By Alejandra Garcia on February 5, 2023, from Havana
31st Int. book fair to open in Havana Feb. 9
Cuba and Colombia are once again forging closer ties of brotherhood after the nefarious years of the right-wing Ivan Duque. This week, it was news that the island will dedicate its emblematic Havana International Book Fair to the South American nation as a sign of peace and respect.
It was also news that the vice president of Gustavo Petro’s new leftist government, Francia Marquez, an environmentalist, and fighter for the rights of that nation’s black and Indigenous women, will head the Colombian delegation that will attend the 10-day event’s opening on Feb. 9.
“Returning to Cuba as vice president of the Republic of Colombia, after having come a few years ago as a member of the victims’ table in the peace talks between the Colombian State and the FARC guerrillas, proves that we are making our yearning for total peace a dream come true,” the vice president emphasized.
Francia Marquez, photo: Bill Hackwell
Marquez’s arrival in Havana will also be a presidential assignment to lead the Africa-Caribbean strategy and the National Government’s international cooperation policy with Afro-descendant and Indigenous movements. The activist will also evoke the late Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, who helped strengthen “bilateral friendship ties” between Colombia and Cuba, a purpose now of Petro’s government.
“Colombia has wanted to give the greatest transcendence to Cuba’s literary event,” Colombian ambassador to the island, José Noé Ríos, said and commented that writers such as Laura Restrepo, Juan Manuel Roca, and Celso Roman, and a group of Colombian poets are scheduled to attend. There will also be a film show.
The delegation of over 20 writers and artists will also be accompanied by the Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza, an actress, playwright, plastic artist, and theater director, who reiterated her recognition of Cuba’s contribution to peace in Colombia.
“We will talk about arts, literature, and about García Márquez, who was so close to Fidel,” the minister emphasized in a video message released during a press conference in Havana. She also thanked Cuba for dedicating this important event to Colombia, which needs its culture to be shared and appreciated.
Despite the difficulties of the island, the International Book Fair will be the largest and most comprehensive event of the Cuban culture this year, according to the president of its organizing committee, Juan Rodriguez Cabrera.
Cuba’s publishing system will bring more than 4 million copies of 4,200 new titles, including the latest releases in paper format and digital books. The fair will be held at the San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress and Havana’s historic center, with more than 40 countries represented and 120 exhibitors in general.
The program dedicated to Colombia also includes book presentations, film screenings, and talks on culture and the current situation in the country, including the “total peace” policy advocated by President Petro’s government. Lucía González, a member of the Truth Commission, will speak about what happened in the more than 60 years of internal armed conflict in the country.
“Cuba, once again, will be a space to promote peace in Colombia. Our gratitude to that small Caribbean island is infinite,” Vice president Marquez concluded.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – US