The Chiclana Book Fair has commenced with a symbolic event: the continuous reading of the romantic drama 'El trovador', by local writer Antonio García Gutiérrez. This reading, which evokes Giusseppe Verdi's famous opera 'Il trovatore', is part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Chiclana being granted city status by King Alfonso XII in 1876, when it was a town. The commemoration is supported by the Unicaja Foundation.
The official inauguration of the Fair took place yesterday at the Interpretation Center of Wine and Salt, which will host all book presentations, round tables, tributes, and workshops. Concurrently, the Plaza de las Bodegas features stalls from participating bookstores and entities, open today and tomorrow from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Yesterday's events also included the presentation of the reissued book ‘Breve historia de Chiclana’ by the city's official chronicler, José Luis Aragón Panés. Additionally, a round table titled ‘History, a Local Perspective’ was held with contributions from Melissa Franco, Anate Rivera, Jesús Romero Montalbán, José Antonio Ureba, and José Verdugo. A posthumous tribute was paid to Dionisio Montero, Domingo Bohórquez, and Joaquín García ‘Quino’ for their contributions to fostering culture in the town.
For today's program, in addition to the reading of 'El trovador', an ONCE workshop will be held at the Wine and Salt Center, along with a storytelling session titled ‘The Marshmallow Tree’ by Mamen Sánchez. At 7:00 PM, Alicia Domínguez will present her book ‘La ecuación de Dirac’, followed at 8:00 PM by Felipe Benítez Reyes with his work ‘La Gente’.
Tomorrow, Friday, the program begins at 10:30 AM with the ONCE workshop “The Lost Letter”. At midday, Marina Fuertes will present the storytelling session ‘Rumbo a Okavango’. In the afternoon, 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, the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, will conclude the presentations with his book ‘La mejor edad’.
