Buenos Aires Book Fair exhibits its resilience in the face of “discouraging data”

The Book Fair Buenos Aireswhich celebrates its forty-eighth edition in 2024, demonstrates its resilience at a time of “disheartening data” for sale, due to the socioeconomic crisis that Argentinaand appeals to his “big capital”what is “people” who visits her.

These words were spoken this Thursday by the writer Alejandro Vaccaro, president of the El Libro Foundation, during a meeting with the press to announce details of the next edition of the contest, which will be held in the Argentine capital from April 25 to 13 of May.

This 48th. edition, which will be inaugurated by the Argentine writer Liliana Heker, 81, will have Lisbon as the guest city of honor and will include tributes to the Argentine authors Adolfo Bioy Casares and Julio Cortázar – for the 110th anniversary of the birth of both and the 25 ° of the death of the first -, to the cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado ‘Quino’ and his most unforgettable character, Mafalda.

The most irreverent girl in comic strips turns sixty in 2024, since the first time she appeared in a publication was on September 29, 1964; For this reason, the Ministry of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires will organize a tribute to both her and her creator.

Moment of crisis

“We know that many will not be able to buy a book,” indicated Vaccaro, who explained that, however, “without the people, there would be no fair” and detailed several initiatives to encourage sales through bonuses and discounts.

As he explained, a large book sales chain recently released data on a decrease of between 25 and 30% between January and March of this year, therefore, he stated, “The Fair is not going to escape from that.”

Furthermore, the president of the El Libro Foundation was quite critical of the Argentine Government, which, after the arrival of the libertarian Javier Milei to power, for the first time will not be part of the fair’s pavilions.

“There is a feeling in the collective imagination that this Government is extremely hostile to all cultural manifestations,” he claimed.

Those who visit the event will be able to have around 430 exhibitors that will occupy some 15,000 square meters in La Rural, the fairgrounds in Buenos Aires, as well as participate in countless activities, such as story-telling, dialogues between writers or photographic exhibitions.

As new features at the Book Fair, as detailed by Ezequiel Martínez, general director of the Foundation, there will be a space for the literature of indigenous peoples, called ‘The indigenous word’, and a final debate, in which renowned journalists and intellectuals will participate. Argentines to talk about the financing of culture.

Authors such as the French David Foenkinos, the Ecuadorian Mónica Ojeda, the Chinese Zhao Si, the Spanish Elvira Sastre and Sonsoles Ónega, the Uruguayan María Lourdes Ferro and the Italian-Colombian Walter Riso will be present at the fair.

Also the Argentines Eduardo Sacheri, Liliana Guerreiro, Claudia Piñeiro or Gabriel Rolón will integrate different panels or present books.

Lisbon will have a presence in a large lilac pavilion, alluding to the jacaranda flower“which unites the Argentinians and the Portuguese”indicated Martínez, who added that the selection of writers made by the Portuguese delegation emphasized “the new generations who find it difficult to cross the pond.”

In addition to Portuguese musicians who will entertain the fair and star in parallel events in other spaces in Buenos Aires, such as the Teatro Colón or the Usina del Arte, those who go to the fairgrounds will be able to climb a tram car, in whose windows (screens) they will be able to enjoy of images of Lisbon streets.

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