The Association Friends of 93 Park is hosting the second edition of the Park Book Fair, which after the success of last year’s version, once again, gathers in this public place a host of writers, artists and 30 independent booksellers.
From February 7 to 10, the four-day literary event also features a lecture series on culture, journalism, art, cinema and music. Besides getting a discounted price on a bestseller, strike up a conversation with an expert about which books make for obligatory reading on Colombia. As the park is one of the city’s most family and pet oriented spaces, there will also be a free concert series with music that caters to every taste and generation. Showcasing their collections in booths lined around the park, the festival’s protagonists are Bogota?’s independent booksellers, but there will also be an impressive representation from the department of La Guajira, chosen as Guest Region and featuring “Guajira Surprising.” Known for elaborate hand-woven crafts by the Wayúu peoples, visitors to the fair will have a chance to meet members from this indigenous community and learn about their tourism destinations and gastronomy.
Included in a very comprehensive cultural program are poetry recitals by Chile’s Enrique Winter and Colombia’s Darío Jaramillo. Other renowned writers from Colombia who will be on hand for book signings and interviews are Juan Pablo Calvás, Maria?ngela Urbina, Santiago Rivas, Daniella Cura and Alonso Sánchez Baute. So, if you’ve recently finished reading a book or have an opinion about bookstores in Bogota?, the fair is a great platform to interact with industry leaders and start-up publishers. There will also be a tribute to publisher María Osorio of Babel Libro, winner of multiple awards for her editorial titles and design. For children and youngsters activities have been included, as well as illustration workshops and storytelling by Santiago Guevara, David Ríos and Pablo Arrieta.
While we identify Parque 93 with gastronomy, there is plenty of food for thought with guest lectures and open discussions, from literary criticism to the current political climate. Colombian journalists Piedad Bonnet, Hector Abad Faciolince, Enrique Santos Calderón and Antonio Caballero will also give insight on current affairs. This year’s international guest is Cuba’s Armando Lucas Correa, who along with Natalia Garci?a, will talk about the importance of investigative journalism in media.
Colombian artist and sculptor Doris Salcedo, whose work has been exhibited in some of the most prestigious museums in the world, will talk with the well-known writer and political commentator María Jimena Duzán about art and literature in post-conflict Colombia. Historians Jorge Orlando Melo and Jorge Cardona will discuss 2019 as the Bicentennial Year and most important developments in the country since Independence.
Two films will also be screened in the park, The Bookshop (2017) based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald and starring Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Bill Nighy, as well as the animated feature Tropical Virus by calen?o Santiago Caicedo. The musical line-up includes the opening night’s concert by experimental collective Bituin, Juanita Delgado with contemporary Latin American songs, and Gina Savino with her jazz-folk repertoire. The big concert on Saturday, February 9, brings to the stage Ciro Meza, crowned Vallenato King in 2003, and a virtuoso of this popular genre of accordion music from Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
For the complete schedule visit: www.parque93.com and follow on social media the events @Parque93Bogota
