefore, what we are going to do there is a great celebration of the bridges that exist between both worlds. It is not that Spain comes to Mexico to explain, we are going to celebrate what we are together. It is essential“said Urtasun during the closing of the presentation of the program, which took place this Monday at the National Library of Spain.

Under the motto ‘Round trip’the presence of Spain at the FIL in Guadalajara – which will take place from November 30 to December 8 – aims to show the image of a “plural, diverse and multicultural” country and, in that sense, the minister has explained that he feels “proud” of the equality between authors, of which 117 will be men and 112 will be women. It has also ensured the representation of all the co-official languages ​​of Spain during the FIL.

“From these authors, from that professional part, we want to highlight that there is equality between women and men. For us, it has been an important indication to work on gender equality and it is one of the differentiating characteristics of Spain.. All languages ​​are also represented, not just the official ones, and there are authors who come from all the autonomous communities. Another important part is that there are independent publishers and large publishing groups. “We have sought that balance and approximately 60% of the authors who come belong to independent publishers and 40% to large groups,” Urtuson added.

Furthermore, during the event – which was attended by the general director of Books, Comics and Reading of the Ministry of Culture, María José Gálvez; the director of Spanish Cultural Action Programming (AC/E), Inmaculada Ballesteros; the curator of the literary program, Sergio Ramírez; and the person responsible for the design, Giselle Etcheverry Walker–, Urtasun has referred to the Republican exile to Mexico, “an unforgettable lesson in fraternity”, with the recognition of which “a duty to memory” is fulfilled.

Precisely, memory and exile will be present in the programming for “thank” the country for its role in welcoming Spanish writers and intellectuals after the Spanish Civil War since 2024 marks the 85th anniversary of the arrival of Spanish exiles to Mexico.

170 AUTHORS PARTICIPATE SUCH AS MARÍA DUEÑAS OR ALANA S. PORTERO

The literary program will take place in several spaces, mainly, Hall 1 and the Spanish Pavilion, where Spain will present the most current of its literature with the presence of more than 170 authors, among whom are Bernardo Atxaga, Marta Sanz, Luis Mateo Díez, Anna Pacheco, Pol Guasch, María Sánchez, Alana S. Portero, Marta Jiménez Serrano, María Dueñas, Irene Vallejo, Katixa Aguirre, Patricio Pron, Joan Carles Mèlich, Antonio Monegal or Kirmen Uribe.

But also, This delegation includes almost 300 participantsbetween authors, creators, musicians, visual artists, a chef and various agents in the sector. The musical performances will be performed by Rodrigo Cuevas, Joe Crepúsculo, Tomasito, Camilo Lara, María José Llergo, Miguel Poveda, Califato 3/4 or Ruper Ordorika, among others.

Some of the activities that will be carried out in the pavilion – which Urtasun has assured is “a commitment to sustainability“– are FIL Children, which will feature a performance by the Truca Circus Company, ‘QUIXOTE’; a Film Series that will include ‘Un amor’, ‘Snow White’ and ‘The Subtle Worlds’; and a Gastronomic Festival in which For the first time in the history of FIL, a chef will be in charge of programming, Begoña Rodrigo de Jorge.