Mexico will be the guest of honor at FILBo 2023

FILBo will celebrate its 35th edition from April 18 to May 2, 2023, with Mexico as a guest of honor.

The Bogota International Book Fair officially announced that the guest of honor for its 35th edition will be Mexico, one of the countries leading the industry in Latin America. Mexico’s participation in FILBo is possible thanks to Corferias and the Colombian Book Chamber, together with the Mexican Embassy in Colombia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture.

This publishing event, to be held from April 18 to May 2, 2023, will feature a literary, cultural, academic, and professional program that will bring together all the actors in the book chain in the country, along with Mexican publishers, distributors, and booksellers who will come to the fair with a sample of their culture and publishing production for all visitors. For 15 days, Bogota will once again become the country’s cultural and literary epicenter, with activities for all audiences.

«FILBo invites us in its next edition to recall the origins of our culture and explore our Latin roots in a deep look at our legacies. This is why Mexico will be the guest of honor at FILBo 2023. This is the third edition in which Mexico accompanies us as a guest country, the first was in 1993, and the second was in 2009. A nation that has rescued, dignified, and blended its traditions, giving them the strength present in culture,» said Andrés López Valderrama, executive president of Corferias.

For Emiro Aristizábal, executive president of the Colombian Book Chamber, «this, our fair, has been for 35 years the place where all the actors of the book chain in Colombia come together and where representatives of the publishing industry from all over the world meet. Since 1988, the Bogota International Book Fair has been the epicenter of culture in Colombia, thanks to its cultural programming FILBo is recognized in the Spanish-speaking book world as one of the most outstanding events in the sector, and in 2023, we will celebrate this history hand in hand with a sister country, Mexico. For 15 days together we will experience an encounter with our roots around books and their protagonists».

Alejandro García Moreno Elizondo, Ambassador of Mexico in Colombia said «what are books if not an exchange of ideas? FILBo is a very strong bridge of union. We have a very important challenge, which is to build a program for the Colombian public focused on the new generations.

For Marco Barrera Bassols, international liaison coordinator of the Fondo de Cultura Económica, «from the very moment we were informed of the invitation, we took the necessary steps for Mexico, as a country, to make a decision and I want to tell you that it was President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who gave the instruction to accept it and asked the FCE, together with the Foreign Ministry and other Mexican government institutions and the publishing industry, to take charge of it: It is the National Chamber of the Mexican Publishing Industry in particular that brings together the sector and it is with their help that we are beginning the work to bring to fruition what will be the third time that Mexico is the guest of honor,» he said.

The event was attended by the Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza, who said «I want to express here our deep gratitude to Mexico, a country that hosted our great writer Gabriel García Márquez.  I think it is very important that this next book fair pays tribute to Gabo. Gabo our Gabo is from Mexico, and he is from Colombia too, we share him. García Márquez taught us to fight for a second chance on earth, for a second chance for the inhabitants of Macondo. We are in that second chance».

The minister added: «We greet mainly the subjects of the fair, the authors, the writers. We must attend the fair, that we meet there. May the fair be a meeting place where we can talk about both countries.

The Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs, Laura Gil emphasized: «for us, Mexico has a very important value because the histories have been so close. The Treaty of Friendship, League, and Confederation between the Republic of Colombia and the Mexican Nation was the first international instrument signed by Mexico as an independent nation. That is an honor for us. Since then, relations have been close and will continue to be close».

At the event, Vice Minister Gil highlighted the commitment made by the Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza, for the culture of peace and emphasized the articulated work to be carried out with the Cultural Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mexico has been a guest of honor at FILBo on two previous occasions (1993 and 2009) and thanks to its cultural and literary proximity to Colombia, its presence has strengthened the ties between the two nations, which have been maintained throughout history. This is how FILBo welcomes Mexico in this celebration of its 35th anniversary.