From the 17th to the 19th of May the boulevard in La Cala de Mijas will become a large open space dedicated to reading. The 2024 Book Fair started yesterday, Wednesday 8th May, at the patio in the Manuel España Theatre with the presentation of the poster and the opening speech, which was made by the local writer Carlos Caravias, author of several books, ‘Manuel. Evangelio de nuestro tiempo', ‘El aliento del fuego'’ or ‘Al cruzar el límite’, among others, and received first prize in the III Story Contest in Mijas with his work ‘Érase una vez’ (‘Once upon a time’). His novels can be used in book clubs, presentations and author meetings. During his speech, Caravias said that being the town crier of this book fair was ‘a great honour’, while in his speech he highlighted the role played by books, writers and readers.

The writer Carlos Caravias said that being the town crier for the Book Fair “is an honour” and highlighted the commitment of the Mijas Town Hall to the organisation of the event: “The so-called Book Fair can be considered as one of the main tools for the promotion of books and reading as long as we know how to focus its meaning and development in the right way”, and added that “it cannot be considered as an exhibition of books or as a means for authors to make their creations known and manage to sell them, but its true meaning lies in the creation of a social and human environment in which those who read, who write and who sell books meet”.

In his speech he highlighted the role played by books, writers and readers: “Those who read books are as important as those who write them, because if either of these groups, readers or writers, were missing, books would die, and if books die, culture and freedom die”.

 

The Councillor for Culture, Juan Carlos Maldonado (PMP), underlined the “excellent work” carried out by his department, recalling, among others, the figure of Francisco Gutiérrez, head of the department until his retirement at the end of last year, and the technicians of the municipal libraries such as Antonio Pino and Santi Clemente. With the Book Fair “the aim is to establish a meeting place, where authors, readers, young people through schools and workshops that we are going to carry out, publishers and shops, in short, all lovers and everyone can enjoy this coexistence, this connection, which creates a city and a municipality”. 

Recognition to great readers

After these speeches, the poster for the Book Fair, produced by Mijas Comunicación, was unveiled and the diplomas and gifts were presented to the great readers of the municipal libraries, to the Project Arcoiris de Madres Narradoras for promoting reading and to Josefina Moreno, promoter of the Reading Club. 

 

“I have been reading since I was in my mother's arms, and when I was 8 years old I used to go to the library, I loved to read”, said María Cruz Jaime, user of the library in Mijas Pueblo; for his part, Pedro Sepúlveda, reader of the library in La Cala, said that his love for books started when he was a child, “when I read comic books". Antonio Hevia, a user in the library in Las Lagunas, recalled that “a gift that was never missing for Christmas was a book, and that's why I've been interested in books since I was a child”. 

 

Rainbow Project

Rosa María Badillo, from the Project Arcoiris de Madres Narradoras (‘Rainbow of Storytelling Mothers’), expressed her gratitude for this recognition: “I think it is a very well-deserved recognition because we have been leading the way in education for 20 years through some very beautiful activities, such as the recognition of gifts and talents, transforming the negative into positive, encouraging reading, social ecology and equality”. Badillo added that “we promote many working approaches through the wisdom stories we share and the activities we carry out, thus encouraging a programme that is giving its results”. 

 

The event was closed by local writers Isabel Gámez, Abraham Valle, Andrea España, José Moreno, María Luisa Morales and Pedro Miguel Ponce, who read several poems for the audience.

 

Attendees were also reminded that the Department for Culture has recently published a Digital Book, which includes information on 40 local writers, and which has been designed by this institution and can be downloaded at this link.

 

This Saturday 11th of May, at 22:00, Mijas 3.40 Television will broadcast the presentation of the Mijas Book Fair 2024. It will also be available on TV on demand at www.mijascomunicacion.com. 

 

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