At FilCo, Margo Glantz and Poniatowska toured a country narrated by them

Together, not only do they have almost two centuries of life, but they are two of the outstanding female figures of contemporary Mexican literature. Yesterday Elena Poniatowska and Margo Glantz had a pleasant talk about the strength of women who write and the worlds that literature can transform.

The discussion, moderated by journalist Adrián Figueroa, took place in a packed Carol Wilson Forum at the Coyoacán International Book Fair (FilCo) – which concludes today – and became a milestone in bringing together two of the most important intellectuals in the country.

With complicity forged over time, Poniatowska, 93, and Glantz, 96, wove a tapestry of memories that ranged from their first steps in journalism and academia, respectively, to the satisfaction of seeing the first woman in the Presidency of Mexico. The talk was a journey through the transformation of a country that they have narrated.

Cervantes Prize for Literature and collaborator of The Day, Poniatowska recalled her beginnings in journalism, in 1953, in the social section of the newspaper Excelsior, space “designed for women”, where their work included everything from covering high society parties to, with the pen, “lowering the skirts” of the ladies in the photographs to comply with the modesty of the time.

“It was a world in which women who wanted to do journalism were destined for the social section. It was considered risk-free journalism,” recalled the author of The night of Tlatelolco, by highlighting the evolution of a profession that then prevented journalists from accessing political sources.

Glantz, forged in the academy, recalled her forays into the press, in newspapers such as the Oneplusone y The Day, although he acknowledged that his themes were “more eccentric” than those of his alternate, such as the series of texts he dedicated to “hair as a cultural reference throughout the centuries.”

The dialogue soon found a point of contact with current events: the arrival of Claudia Sheinbaum to the Presidency of Mexico. For both authors, the event has deep symbolic meaning.

“It’s a big change. When I entered the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (of the National Autonomous University of Mexico), almost all the teachers were men; I was like an outcast. Now, most of them are women,” Glantz celebrated.

Poniatowska linked the president with historical memory: “I remember her mother, Annie Pardo, a biologist, and her presence in the student movement of 1968, going to the Lecumberri prison to show solidarity with the students. It is very nice to think of Claudia. How good that I have the possibility of seeing her in power and arguing with Trump with the intelligence and presence of mind with which she has done so.”

Encouraged by Figueroa’s questions, the writers outlined a parallel between the struggles of the past and those of the present.

Glantz recalled her humble origins – “precarious,” she said –, being born in the La Merced neighborhood, her ideological stance always on the left, her work at the head of the magazine Starting point – of which she was the founder – and the student demonstrations of 1968, which she attended alongside the renowned philosophers and professors emeritus Luis Villoro and Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez.

Poniatowska, meanwhile, admitted that as a young man he was a supporter of the PAN during the time of Manuel Gómez Morín, and praised Octavio Paz’s resignation from the Indian embassy due to the events of 1968: it was an act “of intellectual greatness.”

The dialogue was fueled by anecdotes about the cultural Mexico of the 20th century. Poniatowska, for example, shared her memories of Dr. Atl, talking to the mountains “as if they were people,” or about the fear he had of Diego Rivera, after he painted his aunt Guadalupe Amor naked. A fact that, although it was very difficult, scandalized his family, he acknowledged.

He also spoke about the painter and poet Nahui Ollin, who, with humor, recognized her ability to not get sick with the flu, “because of her nakedness,” although he regretted that she ended her life alone, walking dogs in La Alameda.

“She was an outlaw woman. They recognized her beauty, because they painted her naked when nudity was almost an offense,” added the journalist, while Glantz recalled how until recently there was the idea that “a pretty woman could not be intelligent.”

In a message for new generations of women, Poniatowska recommended: “The most important thing is to believe in yourself. Go for it, don’t be afraid. If you want to write or sing, throw all impulses out. You will never find the door closed. You have wings.”

Glantz agreed: “I agree with Elena, everything she said is what you have to do. You don’t have to be afraid, you have to go for it, you have to read a lot.” The forum overflowed with applause to recognize both writers, to whom Filco awarded a medal for their career and legacy.