10,000 books, Catalan-Mexican fusion cuisine, and cultural icons: Barcelona opens Guadalajara Book Fair

The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) opened its doors on Saturday with a massive event, with Barcelona as the guest city of honour taking centre stage.

Organizers praised the role of the Catalan capital in this edition of the fair, calling it an "open and plural" city that is built "with books" and that makes the written word the "most fertile territory of freedom."

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni spoke at the inauguration, highlighting that the city has brought "the best of our literature in Catalan and Spanish" to Guadalajara.

Dozens gathered at noon in the Barcelona pavilion for the opening of the fair, hearing Collboni speak about how literature can act as a "shield against barbarism" in current times.

Talks and roundtables are also part of the program at the fair, and in a conversation with the editor of newspaper El País, Jaume Collboni said it was necessary to "make an extra effort to promote and protect books in Catalan" in the face of the strength of both the Spanish and English languages.

The mayor said that Barcelona publishing houses publish "indiscriminately" in Catalan and Spanish, but Collboni admitted that Catalan is under "great pressure" and that "we are a minority language that coexists with a major language."

Catalan president Salvador Illa will also be present in Guadalajara, kicking off his institutional trip to Mexico. 

His agenda will consist of a series of economic and cultural meetings, as well as a visit to the fair on Monday. Upon his arrival in Mexico City, Illa had a brief meeting with the new government delegate in Mexico, Aran Mayola, and visited the Orfeó Català de México, where around thirty Mexicans with Catalan roots awaited him.

Founded in 1906, it is the second-oldest institution of the Catalan community abroad, and also houses the largest library of titles in Catalan in Latin America, with some 11,000 volumes.

The Barcelona pavilion, designed by Fàbric and Santiago de León, is inspired by the city's porticoed squares, such as the Plaça Reial, and has 10,000 books.

Ahead of the opening of the fair, curator of the Barcelona delegation, Anna Guitart, told the Catalan News Agency of her "nerves" and "excitement" for the event.

"Since we started working, excitement has been part of this project, and we want to explain our city from so many different places," she said.

At the inauguration, chef Gerard Bellver prepared an offering of Catalan-Mexican fusion cuisine for 700 people on Saturday, with the whole menu dedicated to the writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán and his most beloved character, detective Pepe Carvalho.

The proposal consisted of a total of four courses, three mains and some desserts.

Also featuring at the fair will be tributes to key figures of Catalan literature such as literary superagent Carmen Balcells, Joan Brossa, Mercè Rodoreda, Ana María Matute, and Manuel Vázquez Montalbán.

Meanwhile, writer Javier Cercas starred in one of the most popular talks on the first day of the Guadalajara International Book Fair. The author spoke at the Barcelona pavilion with Elena Hevia about different aspects of his life, work and, above all, literature.

Cercas explained that he believes that one writes because of an aspect of not fitting in with one's surroundings. In his case, it is “uprooting,” both geographically and religiously.