The FIL de Lima, Peru’s most important cultural event, opened its 30th edition on July 22 and runs through August 6 at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey in the Surco district, a new venue that has drawn mixed reactions since the fair relocated from its longtime home.
For many years the fair was held at the Parque Próceres de la Independencia in the Jesús María district. Organizers announced at the inauguration that the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey would host the event for the next four years. The move, driven by commercial considerations, has produced divided opinion, though there is broad agreement that the new space handles crowd flow better, eliminating the bottlenecks that formed at the old site.
Concerns about the accessibility of the Surco venue remain widespread. Critics have also pointed to the absence of one or two high-profile international guests as an unfulfilled obligation of the current leadership of the Cámara Peruana del Libro, which organizes the fair.
Youth literature has been the fair’s dominant story this edition. Hundreds of young readers have queued for signings and presentations by their favorite authors. Mexican writers Chuy Mine, presenting Multiverso ChuyMine, and Gilraen Eärfalas, appearing with De anatomía poética, drew large crowds that left some established literary figures visibly puzzled by the pair’s popularity.
The surge in youth fiction has had broader industry benefits, allowing both large and independent publishers to invest in more literary titles.
Among Peruvian authors with the power to mobilize audiences, Jaime Bayly filled the Blanca Varela Auditorium for the presentation of Los golpistas, published by Revuelta. Bayly won the Herralde Novel Prize in 1997 for La noche es virgen, one of the most prestigious awards in Hispanic literature.
Ecuador is this edition’s guest country. Writer Leonardo Valencia, part of the Ecuadorian delegation, recently presented his hybrid essay-chronicle Tratado de la noche sin respuesta, published with Personaje Secundario.
Among the noteworthy titles on offer, the PUCP Editorial Fund stand is carrying El derecho al ensueño, a collection of unpublished writings by Jorge Eduardo Eielson, and Para leer a Gonzalo Portocarrero by Fanni Muñoz Cabrejo and Gianfranco Silva Caillaux. La Independiente has La fotografía. La nada, the first Spanish-language translation of a work by the enigmatic Gastón Fernández (Lima, 1940-Brussels, 1997), published by Madrépora. The Banco Central de Reserva del Perú stand is selling its Pinacoteca catalog for 20 soles, a price described as accessible to all budgets.
Also drawing attention are the debut novel Itaca by Gonzalo Benavente Secco from Los Olvidos Editorial, Duelo by José Antonio Galloso from Intermezzo Tropical, and the novel El conspirador by Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera at the MYL stand. The fair continues through August 6.
