The new edition of the Fiera del Libro de Lanzarote will bring novelties. The event will be held between May 7th and 10th in Ramírez Cerdá Park and adjacent cultural facilities in Arrecife. This year, actors and writers Pablo Rivero and Carlos Bardem are included in the presentation program. The expansion to two days dedicated to school visits, Thursday and Friday mornings, has also been highlighted, as well as the presence of bookstores and publishers from other islands, who did not want to miss the Lanzarote literary event.
In addition, editorial stars such as Juan José Millás, Máximo Huerta, Elísabet Benavent, Marta Jiménez, Óscar Alonso, Fernando Bonete, Sonia Moreno, and Abraham Boba will participate. The Lanzarote native Lana Corujo, in her role as an illustrator, will present “¿Quién es Bruno?” alongside its author, Lola Suárez. José Betancort, Fabio Carreiro, Pedro Mayo, Víctor Bello, Ana Belén Hormiga, and Jesús Giráldez will also present their new releases, among other prominent names.
The Minister of Culture of the Cabildo, Jesús Machín, valued the consolidation of the event and expressed that “this fourth edition reflects that the Book Fair already has a solid structure and an audience that responds. We are talking about a program that connects authors, publishers, and readers in the same space, generating cultural activity on the island”.
In the meeting with the media, the counselor of the Publications Service, Ascensión Toledo, highlighted the institution's physical presence at the fair, with a stand selling its own editions and the presentation of four titles. “La Fiera had to reach Arrecife, where half the island's population lives, which will surely multiply public attendance, book sales, and the positive impact on the promotion of reading, which is ultimately what this activity aims for,” she pointed out.
For her part, the Councilor for Education and Culture, Abigail González, expressed her satisfaction at being the host of the literary Fiera, and highlighted that on this occasion the event is dedicated to the Arrecife writer Félix Hormiga, whose life will be conveyed through the words of his son Atchén Pounapal at the opening ceremony, and through his own writings, with the presentation of his unpublished work Ecos and the collective Filera de hormigas. “Arrecife is, without a doubt, the cultural capital of Lanzarote, a city where every day is Book Day, thanks to the Arrecife Culture team and the commendable work of the island Library,” she pointed out.
Tomás Pérez-Esaú, president of the Isla Literaria association, which brings together the editorial and bookstore guilds of Lanzarote, highlighted the excellent lineup this year, the range of genres and proposals for all ages, the presentations aimed at the educational community, and the business prospects "which are sure to improve, in line with the upward curve we started in Yaiza and which has continued in Teguise and San Bartolomé".
He also thanked the Culture departments of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the Arrecife City Council and the Government of the Canary Islands, the sponsoring companies, the male and female writers and those who will present the catalog of works for their support and collaboration "so that, one more year, our fair culminates in success".
Complementary activities
As is customary since its first edition, the Lanzarote Book Fair offers a program of complementary activities around literature and performing arts, which began last Saturday with the screening of the film "Vampires in Havana" in homage to Félix Hormiga, organized in collaboration with Cine Club Lanzarote. Cinema will continue to make its mark, with the screening of the film The Life Ahead, by Mario Martone, on May 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. in the Buñuel room of El Almacén. Inspired by one of the most outstanding voices in 20th-century Italian literature, the story focuses on Goliarda Sapienza's time in prison.
On Friday, May 8 at 8:30 PM, at El Almacén, Abraham Boba, writer, musician, DJ, composer, and vocalist of León Benavente, interacts with the projected images, transforming himself into the people he was in the past, from his condition as a short man. Tickets can be purchased at https://tickety.es
Music will take center stage on Saturday, May 9, starting at 8:30 p.m., in the José Ramírez Cerdá Fajardo park with the performance of Fajardo, a singer-songwriter from Fuerteventura recognized for his visceral and delicate style, halfway between singer-songwriter and alternative folk.
And for the children's audience, to which La Fiera dedicates special attention, the show La cuentería, by Oscar Bacallado, has been scheduled for Sunday, May 10 at 12:30 PM, also in the Ramírez Cerdá park. It is an interactive oral storytelling performance that transforms stories into unforgettable moments, with free and open access.
