Barcelona's artistic and publishing prowess unleashed at 39th Guadalajara Book Fair

Barcelona will be the guest city of honour at the 39th Guadalajara International Book Fair from this Saturday, November 29, until December 7.

The literary gathering is one of the most important cultural events in Latin America and one of the biggest book fairs in the world.

The Catalan capital arrives in Mexico with an ambitious program that, beyond an extensive literary offering, also includes performing arts, music, cinema, design, gastronomy, science and thought.

The program, curated by journalist Anna Guitart, stakes a claim for Barcelona as a cultural and literary capital and highlights its close relationship with Mexico and Latin America, with which it shares a strong bond.

Under the motto 'The Flowers Will Come', which comes from a story by Mercè Rodoreda, Barcelona lands in Guadalajara this week accompanied by around seventy authors of contemporary Catalan and Barcelona literature who represent a plurality of literary genres and styles.

Writer Eduardo Mendoza and singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat will play a prominent role in the fair: the former will be in charge of opening the literary salon and the latter will lead a dialogue with young people.

On the other hand, the program will pay tribute each evening to key figures such as Carmen Balcells, the literary superagent who was the driving force behind the Latin American Boom of the 20th century, as well as Joan Brossa, Mercè Rodoreda, Ana María Matute, Montserrat Roig or Manuel Vázquez Montalbán.

A day at the fair will also be dedicated to the celebration of Sant Jordi.

One of the major attractions will be the Barcelona pavilion, which will be located in the main lobby of the venue. Designed by Fàbric and Santiago de León, it will be entitled 'Espai publicat', and will recreate a Barcelona square as a meeting and conversation space.

Spanning over 1,000 square meters, it will include a large bookstore with 10,000 books linked to the city and an auditorium for 120 people where part of the literary and professional program will take place.

The program will also include various musical and theatrical performances. For nine consecutive nights there will be large-scale shows at Foro FIL with a diverse offer from the Barcelona music scene, including Maria Arnal, Rigoberta Bandini, Lucía Fumero, Queralt Lahoz, Love of Lesbian, Mushka, and more.