La Vorágine is hated by many a Colombian, not because of its lack of merit, but because it was forced on people through the school curriculum. That’s not a fair end for this cornerstone of Colombian literature, which is still relevant today.

It is 100 years since this classic was first published, and FILBo is taking the opportunity to celebrate it. We were fascinated by a talk given by Prof. Carlos Guillermo Páramo, the Dean of the Department of Anthropology at Universidad Nacional de Colombia.  

Páramo, who has read the novel 23 times, talked to the audience in Gran Salón E of Corferias with devotion about a book he discovered when he was a teenager who was bored with school, but passionate about reading, especially adventure books. He explained that the book can be read through different lenses. For example, the lens of extractive economies, nature, the world as a frontier, and the jungle.

La Vorágine portrays man’s failure to conquer the jungle

In Páramo’s view, La Vorágine clearly portrays the defeat of the West against the natural world, the jungle. This defeat is exemplified by the novel’s last sentence about how the jungle swallows white men. Páramo says these men are always on a quest to conquer and dominate, by extracting natural resources. The book also highlights what many indigenous societies have dubbed the “sons of the wind.” It defines white men as beings who are essentially swept by the wind, who cannot put down roots because they are always on the quest to get ahead, to move forward, they want to conquer and dominate everything. 

Páramo says this is one of the paradoxes of Rivera’s novel: “While the West has an enormous obsession with the wild world, with the inhabitants of the jungle, an obsession which from the get-go judges everybody else as inferior, the West is always seeking to make that inferior land produce and to take advantage of its resources towards progress. But at the same time, is scared of these so-called inferior beings because it most often sees them as cannibals.” He concludes: “La Vorágine is full of mentions of cannibalism, but at the same time, it reminds us of what happens with the West on the other side of the border.”

La Vorágine shows the diversity of a nation such as Colombia, a country with a great variety of geographical, social, zoological, botanical, and climatic resources. It is that same spirit that makes La Vorágine an absolute superlative novel, because it is a celebration of diversity, though covered by the veil of pessimism.

Prof. Guillermo also points out this is a novel that portrays how the West has been unable to communicate with that diversity – it only connects in terms of wealth. We think of natural resources as ways to produce wealth and capital. This logic is still encouraged by utilitarianism. It is precisely the clash between capitalism and the jungle, with the frontier, with the natural world that Rivera wanted to represent. Prof. Páramo calls it the tragedy of the West. Rivera’s response was to give an account of that drama, that of a world chockfull of the most diverse species, thermal floors, an enormous social diversity, but above all, the impulse to take advantage of all that diversity, to get rich through a precious resource – at the time – such as rubber, snubbing over the local indigenous communities.

Prof. Páramo has definitely encouraged his audience to read José Eustacio Rivera´s The Vortex (La Vorágine), and go beyond the adventures of Arturo Cova and his lover Alicia as they elope from Bogotá. We travel with them through the eastern plains and later, as they emerge from criminal misgivings, through the Amazon rainforest of Colombia. The book conveys the rich biodiversity and lifestyle of its inhabitants, as well as the appalling conditions that workers in the rubber factories experienced during the rubber boom. 

In Páramo’s words: “This is not anymore a work set in a specific period of Colombian history. It is very much a universal novel, even with some scenes on the kingdom of magical realism.” Regarding its imposition in schools, he says: “I’ve mentioned – probably unfairly – the fact that many associate the reading of La Vorágine in schools as an imposition, which has certainly left a bitter flavor for many. However, the best time to start reading La Vorágine is at school; this because it is the time in a human’s life when most things cause wonder. This is a young novel, and this is probably something that is not always perceived as such. La Vorágine certainly portrays the dilemmas faced by someone who is trying to find their place in the world, of someone like his protagonist, Arturo Cova, who is probably no older than 30, but whose mental age is probably younger; an intelligent person nonetheless, but a person with several dilemmas to solve.”

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Books may have been replaced by travel brochures, comics, or even home decor in Corferias. But the wonderful thing about FILBo is that the words linger long after the festival has ended. And Chimamanda Ngochie Adichie’s talk on roots, race, language, feminism, history, and grief is still with me. Not only is the talk still available online, but the joy of books is that they are always available.

How not to write about such an important visitor? Dubbed one of the most important talks of this year’s FILBo, it was fascinating to see Claudia Morales, Director of the Book Fair of the Colombian Coffee Region sit down with Adichie. For those not familiar with the author, Adichie is a renowned Nigerian writer of both fiction and essays, who first achieved fame with her novel Purple Hibiscus (2003). Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and has won important prizes such as the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, the Orange Prize, and the US Book Critics Circle Award. Her work revolves around race, feminism, and the danger of a single story (a most famous TED Talk as well). 

Morales started the conversation by asking Adichie about the dangers of having one single story, and how these affect a person, and society in general. The author, jokingly, responded, “It’s all written in the book, I think.” Chimamanda, if you’ll allow me to call her by her first name, used humour to break the ice, and continued to lighten the mood throughout. 

She found it important to explain how this idea came about; she was invited to a TED talk in 2001. At the time, she did not have much of an idea about what these TED talks were about, but in researching for her talk she realised most Africans who had been invited ended up talking about how they would help build a school or wells in different communities. She had not really built anything so she didn’t know what her talk would revolve around. She decided to talk about what she was interested in – and what she knew. This brought her to the thought that as a Nigerian, “We cannot talk about a person in a single account, as that limits our ability to imagine the other person, to empathise with others, as we end up seeing them in a very narrow way, and that’s what makes it more difficult for us to understand the world.”

Adichie continued to expand on her answer by recalling something Colombian Vice President, Francia Márquez, said at the opening of this year’s FILBo. She said Vice President Márquez said she would soon travel on an official visit to Africa, and that the Colombian press had described said visit as a safari. Adichie said this is a perfect example of a single story, and also an example of how people are not granted the dignity they deserve. “One cannot narrow Africa down to a safari, this is 2023,” said the author. On this point, she concluded we should change the narrative with curiosity and humility; we live in a world where people find it difficult to say they’ve been wrong and to admit they’ve failed.

Adichie: I’m a happy Nigerian feminist

The talk continued on to feminism. She recounted how a journalist at one of her book presentations once told her, “Feminists are women who are unhappy because they can’t find husbands.” Said journalist also warned her she shouldn’t label herself as a feminist. Adichie responded to him in this very gracious way: “I’m a happy Nigerian feminist, who does not hate men, who loves wearing lipstick and who wears heels, not for men’s sake, but for my own.” 

That, and other reflections, have led Adichie to consider what messages we send children around these topics. Western feminism has been documented for much longer. She thinks women in the West, particularly those not in the working class, had to stay at home. For her, they were asked to be pretty and denied the right to vote. So when the feminist movement started to grow, it was only logical that its defenders started rejecting any importance previously given to physical appearance, as this is precisely what had kept women in chains. 

She believes young movements tend and need to be extreme – there is no space for nuances. But she also thinks feminism is now at that stage when we can be more honest about our appearance. There have been women who’ve been told they cannot be considered feminists if they wear make-up. The premise being that everything that a woman does, she does it for a man’s sake. She says it’s also not feminist to limit a woman’s demeanour. Women should wear make-up and heels if it is their wish. “Own what you like and own it without apologising” she concluded.

It doesn’t help that many – if not all – women are judged nowadays for their appearance. She mentioned that her father once told her she looked like a clown when she was wearing a very stylish dress. Social networks need to take some of the blame here, many young girls are ashamed of their bodies and suffer from depression as a result. There are young girls who worry about having hip dips, a totally natural feature. In Chimamanda’s words, these are idiotic words spread thanks to the internet that undermine girls from a very young age. She reflected on this, saying girls should be taught about what they can do with their bodies – practising sports, for example – rather than how their bodies look. 

There is also this idea that girls, women, need to apologise for taking up space in this world; it is time we teach them they should not apologise. Check out her TED talk “We should all be feminists,” and her work Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions for more.

In terms of feminism in Nigeria, she said women in Nigeria are very innovative, really strong. It is common to see women in powerful positions in her country. For example, four banks in Nigeria are led by women. Banking and the oil industries are some of the strongest fields. However, in the political arena, women are still sidelined. In Nigeria, political parties have a female wing, which, in Adichie’s words, is worrying, because being on the female wing of the party does not grant access to women to the main room. This is the room where decision-making takes place. So there is participation, yes, but from an auxiliary wing so-to-speak, a sort of exclusion, which is not labelled as such.

Words sometimes understate the weight of grief

Chimamanda Adichie also talked about her grief after her parents’ death – a few months apart – and the importance of the language we use. She said people use words that try to politely accompany those who are in mourning, but points out that these words can neglect the importance of that grief. She could not see the point of words/phrases like “his disappearance” or “he’s resting in peace now,” or “we should celebrate his life and the moments you two spent together.” As well-intentioned as those words can be, she argues they offer little comfort when you’ve lost someone. Her latest work, Notes on Grief, examines that.

The conversation went on for the good part of two hours. Interestingly, when talking about race, she mentioned she became black when she went to live in the United States. It was the first time she realised such a difference existed. She said that Nigerians are known for somehow being arrogant. That made it all the more infuriating to be considered inferior in the United States.  Regarding this issue, she says we must be willing to have conversations about uncomfortable topics. However, such uncomfortable conversations, of course, have to be based on some ground rules. She closed by saying she doesn’t believe in performing niceness; life is too short so there should be no time for regrets. For full access to her talk at FILBo, you can click on the following Youtube link on the Feria del Libro Bogotá Channel. 

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Just as the crowd are preparing to file out of the auditorium, Mary Grueso hurls herself into a rousing recitation of her poem ‘La muñeca negra’. The performance is an unexpected gift, occasioned by the request of a fan in the front row and the audience is thrilled. 

Grueso’s voice pitches with alternating waves of frustration, melancholia, nostalgia and rage as she relates her childhood experience as a member of an under-represented community, but not a syllable is lost amidst the emotion. 

It is a masterclass in the art of oral narration; a tradition passed down to Grueso from generations of Pacific coast cuentistas. It is also a perfect realisation of what she and two other writers have been invited to FILBo 2023 to discuss: the enduring power and relevance of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous literary traditions. 

Grueso is a poet, storyteller and educator from Guapi, Cauca, celebrated in Colombia for her  role in raising the profile of Afro-Colombian literary traditions. She is joined around the “fuego imaginario” in FILBo’s Raíces Sala by Ana Alcolea, a Spanish children’s writer who is well-known for works that draw on Latin-American myth and legend. Sitting between the two women is Colombian cultural ambassador Celso Román who has just released a book inspired by the folklore of Indigenous groups in the Amazons. 

From the spoken to the written word

Oral storytelling has a long history, especially within Indigenous and Afro-Colombian cultures. Recognition of this heritage and the enduring importance of the spoken word proves a shared value that successfully unites the three very different writers on stage. 

Grueso speaks of the cuentistas of her community growing up. Ramon recalls the legends told to him and his nine siblings by his mother and the myths he encountered through his work in Choco and Guijara. Alcolea tells of her first encounters with Latin American oral tradition through The Popol Vuh and the song-like poems of Pablo Neruda. None of the three can resist taking on the role of story-teller themselves, offering unprompted retellings of their favourite traditional tales throughout the hour-long discussion. 

It is clear Grueso, a spoken-word artist herself, has the strongest emotional link with la oralidad. She describes it as a “fundamental” part of Afro-Colombian culture and also the means by which it has survived.

“Oral tradition has been [our] vertebral column”, she tells the audience. “We didn’t used to write, we didn’t know how to read, but oralidad has been our point of reference and through [it] we have protected our traditions that come from Africa.” 

Far from seeing the written word as a threat to oral tradition, she sees it as an opportunity to preserve and protect the stories of her community. “We are moving from oralidad to writing because we didn’t have this possibility before,” she says. “We are not leaving oralidad behind, instead we have taken it into account, and we are making a bridge between oralidad and literature. Today we write many things, but we still have oralidad as our point of departure.” 

This is a sentiment echoed by the other two panellists. Literature is not stagnant, it is ever evolving and the shifting dynamics between the written and spoken word are part of that process. “I have come to the conclusion that literature is alive,” Ramon reflects. 

The power of representation

Whilst respect for oral tradition may be a shared trait among the trio, each have their personal reasonings. For Grueso, drawing on the influences of cuentistas from the Pacific coast and blending them with the contemporary experiences of community, allows her to offer the cultural representation she never experienced as a child.

“I started to write children’s literature because when I was studying the education system, the ministry for education didn’t take us into account,” Grueso says. “We were in the classroom, but we weren’t because nothing that related to us appeared there. It was an education that wasn’t pertinent to us.” 

By using traditional Pacific coast literary forms like arrullos within her work as a storyteller and as a teacher, Grueso has found new ways to bring topics related to race into the classroom and promote greater appreciation of oral traditions and the communities they come from. 

Storytelling is essentially human

Alcocea’s sees the incorporation of elements of Indigenous story-telling tradition in her children’s books as a way of tapping into the shared human experience. “What fascinates me greatly are the similarities that exist between Indigenous cultures and western cultures”, she explains. “There are perceptions of nature, of cosmology that match up because in all cases we’re talking about the essence of being human, attempting to explain the inexplicable”.

To illustrate her point she outlines four literary tropes common to cultures across Latin America and indeed the world: 

• Rain as a form of punishment for humanity
• Metamorphoses of humans and animals
• Weaving and tapestries as a form of female narrative
• Dreams as a gateway between spiritual realms

Her recent mythology-inspired work, Por los caminos del sueño draws on the latter two of these universal themes, centring around a paralysed girl who enters a dream world each night through a portal in a mota-like tapestry on her wall.

When focusing on the theme of metamorphoses she expresses the idea that the trope reveals the truth that we “are related, we share mother earth, we make up a whole.” This could also be said of her interest in finding points of commonality between different cultures, by using her work to bring Indigenous mythologies to a wider community of readers and reflect on universal themes she is able to speak to the essential shared human experiences.

A natural tradition

Celso Román’s fascination in Indigenous story-telling comes from his work with communities in Choco, Guijara and the Amazons and his love for the environment. For him Indigenous literary traditions highlight a connection with nature that is needed now more than ever.

“There is a force in nature, a magical relationship with nature that unfortunately … we are losing,” he explains. He becomes more and more animated as he explains the reverence with which different Indigenous groups regard nature, for example launching into an explanation of how one community in the Amazon ask for forgiveness from a tree when they have to chop it down to make a canoe and grieve it for days afterwards. 

He looks to Indigenous cultures and their continued veneration of nature as an example for all of humanity, and explains that this respect comes through in their literary traditions.  His latest children’s book, El espíritu del páramo, centres around the dynamics between a European gold prospector and his local guide. He blends elements of Indigenous mythology with passionate descriptions of pumas, frailejones, spectacled bears and other Colombian plants and animals to encourage a similar respect for nature in his child readers. 

Román is determined to uphold the legacy of Indigenous cultures and their relationship with the earth through his writing. As he puts it “We Colombians have an enormous cultural richness that we have to regain through literature and educational spaces”. 

Fancy diving further into the rich world of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian literature? Here are two great places to start:

1. Biblioteca de Literatura Afrocolombiana and Biblioteca Básica de los Pueblos Indígenas de Colombia. Two online literary collections released in 2010 by the Ministry for Culture that that offer an introduction to some of the most celebrated authors and myths and legends from both groups
2. Territorios Narrados. A collection of books of stories and legends from Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities created by the Ministry of National Education to promote the cultural conservation 

The post ‘La literature está viva’: FILBo 2023 spotlights the children’s writers embracing Indigenous and Afro-Colombian culture  appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

For two weeks Bogotá’s annual Feria del Libro celebrates the written word in all its guises. You can find everything from heavy tomes to board books for babies in pavilion after pavilion at Corferias. FILBo 2023 takes place from 18 April to 2 May and Mexico is this year’s guest country. It’s the fair’s 35th edition and, for the first time, it also features a guest city – salsa capital Cali is first up and will be strutting its stuff. 

It’s the third time Mexico has been the country of honour at FILBo. This year, the theme is “Raíces y encuentros: por un futuro de paz para nuestra América” (Roots and encounters: for a peaceful future in our America). One of the milestones being celebrated is the signing of the Treaty of Union, League and Perpetual Confederation between Mexico and Colombia, the first international agreement Mexico made as an independent country. 

Expect to find lots of Mexican food stands at the fair, as well as music, talks with authors, and oodles of books. There’s also a tribute to Gabriel García Márquez, described in a press release as “the most Mexican Colombian of all.” That’s a polite way to describe the complicated relationship Gabo had with the country he was born in and the one he adopted as home. 

Getting the most out of FILBo 2023

FILBo got off to a great start with a powerful talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who touched on many topics including history, mourning, and feminism amongst others. With over 500 guests from 30 different countries, there’s something for everybody. It’s a smorgasbord of talks and authors, with themes ranging from explorations of rock music and poetry to discussions about climate change, feminism, language, and indigenous literature to name but a few.

If you’re a graphic novel fan, head to the second floor of pavilion 8. There’s also lines of caricaturists above the Panamericana array in pavilion 1. Pavilions 11 to 16 at the back of the fair are packed with children’s literature. While Harry Potter fans will not be disappointed, it’s good to know that literature for young people reaches beyond Hogwarts as well.

If it’s your first time, here are a few tips: 

• Give yourself plenty of time to browse and mooch around the books. It can get a bit overwhelming, as there’s so much to see and choose from, so plan to stop for coffee and even a taco or two. 
• Plan your trip. I usually plan my FILBo days around one or two chats I really want to see and then check the program for other talks happening on the same day. Be prepared for long queues, both at the entrance and for individual talks. Get your ticket online in advance to save time.
• Use the online information. It used to be fairly easy to get hold of a printed program each day at FILBo, but this year they were like gold dust. Instead, you’ll need to use the website and announcements at the event to find out what’s happening. If you’re searching for someone specific, the list of invited artists is ordered by first name, not last name.

Practical info

Ticket prices: COP$11,000, (Children COP$8,500)

Address: Corferias, Carrera 37 #24-67

Timings: Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 7pm. Friday, Saturday, and holiday, 10am to 8pm

The post FILBo 2023: Hitting the books appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

FILBo has, literally, tons of books. How many are sold every year? That’s for the post-show statistics to show. But, it is the narratives which give FILBo its character, especially when we get to hear directly from the players themselves. Last Saturday, I headed to Corferias with a hunger for stories. Journalists Juan Pablo Barrientos, Diana López Zuleta, and Pablo Navarrete gave us a glimpse of the painful, mostly unknown stories they have put into words. How and why did they decide to write about a story of paedophilia, a father’s murder, and the unknown sister to Carlos Pizarro, M19 guerrilla commander, respectively? 

Diana López Zuleta: Lo que no borró el desierto – What the Desert did not Take Away

Diana López has been struggling since she was 10 years old to discover the reasons for her father’s murder. Her book is the result of a dialogue with herself, and an investigation into what happened. She reckons this book has grown up alongside her. But it was only when she had the proper investigative tools that she could make it a reality. Writing it helped her finally close the grief cycle, something she couldn’t do before because of the impunity of her father’s killer.

López says the title of the book is a homage to her father; she says his death was heart wrenching. “It was usual to be in school” in Barrancas, Guajira, “and receive the news that your mom or dad had been killed” she recounts. She doesn’t remember much of the day, most of her account she had to draw from videos and interviews she collected. It’s shocking to hear her tell that her father’s killer was cynical enough to show up at the wake and read a plagiarized eulogy. 

Juan Pablo Barrientos: Este es el cordero de Dios – The Lamb of God

Juan Pablo Barrientos had already written one book about the number of paedophilia cases in Colombia. Entitled Dejad que los niños vengan a mí, the name comes from a bible quote “Let the little children come to me…” A while after the book was published, he got an anonymous message on Twitter telling him 19 priests had been suspended in the Archdiocese of Villavicencio for paedophilia. His journalistic gut told him there was something there to investigate and report. His one and only conversation with the Archbishop there confirmed the tweet was true. 

Barrientos travelled to Villavicencio to talk to Pedro*, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. Now a man, as a child Pedro had been both molested and introduced to prostitution by 30 priests. He also talked to the two women who uncovered this horrible story. Publisher Planeta contacted Barrientos and made his news reports into a book. He is proud that his book is a homage to the two women. In his words, these faithful Catholics confronted the Archbishop and uncovered this prostitution network.

To hear Barrientos talk about priests who had a whip-around to have Pedro killed is gut-wrenching to say the least. The journalist openly accuses the Catholic church of being “a transnational organized crime group, mobsters.” In Barrientos’ words “Pedro is the lamb of god, a child who was mistreated, abused, and almost killed by the Catholic church.” 

Pablo Navarrete: Nina Pizarro, la pirata blanca – Nina Pizarro, the White Pirate

Pablo Navarrete, was a family friend of Nina Pizarro. He and his family would usually visit Nina in Guayatá and he always wondered how someone who’d been involved in operations to steal weapons ended up marrying a military man. As a child, Navarrete would overhear stories of how Nina – Pizarro’s sister – had driven the truck on the day of the robbery. But this didn’t fit with the image the young Pablo had formed. So he decided to investigate now and tell the story of Nina. 

Navarrete wanted to focus on Nina´s story without actually connecting her to her brother or her brother’s story. Nina loved building scale ships and that’s the reason the title is called The White Pirate. Nina was just 25 when she came back from France and became a member of the M19 guerrilla. Seven months pregnant, she directed the whole robbery operation; the person in charge of driving the truck did not show up and so she stepped in. She drove back and forth eight times between the military base and the groups’ hideout. She was eventually caught, interrogated, and imprisoned for a little over three years. 

Without giving away any spoilers, hearing these writers talk adds another dimension to their accounts. All three of these painful unknown Colombian stories are worth reading.  Barrientos closes the session by giving us more insights into the story of Pedro. The 13-year was working on the streets when a priest lured him in with the offer of new clothes. This priest not only abused him sexually, but also sent Pedro to other priests’ houses to offer them prostitution services. Barrientos says he’s discovered a pattern: priests in these dioceses look for boys who are poor, come from dysfunctional families, or boys who have been abandoned by their parents. They seduce them with clothes or money and have them provide sexual services. 

There is still time to visit FILBo (May 2 is the last day) and listen to the authors themselves. Whether you’re Colombian or international, these types of stories can help us to understand the country more. And that knowledge may help to end these loops of violence.

The post FILBo 2022: Narrative Journalism and the Power of Stories appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

FILBo – the Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá – is back in person after two virtual editions during the pandemic. With over 1,600 events planned in Corferias and over 100 in other parts of the city, it promises to be a literary smorgasbord.

This year over 500 guests from 30 different countries will take to various stages in the convention centre. Korea is the country of honour, marking 60 years since the start of diplomatic relations between Colombia and Korea. 

Korea is this year’s guest country

The guest of honor this year is Korea. That means we’re in for a good dose of Korean literature, as well as a hefty K-pop presence. There’ll be a Korean pavilion and over 20 guests, including former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. Other participants include authors, translators, calligraphers, graphic designers, and various other key figures. There’s also a Korean film season at the Centro Cultural Gabriel García Márquez. Colombia will be the guest of honor at the Seoul Book Fair in June.

The theme of the Korean pavilion is coexistence. The idea is to explore the coexistence between people, nations, humanity, and nature. “That the central theme is coexistence is very appropriate given the current circumstances in which the whole world is suffering from the new calamity,” said the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Colombia, H.E. Choo Jong Youn. “Now the world is closely intertwined by interdependence. Therefore, concepts like state egoism or extreme nationalism cannot survive anymore. We have to find a way to live together.”

What to expect from this year’s Feria del Libro

You can download the full program from the FILBo website. But with so many different activities, planning your visit can be a bit daunting. The online Agéndate tool helps, especially as you can add events that might be of interest to your personalised plan. Broadly speaking, there’ll be events to suit most tastes, and it’s worth going even if you’re not terribly bookish.

If you’ve never been before, you can expect huge pavilions packed with bookstores and other stands, huge queues for popular events (and even some unpopular ones), fun spaces and activities for children, food stalls, coffee stops, and more. Also, be aware that the schedule can change, so double check the info if there’s someone you’re super keen to see. Looking through the program, here are some of the themes that jump out:

• Gender politics and identity
• Music
• Graphic novels and illustrations
• Biodiversity
• Impact of the pandemic
• Conflict and human rights
• Role of art and language

The ministry of culture is also launching a digital library which gives free access to pdfs of a number of books. 

International guests

In addition to Korea, there’ll be speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Cuba, Spain, the United States, France, Holland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Romania, United Kingdom, El Salvador, and Venezuela.

There’ll be many well-known Colombian faces there, some of whom will be familiar from previous years. These include Brigitte Baptiste, William Ospina, Piedad Bonnett, Diana Uribe, Laura Restrepo, and Chocquibtown’s Goya.

While much of the event is in person, watch out for a virtual appearance by Isabelle Allende. She’ll be discussing her most recent book, Violeta, as well as broader themes such as love, and dictatorships. It’s hard to pick just one or two names from the international guests, as much depends on your personal tastes, but it’s worth watching out for J.J. Benitez, Mircea Cartarescu, Anne Boyer, and many more. Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis, author of Magdalena, historias de Colombia will discuss his book with Carlos Vives in what could be an unusual but interesting pairing.

Attending FILBo 2022

Dates: April 19 to May 2

Times: 10am-8pm (Sun to Thu), 10am-9pm (Fri & Sat)

Corferias: Carrera 37 # 24 – 67

Tickets: $10,000 ($6,500 for children)

Buy online at feriadellibro.com/es/boleteria

The post FILBo is back! Here’s what FILBo 2022 has in store for visitors appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

“I’m learning too,” said Mary Costello, one of the loudest voices in contemporary Irish literature.

In her talk, “Women’s voices in literature and their role in modern Ireland,” at la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) Sede Bogotá, Costello admitted to just recently understanding the uniqueness of her own perspective as a woman writer.

“She’s one of the most important writers in Ireland today,” said Irish ambassador to Colombia, Alison Milton when describing Costello.

The University’s Office of External Relations, the Embassy of Ireland, and Culture Ireland, an organisation that promotes Irish culture globally, jointly hosted Costello and opened a coinciding exhibition, Blazing a Trail: Irish women who changed the world, a historical look back on pioneering women in the Irish diaspora. 

Creative Industries with Nick Barley, director of the Edinbrugh international book festival

In her introductory remarks, Ambassador Milton explained that both Costello’s talk and the exhibition are part of the Embassy’s celebration of Saint Brigid’s Day. Appropriately, Saint Brigid is a beloved Irish patron saint that celebrates women’s creativity. Milton also highlighted the strong ties between Ireland and UNAL, a partnership that promotes the global significance and influence of Irish culture and literature. 

Who is Mary Costello?

Prior to focusing on writing exclusively, Costello was a teacher. Notably, she did not publish her first book, a widely acclaimed collection of short stories,The China Factory, until she was in her forties. Two years later, she published her first novel, Academy Street, for which she won the Irish Book Award and Irish Novel of the Year award. 

To promote The River Capture, Costello travelled to Colombia for the first time. Prior to arriving in Bogotá this week, she spoke and led workshops at Cartagena’s annual literary event, The Hay Festival.

Alejandra Jaramillo, writer and Professor in UNAL’s humanities faculty, introduced Costello’s talk with excerpts from glowing reviews of The River Capture, which both the Irish Times and the Irish Independent named Book of the Year in 2019. 

“Women’s voices in literature and their role in modern Ireland”

Rather than discuss her own writing in isolation, Costello began by contextualising her writing within the history of women’s writing both globally and in Ireland.

In discussing why women writers have so often been shrugged off as irrelevant or unremarkable, Costello referenced Simone de Beauvoir’s opposition to the once widely-believed notion that, “When women write, they write about the female experience but when men write, they write about the human condition.”

Costello went on to argue that women are, no doubt, just as capable of writing about the human condition and that they are particularly adept at writing about people’s “inner lives.” 

Having provided important historical examples of the silencing of women’s voices overall, Costello also discussed the state of women in Ireland in the twentieth century, from gaining the vote in 1922, to the election of Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first woman Prime Minister in 1990. 

Costello concluded by discussing the lives and works of four Irish women writers: Maria Edgeworth, Kate O’Brien, Edna O’Brien, and poet Eavan Boland. In addition to discussing how they influenced her and her writing, Costello spoke to how these writers subverted the deeply conservative and patriarchal Irish status quo through their innovative, feminist writing. 

Their influence on Costello is unmistakable. She was unpretentious from the outset of her talk, qualifying her remarks by stating that she is not “an academic,” but rather, just a writer who has thoughts. These thoughts, which she so captivatingly described and contextualised, highlighted Costello’s own non-confrontational, radical feminism. 

Following a brief Q & A with Costello, Ambassador Milton formally inaugurated the Blazing a Trail exhibition, a display of pioneering Irish women in activism, the sciences, the arts, sport, politics, and humanitarianism. The exhibit will be on view in the lobby of UNAL’s Edificio Uriel Gutiérrez until February 18. 

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Writers from around the world will be in Cartagena this weekend to celebrate the city’s 15th annual Hay Festival.

The festival, which runs from today until Sunday, features more than 100 events and 170 invitees. The themes to be discussed range from literature to geopolitics to music and activism and climate change.

The British authors who are attending the festival are there with the support of the British Council in Colombia. They include Bettany Hughes, Philip Ball, Inua Ellams and Alex Beard.

Ball, who has been a science writer for more than twenty years, will be speaking on Friday about the challenges posed by climate change while Hughes, an esteemed historian, will be speaking about her most recent book Istanbul: A city of three names. It outlines the transformations that the Turkish city has gone through over the centuries.

Education specialist Alex Beard, meanwhile, will focus on the different and underused ways of learning. Nigerian and British poet and dramatist Inua Ellams will also be attending the festival, leading a conversation about identity and migration.

The Hay Festival will feature several youth events. One which is particularly worth looking out for is Storytelling for Peace Building, a joint British Council and Colombian government initiative. Now in its fifth year, the aim of the project is to help children and young people from communities affected by Colombia’s decades-old armed conflict to help build narratives which can assist in the peace and reconciliation process.

“This project’s objective is to strengthen the narrative and communicative capacities of children and young people affected by the conflict,” Catalina Melo, arts manager for the British Council in Colombia, told The Bogotá Post. “It gives them the tools to empower themselves and help with the peace process in their territories.”

The Hay festival originally arrived in Cartagena in 2006.

“From the start, we knew that Cartagena de Indias had a unique historical, architectural and cultural setting. But most important was its special human context, with its own cultural scene and literary imagination,” Cristina Fuentes, International Director of the Hay Festival, told The Bogotá Post. “We’re lucky to have a public who are eager to participate and be part of the conversation we want to spark in the city.”

Since then, the city has seen a huge number of celebrated artists, musicians and authors pass through. Former attendees have included award-winning Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and American essayist Jonathan Franzen.

This year is no exception. In addition to the British writers attending, Canadian author Margaret Atwood, best known for The Handmaid’s Tale as well as the recent sequel the Testaments, will also feature. Grammy-award winning musician J. Balvin will open the festival on Thursday.

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In the almost 10 years since he became director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Nick Barley has introduced a number of initiatives include a free evening mini literary festival called Unbound, and launched an academic partnership with Durham University that explores the role voice hearing has in the writing process called Conversations with Ourselves.

The man who describes the Edinburgh festival as both “a supremely international festival and also an intensely local festival” tells us that literary festivals should bring citizens together to discuss big ideas.

He’s been chair of the Man Booker prize jury and was elected as a Royal Society of Literature fellow last year. Nick was one of a 12-person delegation of experts from the UK who came to participate in a four day event in Bogotá, organised by the British Council. 

During their trip, which comes under the ‘Creative Future’ programme, the group participated in a discussion entitled ‘The ABC of the Creative Economy,’ see video above, and visited the Bronx Creative District, the new Cinemateca de Bogotá and the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo.

The Bogotá Post: What has stood out the most for you during your visit to Colombia? Any particularly inspiring initiatives? Can you tell us more about what you’ve seen and done here? Colombia has a really vibrant literary scene. 

Nick Barley: I was pleased to meet with some of the country’s finest writers and literary organisations and to talk about possible collaborative partnerships. I am particularly keen to work with FILBo, which brings books, words and ideas to a wide audience in Bogotá. It was good to meet with the organisers of the Fair.

Related: Our series of interviews with people in creative industries

TBP: As Colombia invests more into the creative industry, the ‘Orange Economy’, what impact do you see this having in the near future for the country? 

NB: Colombia’s decision to invest more in the creative industries is a bold and imaginative move but I think it will pay dividends for Colombia’s economy as well as for its international reputation. I am impressed by the clarity and simplicity of the vision, and from a literary perspective there is a great deal of potential for success – both nationally and internationally.

TBP: What do you think Colombia does especially well regarding arts? 

NB: I can only speak for writing and literature. The experiences of Colombian citizens over the past 40 years have given a great deal of experience and insight into the extremes of the human condition, and Colombian literature is really thriving as a result.

TBP: What are you reading at the moment? Do you have any favourite Colombian authors/ artists? 

NB: I am excited by the work of Carolina Sanín, Guiseppe Caputo and Juan Gabriel Vásquez as well as Evelio Rosero. I am also looking forward to reading translations of work by writers such as Ricardo Silva Romero and emerging authors such as Gloria Esquivel and Juan Cárdenas.

TBP: Any authors that you have heard about or met during this trip that are now on your reading list? 

NB: All of the authors I mentioned above!

TBP: Have you been to FILBo (Bogota’s annual book fair)? If so, how does it compare with the festival in Edinburgh? If not, has this trip inspired you to come next year? 

NB: I visited FILBo in 2018 and I was inspired by several of the public events, including the one featuring Ingrid Betancourt. She had spoken at the festival in Edinburgh a few years ago and it was fascinating to see her speak in her own country. The festival in Edinburgh has a very different atmosphere: it’s just as busy but it takes place in a park rather than an Expo centre, but the basic idea is the same – bringing people together to meet authors and talk about the world around us through the lens of literature.

TBP: Can you tell us more about why these types of literary festivals are important for cities and countries? 

NB: Book Festivals are not just ways to promote books and publishing: they are vital drivers for civil society. They bring citizens together to discuss big ideas together and they allow us to explore our role in making the world (and our city) a better place. Festivals are important because they are place for public, grassroots democratic discussion. As a secondary factor, they also stimulate interest in books and reading, and that is good for the economy too.

TBP: How has the rise of technology changed literature and literary events? How have you adapted? 

NB: Technology means that literary events now take place on Twitter at the same time as they take place in theatres. This means that ideas propagate quickly around the world. Ideas that have been talked about in Edinburgh seem rapidly to become the centre of discussions internationally. However the most important thing is that it’s not just writers who have a voice, but the people in the audience too. That’s why, ultimately, the live event is the most powerful part of what we do, and technology is of secondary importance.

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This initiative gives voice to young people’s experience of conflict through comics and illustrations.

The process of peace building in Colombia is hardly an uncommon topic of conversation, particularly at a national event like FILBo. But – as Johanna Pinzón, director of digital innovation agency Poliedro, points out – the dialogue about peace is so often “not for young people,” and tends to prioritise the political over personal experience.

It is this the British Council, in collaboration with Poliedro and PLAN foundation, hopes to change with Storytelling for Peace Building. The project aims to raise awareness of the effects of conflict on the younger generation, to encourage and enable them to talk about their experience.

Four months of workshops in the Chocó, Cartagena and Cauca regions gave 80 children and young people aged between 12 and 23 the opportunity to do so. Following the workshops, 17 of the stories were chosen to create Colombia’s first digital comic for peace. Accompanied by illustrations from Mierdinsky and Juan Sin Miedo, they make up a diverse collection of resilience, forgiveness and positive transformation, which can be read in both Spanish and English on the Storytelling for Peace Building website.

Related: Reconciliation: ‘Not easy, but not impossible’

The rationale for presenting the stories in comic form was because it would appeal to a younger generation, – make them readable as well as relatable. Mierdinsky also pointed out that illustration has the capacity to amplify the impact of the words it accompanies – “to empower their stories” in the same way that telling them can empower the narrators themselves.

The project might have been “born out of literature,” but it crossed the border into illustration and onto the internet, and it now moves into a physical space. FILBo has seen the launch of Storytelling for Peace Building’s mobile museum, an interactive embodiment of its online content. In the future the museum will be tour the country, and in particular be taken to the communities from which the narratives it presents originate. In this way the project aims to be create a “circle”, returning this history to the people to whom it belongs, and allowing them to see the power of their voices translated into something that young people from around the world can relate to, and take inspiration from.

The website and the museum are creating a space of memory, both for these individuals and for the nation, and aim to be a catalyst for a form storytelling which will continue to develop and expand. Another 24 stories will soon be illustrated and be ready to be shared.

Whilst peace is topic of national interest, it must begin internally, explained project manager Paula Silvia at FILBo. “If you aren’t at peace with yourself, you’ll never be at peace with others.” And this must start by giving people the space and the tools with which to express themselves, in order to come to terms with the past and look to the future – a future that this younger generation will, after all, be the one building.

The Storytelling for Peace Building mobile museum is open to visitors every day of FILBo. Visit the website at www.storytellingforpeacebuilding.com.

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