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Yet according to statistics compiled by CONACULTA (National Council for Culture and Arts) and UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), on average Mexicans read only 2.9 books per person per year. 

María de la Paz Espino del Castillo, a literature teacher who is a member of the Spanish Books Committee at the Biblioteca Pública and one of the fair’s organizers, said it is regrettable that most young students do not read more.

“They think the internet is a substitute for books,” she commented. “They think they are reading, but they are only putting together words and phrases.” Espino added that besides being part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Biblioteca Pública, the goal of FELISMA is to bring the community closer to books and promote literature. 

More than a marketplace

Book sales are not new to San Miguel, but the concept of a book fair is. “We wanted to have a more literary and cultural event and offer a large variety of books at low prices,” said Espino. Besides featuring vendors from some of Mexico’s largest publishers the fair includes conferences, literary workshops and book presentations.

Verónica Agundis, head of the Education and Culture Department, said that the one of the main excuses for not reading is the high cost of books. “We are making an effort to offer books at low prices at this fair,” she said. “It is the first time that the two libraries in town have joined together on a project like this, and we are expecting to establish this as an annual event.”

One of the highlights of FELISMA 2008 is a tribute to writer Carlos Fuentes, who turned 80 this year. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of his novel La región más transparente (Where the Air is Clear), about Mexico City society. Espino remarked that Fuentes is an expert on Mexican history and literature. “I like very much how he narrates the different parts of our history and gives his historical characters a thorough treatment. He draws connections between the magical elements of our pre-Hispanic cultures and modern life,” she said. Writer Gonzalo Celorio gives a master class on Carlos Fuentes and his novel today, October 24, at 6pm at the University of León next to the Plaza Cívica.

Another major event of the fair is a writing contest for young people sponsored by the Biblioteca and Fundación Un Chorro de Literatura.

More than 30 submissions in each category (narrative, essay and poetry) were received, according to Víctor Sahuatoba, head of Fundación Un Chorro de Libros.

The winner of the poetry category, Juan Francisco Salazar Rodríguez, is a high-school student at UDL. For the contest he wrote a series of poems called “Pre-Hispanic Dreams,” told from the point of view of ancient Mexicans. Now 17, he has written poems since he was 11 years old. “I thought that my poems would draw attention, but I did not think I would win first prize,” said Juan Francisco. “I feel very satisfied.” 

Check them out

According to information from the Biblioteca Pública, more than 2,000 people check out books from the library each month. Librarian Rosario Muñoz said that the more popular Spanish titles are textbooks, whereas English readers prefer novels.

The most frequently borrowed book in Spanish is Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez, followed by books on physics, anatomy and algebra and self-help books. Among books in English, currently the most popular novels are A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson and Ebba Segerberg. According to Muñoz, history books in English or Spanish seem to be least popular.

Read any good books lately?

Georgina Harris, a high-school student at CBTIS, said, “My favorite book is Los ojos de mi princesa (My Princess’ Eyes) by Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez, a self-motivation book about how a young man lives love.”

Rebeca Ibarra and Francisco Macías, high-school students from Tepeyac School in Querétaro, read about a book a month. Francisco likes novels by Jules Verne and Rebeca prefers novels by Mexican author Àngeles Mastretta such as Arráncame la vida (Tear My Life Out) or Mal de amores (Lovesick). 

Juan Francisco Salazar, the poetry contest winner, said one of his favorite novels is Aztec by Gary Jennings.

Espino said that one of her favorite books is Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. She also likes the “labyrinthine world of Kafka,” and in her literature courses she specializes in Mexican women authors. Her favorite is Rosario Castellanos (Balun Canan, Oficio de Tinieblas). For foreigners who are learning Spanish and want to study Mexican culture, Espino recommends the Mexican tales and legends by Heriberto Frías or Vicente Riva Palacio or Canek, by Emilio Abreu Gómez, a Mayan legend. 

City Secretary Cristóbal Finkelstein said he is a great reader and that his favorite book is A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell, a novel about Cicero. 

Gregory Diamant, president of the Biblioteca’s board of directors, counts Moby Dick by Herman Melville as his favorite book. 

Víctor Sahautoba said his favorite book is Don Quijote de la Mancha because of the “richness of the Spanish language, the games of fantasy and the complexity of the characters.” 

Librarian Rosario Muñoz said she reads kids’ books with her children. “I specially remember El Diablo Guardián (The Guardian Devil) by Xavier Velasco. I also liked The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.”

Raúl Bravo, head of the state government’s cultural program Leer provoca (Reading Provokes), said that historical novels are popular with young people. He recommends La corte de los ilusos (The Court of Dreamers) by Rosa Beltrán, about the life of Mexico’s first independent ruler, Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, and El guerrero del alba (The Warrior of Dawn) by Raquel Huerta, about the life of the Mexican Independence hero Vicente Guerrero. 

Agundis said she is passionate about reading. “One of my favorite books is Corazón de Piedra Verde (Green Stone Heart) by Salvador de Madariaga, about Aztecs in Tenochtitlán and the arrival of Hernán Cortés. I am also reading the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, which is popular with young girls. 

Winners in the narrative category of the writing contest sponsored by the Biblioteca Pública and Fundación Un Chorro de Literatura:

1st place: Más que una tragedia (More Than a Tragedy) by Montserrat Verdejas

2nd place: Breves escritos (Brief Writings) by Francisco Grimaldi

3rd place: Dentro de una mente retorcida (Inside a Twisted Mind) by Andrea Ramos

Honorable Mention: Diario de una biblioteca (Diary of a Library) by Martín Habacuc Díaz Muñoz

Library students volunteer at Biblioteca 
By Krishna Villena

During the week of October 13, eight MSL (Master of Library Science) students visited the Biblioteca Pública to work as volunteers editing online catalog records.

“We were told that cataloging is the greatest need of both the Spanish and English collections, and that’s why these students are working on that,” said Dalene Hawthorne, the supervisor of the group and a professor who teaches classes for the MLS program at Emporia State University in Kansas.

Gwen Alexander, dean of the School of Library Information Management, said that Hawthorne “arranged these activities in coordination with Robin Velte, a retired MLS librarian who volunteers as the English book collection librarian here.” Alexander visited the Biblioteca last spring and met Velte, and the two discussed the possibility of an October week of volunteerism. Travel expenses for the Emporia State visitors have been covered by a generous endowment left by a former Emporia State student in the MLS program.

Velte said that she and the chief librarians, Juan Manuel Fajardo and Rosario Muñoz listed the main needs of the Biblioteca collections: upgrading the cataloging, adding the entire musical score collection to the catalog and editing the authority file of authors and subject headings. The software company Baratz, which provides service to the library, assigned temporary passwords and access to the system, making extra administrative computer use possible.

Kathleen Ellsworth, who volunteers as a cataloging technician for the English book collection, spent the entire week teaching and guiding the visitors in the use of the Absys7 system. The visiting librarian candidates gave all their attention to upgrading the catalog, checking for errors and completing descriptions of individual items. The volunteers electronically downloaded up-to-date records on top of old, incorrect ones. By adding specific information such as contents and summaries of books, the volunteers enhanced over 600 existing cataloging records. The end result of their labor will make it easier for library patrons to execute meaningful searches in the catalog.

The visiting librarians left behind not only marked improvements in the catalog, but also their tools: six laptops that they brought with them and used during their week of volunteering. The much-needed computers are now library property. The Biblioteca librarians learned a great deal about procedures that can be used in the future to train volunteers who will continue to enhance the catalog.

Annual report from the Department of Family Integration
By Jesús Ibarra

On October 22, Patricia Gutiérrez Rebollo, the mayor’s wife and president of DIF (Department of Family Integration), presented the department’s annual report. One of DIF’s major achievements this year was the construction of 330 houses through the program Mi Casa DIFerente (My DIFferent House), which builds dwellings for families who live in extreme poverty. This was triple the number of houses built last year. 

DIF has also instituted a food distribution program for pregnant and nursing women, children, the handicapped and the elderly. According to Gutiérrez, DIF has given out more than 3,400 packages of staple food items to families in 100 rural communities. 

She also mentioned the program Desayunos Escolares (Students’ Breakfasts), which gives children between 3 and 12 a breakfast that provides 30 percent of their daily nutritional needs. Gutiérrez said that between October 2007 and September 2008 the breakfasts were offered to more than 9,000 children in 178 rural and 5 urban schools. 

Under DIF’s programs for the elderly, more than 145 seniors received optometry and dental services, medicine and food packages. Gutiérrez said that DIF also sponsors activities such as zumba, literacy classes, singing and tai chi, among others. She noted that the supermarkets Mega and Soriana have agreed to provide jobs to elderly people as baggers. Gutiérrez said that more than 1,100 elderly people benefited this year from DIF programs. She added that the local DIF signed an agreement with the state DIF for the construction of a facility to provide a better space for their activities. “The cost will be 2 million pesos, 50 percent provided by the state and 50 percent by the municipality,” said Gutiérrez. 

Casa Esperanza, which offers free education, meals and recreational activities to at-risk youths, assisted 147 children in the last year, and CENAVIT, a program of legal assistance and domestic violence counseling, helped 1,759 people. 

Highlights of the DIF annual report

330 houses built through Mi Casa DIFerente

9,780 children given breakfast

3,488 food packages for families

379 vouchers for medicine

808 liters of milk for Casa Hogar Mexiquito

808 liters of milk for Casa Hogar Los Ángeles

145 healthcare packages for elderly people

1,135 seniors assisted by DIF programs

147 children helped at Casa Esperanza

1,759 persons assisted through CENAVIT

Sustainable San Miguel slated for November
By Jesús Ibarra

The local government, represented by Francisco Peyret, head of the Tourism, Economic Development and Tourism Department, and City Secretary Cristóbal Finkelstein announced the upcoming event San Miguel Sustentable (Sustainable San Miguel), to be held November 9 to 15. The goal of the event is to attract tourists to the city and present information and technologies related to ecology and care of the environment. 

According to Peyret, “any human activity should be thought out or planned considering the environment. Modern trends are showing us that design, fashion, food, entertainment, the arts, methods of production and quality of life in the future have a very close and vital link to the conservation of the environment.” 

Peyret said that San Miguel Sustentable will consist of a series of conference and workshops given by world-renowned experts on issues related to ecology and the environment such as global warming, bio-architecture and alternative technologies for environmental protection. The event will offer exhibits of new technology and ecological and organic products. “Entertainment is also important; we will have rallies, fashion shows and concerts,” said Peyret, who added that all the events will be held at the Instituto Allende, Bellas Artes, Teatro Ángela Peralta and Hotel Real de Minas. The conferences will cost 100 pesos or 200 pesos, including meals.