The Chiclana Book Fair will take place from Wednesday, July 15, to Saturday, July 18, with renowned guests such as the Hispanist Ian Gibson, an expert on Federico García Lorca, and authors like Luis García Montero, director of the Instituto Cervantes, and Felipe Benítez Reyes.
One of the novelties will be the continuous reading of the romantic drama El trovador, by the Chiclana-born writer Antonio García Gutiérrez, which inspired Giuseppe Verdi's famous opera. The fair will combine local and universal elements, including workshops by the ONCE.
This event commemorates the 150th anniversary of King Alfonso XII granting Chiclana its city title in 1876, an occasion supported by the Fundación Unicaja. In that year, García Gutiérrez, director of the National Archaeological Museum, enjoyed international recognition.
The mayor, José María Román, emphasized the goal of "continuing to grow in arts and letters" and thanked the Fundación Unicaja for its sponsorship, mentioning plans for a cultural center and plaza in Las Albinas next year.
Susana Rivas highlighted the efforts in promoting reading and the collaboration with local bookstores such as Bibliopola, Navarro, tu Papelería, and Baobab, as well as with the ONCE to foster inclusion.
Ana Belén Mota, manager of Bibliopola, stressed the importance of "betting on a cultural Chiclana" and encouraged citizens to visit the fair to explore the summer reading catalog.
Ángeles Navarro, head of Social Services for the ONCE in the province of Cádiz, thanked all parties involved and highlighted the fair as a space to showcase the work of adapting books into Braille.
Javier Vela, representative of the Fundación Unicaja in Cádiz, praised the joint effort and the foundation's support for the event, including the publication of a commemorative comic created by students from the IES Poeta García Gutiérrez.
The inauguration will be on Wednesday, 15, at 7:00 PM in the Interpretation Center of Wine and Salt, the venue for all book presentations, round tables, and workshops. Booths will be open from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Wednesday, and from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Thursday and Friday.
On Wednesday, following the inauguration, official chronicler José Luis Aragón will present the reissued book Breve historia de Chiclana. At 8:00 PM, a round table on "History, a Local Perspective" will take place, followed by a tribute at 8:45 PM to Dionosio Montero, Domingo Bohórquez, and Joaquín García ‘Quino’.
Thursday will begin with a reading of El Trovador. The ONCE will conduct a workshop at 10:30 AM, and at 12:00 PM, a storytelling session titled El árbol de los merengues will be held. In the afternoon, Alicia Domínguez will present La ecuación de Dirac, and Felipe Benítez Reyes will present his book La Gente.
On Friday, the ONCE workshop "La letra perdida" will start at 10:30 AM. At noon, Marina Fuertes will present the storytelling session Rumbo a Okavango. At 7:00 PM, Estrella Alonso will discuss her work La verja roja, and at 8:00 PM, Ian Gibson will present his book La fosa de Lorca: crónica de un olvido.
On Saturday, Carmen Martín Gaite will present a trunk of puppets and stories starting at 10:30 AM. At 12:00 PM, Luis García Montero, director of the Instituto Cervantes, will close the presentations with his book La mejor edad. Book sales on Saturday will be from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
