President Maduro speaks at the inauguration ceremony of FILVEN 2023. Photo: X/@filven2023.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, inaugurated the 19th International Book Fair of Venezuela, FILVEN 2023, at the Laguito del Círculo Militar, in Fort Tiuna of Caracas. At the inauguration event on Thursday, November 9, the president was accompanied by the Venezuelan minister of Culture, Ernesto Villegas; the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez; First Lady Cilia Flores; and the deputy minister of Culture, Raúl Cazal.
Sculptures by Francisco Narváez, a well-known artist from Margarita Island, and the Colombian artist Fernando Botero welcome the guests at the entrance of El Laguito, where the book fair is being held.
“In Praise of Hospitality” is the motto of the stand of Colombia, the guest of honor at FILVEN 2023.
The Napiruli Art Studio, from the state of Amazonas, presented a performance that invoked the forest.
The president greeted the ambassadors present at the fair, as well as the invited and honored artists.
At the fair, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Venezuela and Colombia on cultural matters, signed by Colombian Culture Minister Juan David Correa and his Venezuelan counterpart Ernesto Villegas.
“Colombia and Venezuela are two sister nations and we must love each other,” President Maduro said after the signing of the agreement, quoting Commander Hugo Chávez.
At the 19th International Book Fair of Venezuela, to be held from November 9 to November 19 at the Laguito del Círculo Militar, five cultural figures and organizations will be awarded. Three of them are cultural personalities of Venezuela: the creator of the El Chichón theater, Armando Carías; Carmen Delia Bencomo and Domingo Alberto Rangel will be honored posthumously on their birth centenaries. The other two awardees are the National Library for its 190th anniversary and the publication house Editorial Vadell for its 50th anniversary.
Venezuela to Honor Palestinian Author Blacklisted by Frankfurt Fair
There will also be a special tribute to Adania Shibli, Palestinian author blacklisted by the Frankfurt Book Fair only for being Palestinian; and Heba Kamal Abu Nada, Palestinian poet and feminist activist who was killed in October by Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
There will also be a film series in homage to the filmmaker Román Chalbaud.
President Maduro announced that the Rómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American Studies (CELARG) will coordinate the Liberator Award to Critical Thought, and issue calls for the Chino Valera Mora awards.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who is also a renowned poet, thanked the national government for its support to writers. “The moral reserve of humanity rests on artists, poets, and writers,” he said. “In the midst of the economic siege against the country, this Book Fair has been continued and also held in all states throughout Venezuela. This fair reaches every corner of the country.”
Saab also thanked Monte Ávila for the publication of his new book, the prologue of which was written by Minister Ernesto Villegas.
FILVEN 2023 is being attended by 22 international publishers from Argentina, Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras, Iran, Peru, Colombia, Egypt, and other countries; 67 national publishers from Caracas, Mérida, Miranda, Lara, Aragua, Monagas, Táchira, and Carabobo; while 63 international writers from Argentina, Cuba, Honduras, Spain, Costa Rica, Canada, France, Palestine, Chile, Italy, and Uruguay will enrich the fair.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/JRE/BLA
