The Lisbon City Council (CML) presented, this Thursday, March 21st, at the Biblioteca Palácio Galveias, in Campo Pequeno, the program for its participation in the Buenos Aires Book Fair, where it will be the city’s guest of honor.
Lisbon will be the city of honor at the 48th Buenos Aires Book Fair, in Argentina. The program was presented this Thursday, March 21st, at the Biblioteca Palácio Galveias, in Campo Pequeno. This presentation was attended by the councilor responsible for Culture, Economy and Innovation, Diogo Moura, who began his speech by thanking partners, such as EGEAC, the General Directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries (DGLAB) . He also thanked the president of the CML, Carlos Moedas, noting that, “since we received the invitation, he was the first to say that Lisbon had to be present”.
The mayor recalled that participation in this fair meets one of the CML’s objectives, which is to “put culture at the center”. Therefore, the program is based on affirming the presence of the Portuguese capital in three dimensions. In other words, this participation goes far beyond the sale and presentation of Portuguese books inside the Fair. Therefore, in addition to literature, there will also be film screenings, concerts, exhibitions, among others, in various cultural spaces in Buenos Aires. Some concern the Embassy of Portugal in Argentina, the Teatro San Martín, the National Library of Buenos Aires, among other spaces. Some of the artists present will be the Lisbon Poetry Orchestra, Rodrigo Leão, Ana Lua Caiano, Artur Pizarro, Expresso Transatlântico, Gaspar Varela, among others.
More than 100 activities
In terms of cinema, eight films and two documentaries will be presented, said Diogo Moura. Other partners in Lisbon’s participation in the Buenos Aires Book Fair will also be Casa Fernando Pessoa, and the National Mint Institute (INCM), which will publish a catalog that will showcase the work of 10 Portuguese authors. The first, in turn, will be present at the event with a stand and its own literary program, remembering one of the greatest Portuguese authors of all time. “In total, there will be more than 30 musicians, 23 partners and more than 100 activities”, said the Lisbon City Council’s Culture councilor.
In parallel, he added, the municipality purchased “around 400 kilos of books” from independent booksellers, which will be on sale at the Buenos Aires Book Fair, which takes place in the Argentine capital between April 25th and May 12th. . In total, 37 authors will be present, from established to emerging ones. Some are, for example, José Rodrigues dos Santos, José Luís Peixoto, Ricardo Araújo Pereira, Isabel Stilwell, Pedro Sepúlveda, among others. The invitation to Lisbon to participate in this fair came from the El Libro Federation. This is “a private Argentine federation that organizes the Buenos Aires International Book Fair”, as Diogo Moura explained to the journalists present, at the end of the presentation.
Unique opportunity
“It is an extremely important opportunity for us” and which is “in line with our strategy for culture and the strategy of internationalizing Lisbon’s culture”, he continued. The investment in this stake is around 500 thousand euros. Inside the fair, and in addition to the stand, Lisbon’s presence at this literary event will also be marked with “an auditorium and reading spaces”. The motto of this participation is “Lisbon Inspiring City”. “We understand that Lisbon is a city of inspiration, not only for authors, but also for readers”, said Diogo Moura. For the councilor, this fair will be an opportunity for authors and artists to showcase their work in Latin America.
“Above all, our writers can have an opportunity to be translated and become better known in Latin America”. The event will promote authors and works from various literary genres. Some of them are illustration, children’s literature and poetry, for example. This presentation was also attended by curator Carla Quevedo, who highlighted that this participation “is a unique opportunity for authors, because they can promote their work”. The official also highlighted that this program sought to be diverse, also promoting parity between men and women.
Reach new markets
“That was the idea, to have the largest number of literary genres represented”, maintained the curator, to journalists, at the end of the presentation. “My expectation, in addition to presenting Lisbon and Portuguese authors, is that these authors will be translated and that they will arouse curiosity among the Argentine public. It is very important for authors to be read in another language.” Likewise, we also sought to establish similarities and connections between the cultures of the two countries, with conversations between Portuguese and Argentine writers. Before the official start of the fair, on April 25th, there will be participation in the Professional Days, which will discuss some aspects related to literature, illustration, translation, among other areas.
Therefore, collaborations with the Association of Illustrators (which will have a discussion table and an exhibition), with the Association of translators and interpreters, the Meeting of Professionals and Librarians and the Poetry Festival have already been confirmed. The event also aims to encourage contact between authors and editors, so that works can be translated. To this end, a special translation support line was created, in partnership with DGLAB, which will be launched at the fair. The Buenos Aires Book Fair is the fifth largest book fair in the world and the third largest in Latin America.
Annually, it receives more than one million and 200 thousand visitors. Likewise, the event still has a habit of honoring cities instead of countries. The cities of Montevideo (2018), Barcelona (2019), La Habana (2019) and Santiago de Chile (2022) have already received this distinction, now followed by Lisbon.
Promote diversity
This initiative also aims to promote the country, the Portuguese language and culture, also counting on the High Patronage of the President of the Republic. For the president of CML, Carlos Moedas, participation in the Buenos Aires Book Fair is also an opportunity to “showcase the diversity of Lisbon”. “The city can only improve if we put culture at the center. Buenos Aires will be Lisbon in these three weeks”, said the mayor, who called for “the habit of reading” to be created.
“If we don’t fight for the habit of reading, we destroy democracy”, considers Moedas, reinforcing that culture is one of the CML’s priorities. Here, he gave as an example the creation of the Culture Pass, which, to date, has provided more than 12,000 free entrances to various cultural facilities. Finally, the president also said that he will be present at the event, on April 28, “to support everyone”. Finally, he also appealed to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to also visit the event. “It will be a great moment for Lisbon and Portugal”, he concluded.
