Overcoming Crisis, Argentina’s Book Fair Grows

By Aída Bardales -- Críticas, 5/1/2007

Amid teacher strikes and hailing thunderstorms, the 33rd annual Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires International Book Fair), which took place April 16–May 7, hosted well over 1,500,000 visitors, from book professionals to authors to book loving families (the fair opened to the public on April 19).

The fair kicked off that Monday with the 23rd Jornadas Profesionales (Professionals’ Conference). At the opening ceremony, critically-acclaimed Mexican writer Carlos Monsiváis spoke to the full room about “América Latina, la fuga y el reencuentro de las identidades” (Latin America, the Flight, and the Reunion of Identities). The 2006 winner of the Premio FIL de Literatura (formerly the Premio de Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe Juan Rulfo) shared his views on the loss of Latin American regionalisms to the hybridization of sorts that is “Spanglish.” The room roared with laughter as Monsiváis illustrated his point, relating an event in which former Mexican president Vicente Fox was approached by a poor countrywoman selling tortillas and he responded, “sorry, no tengo cash.”

On the rise

This year, fairgrounds consisted of over 1500 stands and 1700 cultural events. “We have experienced more interest [from booksellers and publishers] in participating in the fair,” fair director Marta Díaz told Críticas. “We had to add an extra pavilion, as well as open up an additional entrance.”

Since 2002, fair organizers have allowed more than one publisher to share a stand in order to support the participation of smaller, independent publishers. Though many more publishers participated in this year’s book celebration, several were not to be found in the fair directory. “You have up to thirty-five publishers in one stand alone,” Miguel Balaguer—founder and editor of bajo la luna, which publishers poetry works and has children’s titles planned—told Críticas, describing the situation for publishers represented by a solo distributor. He complained that the fair’s system for selling fairground space, which is based on seniority, doesn’t allow for new publishers to take part.

“More could be done,” said Balaguer, adding that organizations such as the Fundación del libro or Argentina’s Cámara del libro could provide support financially. Though the intentions are good, Balaguer said organizers’ will was more “commercial and less cultural.”

“It would seem that [the system] prevents independent publishers from renting a space,” said Díaz, “or that they have to compete for it. The truth is it’s really not that difficult.” Díaz added that the extra pavilion still hadn’t been enough and organizers arranged for an extra tent to be put up.

Still, others, such as children’s publisher iamiqué, celebrated having a stand for the first time. iamiqué founders and editors Carla Baredes and Ileana Lotersztain shared a stand with two other children’s publishers and commemorated the occasion with complimentary bottles of Malbec.

Other festive publishers included Ediciones de la Flor, which celebrated its 40th anniversary. The house’s director Daniel Davinsky had an extra reason to rejoice: the English-language edition of Mafalda was among the top ten titles with his U.S. distributors. Imaginador’s business manager María Teresa Carbano was recuperating from a long trip back from China, where she picked up the 2006 Gourmand Prize for cookbooks.

Books without borders

This year’s theme, Libros sin fronteras (“Books Without Borders”), was a testament to Argentina’s growing success in the global marketplace. “The future challenge [for Argentina’s book industry],” said Horacio García, president of Argentina’s Fundación del Libro (Book Foundation), “is to take advantage of [the country’s] ‘boom’ in the international market” by promoting local authors or selling translation rights. “We have endured the crisis, the time has come to grow,” the book foundation president said during the fair’s opening ceremony to the public on April 19.

Mexican author Carlos Fuentes was scheduled to participate in the inauguration but cancelled at the last minute due to health problems. “We thought it would be unethical to replace [Fuentes] with another author,” Díaz told Críticas, adding that Argentinian actress Norma Aleandro would read texts by Borges and Cortázar. Spanish essayist Fernando Savater, Chilean Antonio Skármeta, German Daniel Kehlmann, and American Brian Weiss were among the scores of authors participating in diverse panels and cultural events.

During the fair days, Frankfurt Book Fair organizers declared Argentina as the 2010 guest of honor. In a press release, Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said he was “very pleased that for the first time since Mexico in 1992 and Brazil in 1994, we will again experience a Latin American country as Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair.” The Argentinian book industry published more than 19,400 new titles in 2006, 12 percent more than the previous year. Also, in a press release, the Argentinian government responded that in their decision, “the Frankfurt Book Fair shows its high regard for the local publishing industry and for the great literary tradition of Argentinian writers.”