Ukraine and EU Have Become Guests of Honour at The Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico
Representatives of Ukraine and the European Union have become honorary guests at the Guadalajara International Book Fair held in Mexico. This year, the event will take place from November 25 to December 3.
This information was announced by the Diplomatic Service of the European Union and the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, who is representing Ukraine at the fair this year.
As announced by the curator of the European delegation, Patricio Jeretic, this year's book festival will feature an exhibition titled 'Home After Dawn,' showcasing works by 25 contemporary Ukrainian artists.
Additionally, Olena Zelenska inaugurated another 'Ukrainian Bookshelf' at the Public Library of Jalisco State. This marks the first Ukrainian bookshelf in Latin America. Overall, the book project initiated by the First Lady now includes 190 thousand Ukrainian bookshelves in 44 countries worldwide.
The Guadalajara International Book Fair is one of the most important literary events in the Spanish-speaking book world. Established in 1987, the fair is organized by the University of Guadalajara.
The fair brings together artists, writers, musicians, and cultural figures offering visitors a diverse artistic program, including musical and theatrical performances, European film screenings, visual art exhibitions, and much more.
The representative from Ukraine at the fair was supposed to be 37-year-old Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina. However, she tragically lost her life this summer due to a missile strike by Russia on a restaurant in the city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, where Amelina was having lunch with a group of Colombian journalists.
It is worth noting that last year, in March 2022, near the city of Izyum, Ukraine, Ukrainian children's writer Volodymyr Vakulenko went missing. Only after the complete de-occupation of the city by Ukrainian forces was it discovered that the writer had been tortured. Among almost four hundred bodies found at the site of a mass grave of victims of the Russian occupation regime, the Ukrainian writer's DNA was identified.
The book 'I am Transforming' by Volodymyr Vakulenko was published posthumously. In essence, it is a diary in which the author of children's books records his feelings at a time when the city is being captured by Russian military forces. Volodymyr managed to hide the manuscript near his parents' house, anticipating that the occupiers would come for him.