Latest news with #BuenosAiresInternationalBookFair
Saudi Gazette
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Saudi Gazette
Riyadh Pavilion opens at Buenos Aires Book Fair 2025
Saudi Gazette report BUENOS AIRES —The Saudi Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission inaugurated the Riyadh Pavilion as the Guest of Honor at the 49th Buenos Aires International Book Fair, which will hold from April 22 to May 12, 2025, in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. The Riyadh Pavilion aims to strengthen Saudi Arabia's cultural presence in Latin America and introduce Riyadh as a modern, forward-looking capital city that embodies the transformations of Saudi Vision 2030. The pavilion features diverse literary and cultural content, including works translated into Spanish to help build cultural bridges. The CEO of the Literature Commission, Dr. Abdul Latif Al-Wasil, emphasized the importance of cultural cooperation as a civilizational tool for building bridges and enhancing international relations, highlighting the strong ties between Saudi Arabia and Argentina. Kristine Raïnon, President of the Argentine Book Foundation, spoke on the significance of the Buenos Aires International Book Fair as a cultural platform that brings together nations and civilizations, promoting values of peace and international understanding. He noted that choosing Riyadh as Guest of Honor enhances the prospects for cultural dialogue among peoples. Throughout the fair, the Riyadh Pavilion will showcase the creative diversity and cultural identity of the Saudi capital through a comprehensive program featuring literary seminars, panel discussions, poetry evenings, and live performances. The pavilion also includes a manuscript and book exhibition, as well as a section dedicated to Saudi publications translated into Spanish, supporting the global reach of Saudi literature. The pavilion houses several themed sections that highlight the richness and diversity of Saudi heritage, including a live crafts corner, a heritage replica exhibit showcasing traditional Riyadh architecture, cultural and theatrical segments, and a reception area designed in the Salmani architectural style. Visitors will also have the opportunity to explore aspects of daily life in Riyadh through a dedicated area featuring traditional fashion displays, accompanied by Spanish-language descriptions. The delegation includes the Theater and Performing Arts Commission, Heritage Commission, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah), the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, the King Abdulaziz Public Library, and the King Fahd National Library. The goal is to present a Saudi cultural window to the audience from Argentina and around the world. The Buenos Aires International Book Fair is one of the largest cultural events in Latin America. Since its inception in 1975, it has established itself as a leading platform for publishing and knowledge exchange, attracting over one million visitors annually.
Miami Herald
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
What I remember most from my many interviews with Mario Vargas Llosa
When I once asked Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa how he wanted to be remembered after his death, he told me, 'I have done many things in my life, but I would like to be remembered mainly for my literature.' Fair enough — he was one of the greatest Spanish-language writers of all time. But many of us will also remember the Peruvian-born novelist, who died April 13 in Lima at age 89, for his political activism in support of fundamental freedoms. He was one of the most politically-active, best-selling authors in recent times, whether that meant criticizing the dictators of Cuba and Venezuela or President Trump's threats to democracy in the United States. Unlike many famous people who fear antagonizing part of their audiences, Vargas Llosa always spoke his mind. He understood better than most that the big ideological battle nowadays is not between right and left, but between democracy and dictatorship. He was also one of the most courageous intellectuals I have known, often taking personal risks to support his causes. In 2014, when he was 78, he traveled to Venezuela to support the opposition against the Nicolás Maduro regime. He had already traveled to Venezuela in 2009, and was briefly detained at the airport by the regime of Hugo Chavez. In 2011, when he visited Argentina to speak at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, protesters who were angry about his criticism of the Nestor Kirchner government threw objects at the bus where he was being transported to the event. He was not hurt. In one of more than half a dozen interviews with him over the years, when he was 83, I asked him what his secret was to remain fully active, and why he was taking so much time and so many personal risks to support his political causes. At his age, with his fame, he could be spending his time traveling around the world receiving honorary degrees and giving speeches wherever he wanted, I commented to him, only half-jokingly. He answered that it was part of his philosophy of remaining active on all fronts until the last day of his life. 'This is a way of life that, for me, is deeply stimulating,' Vargas Llosa told me. 'I don't get tired, even when I get tired, because I have the incentives to stay alive.' Retirement was never an option for him. 'Perhaps the saddest spectacle I've seen has been the people who stop living while they're still alive. That seems something terrible to me,' he told me. Death should come as something unexpected, 'a surprise' in the normal course of one's life, he said. When I asked him what he meant by that, he told me the story attributed to ancient Greece's great philosopher Socrates. Cautioning that he didn't know whether the story was true, 'but it's a wonderful story,' he told me that when the soldiers went to carry out Socrates' death sentence by forcing him to drink hemlock, Socrates was learning Persian. When somebody said to him, 'But they're going to kill you,' Socrates responded: 'Yes, but I'd like to die learning Persian.' Vargas Llosa added, 'It's a wonderful case in which death appears as an accident that interrupts a life that is in its fullness. I would like to die with a pen in my hand.' He told me he worked seven days a week, especially in the mornings. He never opened a Twitter account, and struggled with technology. 'I'm one of the last writers who still writes with ink and paper,' he said. When I asked him if his literature was mostly the product of talent or discipline, he answered it was discipline. 'I discovered from a very young age that I wasn't a genius, and that I had to replace my lack of genius with discipline, with work, with obstinacy .' Vargas Llosa will no doubt be remembered, as he wanted, as an extraordinary writer. But many of us will never forget his support for democracy and freedoms around the world. We will miss you, Mario! Don't miss the 'Oppenheimer Presenta' TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog:
