More than 819,000 visitors attended the 32nd annual International Book Fair (FIL) at Guadalajara’s Expo, the largest literary event in the Americas and second in the world, from November 24 to December 2.
According to FIL President Raúl Padilla López, over 2,280 editorial houses, 140 companies and 328 literary agents from 47 countries were present at the nine-day blowout – the most visible being Portugal, this year’s “invitado de honor” (guest of honor).
FIL officials hailed Portugal for its rich cultural traditions (such as fado music) and literary icons, including Eça de Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa and Nobel Prize-winning José Saramago.
“We were partners on this adventure, which made us recognize each other as sibling countries with related literature and cultural manifestations, charged with a spirit of discovery that over the centuries hasn’t weakened,” said Marisol Schulz, FIL’s managing director.
Portugal dispatched a commission of cultural ambassadors to facilitate conferences, interviews, presentations, readings and lectures to promote their culture, many of whom cherished the opportunity.
“As a country, being invited to Guadalajara is a very old dream in Portugal,” said Paulo Ferreira, a Portuguese delegation member. “For us it is important because it is a unique opportunity to showcase our creators in Latin America, which is an immense market.”
The Portuguese government worked diligently to prepare for this event, going as far to make the FIL the primary cultural diplomacy project of the year, according to Prime Minister António Costa.
“Literature and arts are living forces of any country, of any culture,” said Costa. “They have an insurmountable ability to get to know a country, a people. We can have frequent relationships with a country long before personally visiting it because we read and love its literature.”
More than 3,000 books were sold at the Portuguese pavilion, according to Manuela Júdice, commissioner of the country’s delegation.
“There’s a lot of culture in Portugal,” said Samantha Flores, who worked one of the stands. “They’re here to make business of course, but to also express what Portugal has.”
Little by little, Portugal delegation members also started to notice a sincere curiosity about their heritage from Mexican nationals, something that surpassed conventional literary interests.
“Many people asked questions about Portugal, not just the literature,” said Ferreira. “They wanted to know about the political system, the economy, how we were when we had a crisis, which characters they should know about. All of this made me very happy because they also want to get to know a country, a culture.”
Next year’s FIL is already set from November 30 to December 8 with India as the guest of honor, the first Asian country to receive the honor.
Personalities abound at FIL 2018
Switzerland’s Joël Dicker, talks about his bestselling mystery/thriller “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.”
Raul Salinas, the brother of former President Carlos Salinas, presented a book on solutions to Mexico’s social problems. After spending ten years in prison accused of the murder of his brother-in-law, he was acquitted in 2006.
Alejandro Solalinde, a Mexican priest and human rights champion who has frequently butted heads with the Catholic hierarchy in Mexico, presented his new book, “Revelaciones de un misionero: mi vida itinerante.”
Spanish writer Clara Usón was the winner of this year’s prestigious Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for female authors.
Honored guest: U.S. astrophysicist George F. Smoot, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Benito Taibo, a celebrated Mexican writer, journalist and director of Radio UNAM, was the recipient of the 2018 “Fernando Benítez” Cultural Journalism Award.