Bibliotecas The International Fair Book of Bogotá, taking place from April 25 to May 11, will introduce a new initiative that extends beyond the Corferias venue: FilBo Ciudad. It aims to bring one of the most significant cultural events in Latin America to several places across the city, fostering and making reading accessible. Many of these events will align with the FilBo 2025 manifesto, titled Las palabras del cuerpo (The Words of the body).
Cristian Valencia, a writer from Santa Marta, Colombia, will be one of the featured authors presenting his work Gaitán vive bajo los puentes (Gaitán Lives Under the Bridges) on Friday, April 25, at Casa de la Sabiduría Cerezos (Carrera 87A # 88-20). During the event, a talk-workshop will explore how the figure of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán remains present in the streets and in the collective consciousness, evoking memories of a Bogotá that has evolved while holding on to its struggles and challenges.
Cristian Valencia, a writer from Santa Marta, Colombia, will be one of the featured authors presenting his work Gaitán vive bajo los puentes (Gaitán Lives Under the Bridges) on Friday, April 25, at Casa de la Sabiduría Cerezos (Carrera 87A # 88-20). During the event, a talk-workshop will explore how the figure of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán remains present in the streets and in the collective consciousness, evoking memories of a Bogotá that has evolved while holding on to its struggles and challenges.
Spanish physician and writer Mario Alonso Puig will host a book signing at the National Bookstore in Unicentro (Carrera 15 # 124-30) on Saturday, April 26, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. His latest work, El camino del despertar, uses the metaphor of a journey back home to invite readers to align the three dimensions of the human being—body, mind, and spirit—and to reconnect with their essence through love and forgiveness. On Monday, April 28, Puig will give a lecture on this work at Casa de Sabiduría San David (Calle 86A Sur # 7-79 Este) at 10:00 a.m. On the same day, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Colombian poet María Gómez Lara will present Don Quijote a voces, a collection of poems that gives voice to some characters, including three women who are voiceless in Cervantes' masterpiece: Dulcinea, Zoraida, and Marcela.
On Tuesday, April 29, Ana Navajas from Argentina and Elaine Vilar Madruga from Cuba will present at the Gimnasio Femenino (Ak 7 #128-40). They will analyze how family ties are reconfigured or completely deconstructed in a manner that reflects the health or dysfunction of a family unit. In their works, Ana Navajas (Estás muy callada hoy) and Elaine Vilar Madruga (El cielo de la selva) explore the powerful roles that shape relationships within families. On the same date, the Argentine writer Magalí Etchebarne and the Colombian literary journalist Juan Camilo Rincón will discuss feminine and generational issues and the power of personal bonds and inheritances—whether material or emotional. This conversation will center around their book of short stories, La vida por delante. It will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Casa de la Sabiduría Porvenir (Carrera 100 # 52 - 24 sur).
Pilar Lozano, renowned reporter and writer of children's literature, will have a discussion at the Casa de la Sabiduría Monseñor Oscar A Romero (Calle 27b sur # 37-06).
Inspiring Workshops
On Wednesday, April 30, the Carlos E. Restrepo Public Library (Transversal 21A # 19-54 sur) will host the activity Diagrama para nombrar una casa: taller de prosa, led by Iliana Pichardo from the USA and Lorenzo Camacho from Colombia. The workshop will take place from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. On the same day, at 10:00 a.m., there will be a creative writing workshop, Escribir en mi ciudad, by Juan Fernando Hincapié. It will be held at the Casa de la Sabiduría Rincón Intercultural, Diagonal 89a - sur # 87- 60.
Federico Díaz Granados, a Colombian poet and writer, will offer the conference "Cuando la pérdida de la memoria se vuelve poesía" (When memory loss becomes poetry). This event will take place from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at El Contrabajo Community Library, Carrera 62a # 62c-28 sur.
On Thursday, May 1, renowned Colombian novelist Laura Restrepo will engage in a conversation with poet Andrea Cote. La voz de la migración is the name of the event, which will be moderated by Felipe Restrepo Pombo. It will take place from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Ana's Bookstore (Parque La Colina, Carrera 58d # 146-51, 2nd floor). Through her novels, Laura Restrepo, and through her poetry, Andrea Cote, has given voice to migration—a phenomenon that, beyond the abandonment of geography and identity, embodies a feeling and an ambivalent possibility
Literature behind bars
FilBo Ciudad will visit the District Jail Library (Carrera 8a # 1C-50 sur) on Friday, May 2. Solo tenías que darme la mano is also the name of the play to be performed by Colombians Pilar Gutiérrez and Juliana Correa, along with Argentine Nadina Marquisio. This is an unconventional book. it is based on a poetic story, illustrated by a textile artist, and accompanied by a sound piece featuring a new musical instrument called the sora.
On the same date, there will be a discussion titled "Venezuelan Diaspora" featuring Arianna de Sousa-García, a writer from Venezuela, and Colombian Juan Camilo Rincón. This event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Casa de la Sabiduría Carlos Gaviria, located at Calle 69 Sur # 18b-36. Additionally, there will be a conversation about science and literature with the French-Venezuelan writer Miguel Bonnefoy, also scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Casa de la Sabiduría Las Acacias, Diagonal 63 # 19c-01 Sur.
Colombian writer Carolina Sanín will lead a poetry reading on Saturday, May 3, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Manzana del Cuidado Reading Room in downtown Bogotá (Carrera 6 #14-98). She will read some of her poems from La Mayor, her new poetry collection, in which she enters the mangrove to observe the four children lost in the Amazon for forty days
On Tuesday, May 6, it will be the turn of Puerto Rican author Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, who will appear at the women's prison El Buen Pastor (Carrera 58 # 80-95) from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Through its pages, the writer immerses readers in the lives of characters who resist oppression and discrimination as best they can — with their own weapons. In her story La Santiguadora, she portrays the lives of a group of women in prison, exploring their struggles, motivations, and sorrows from the perspective of a former witch who, through her knowledge, serves as the leader of her community.
More information about Filbo City at https://feriadellibro.com/es/programacion-filbo-ciudad or Visit Bogotá.
