Category: Books Fairs

The ancient Palacio de Minería is an architectural marvel from the early 19th century with a neoclassical style, refined for its time and imposing today. Walking through it on a Friday afternoon is a stroll that can be very enjoyable if one is open to perceiving and observing every corner. And that’s what happens to me, as I try to observe as much as I can while my coworkers go from booth to booth looking for books with such precision and urgency that I can’t keep up with them and get lost in the crowd. Because this, besides being an emblematic building of the Historic Center, is also the venue for the renowned International Book Fair of the Palacio de Minería.

A few days ago, I was walking through these streets and saw that they had set up some booths that, at that moment, I ignored, which would serve as ticket booths for entry to the Minería Book Fair in its 45th year. With a cost of $20 (pesos) on weekdays and $25 (pesos) on weekends, one can access the fair. All of this is organized by UNAM, through the Faculty of Engineering, with the state of Sinaloa as a guest. Efforts were made to provide signage to locate the publishers, but also for civil protection measures, handing out flyers that guide what to do in the event of earthquakes or fires; as well as making it accessible by providing ramps for people with wheelchairs. This event lasts for 2 weeks, which is quite logical and prudent considering all the activities it offers: workshops, conferences, book presentations, talks, readings aloud, and youth sessions.

Exploring the fair thoroughly and attentively in just one day seems like an endless task, just as it is impossible to participate in everything it offers. Distributed over several floors of the palace, in this venue, there are books for everyone and on many topics. Among the mazes that the booths become, arranged one after the other, I was pleasantly surprised to find some books that had been pending on my list at a slightly lower price than usual. It is gratifying to find such a variety of topics and so many titles, like at the Nirvana Ediciones booth, where I found some imported titles that I thought I could never get. Similarly, I discovered other publishers that fascinated me with their content; like Ediciones Tecolote, which has a collection of illustrated books designed for children but can also be enjoyed by adults, as they are inspired by texts by Neruda, Saramago, and Galeano.

Among many booths, the one that caught my attention especially was the Faculty of Art and Design, UNAM, which specializes in creating alternative books. What makes this publisher stand out is that its books are characterized by unique textures, shapes, and reliefs, and are the product of the work of students and teachers of the FAD. “Agua de Tabasco” is the creation of Elsa Madrigal, one of the exhibitors, who explains that her book tries to evoke water in all its facets: rivers, rain, lakes, seas. It is a voluminous copy, with a cost of $20,000 (pesos), which is understandable considering that it is a unique copy, painted with ink and hand-bound.

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This fair is one of the most important not only in the country but also in Latin America, and although it leans towards the traditional standards of what a book fair is, it is no less interesting for that. There is so much to explore that you don’t know where to look first. Attending this type of event always leaves an interesting experience, especially if done accompanied, as it will be inevitable to find something to discuss upon leaving. But even more so, it will be difficult to leave without having found a title that you want to take home.

Inkitt: BbyKevs
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The punk-nahuales from the State of Mexico are hidden in the streets, resisting and fighting in an endless battle against the police, oppression, and the status quo. Or at least, that’s how it is in the comic of Arte Subversivo Hakai Teki Ato, which presents its comics, fanzines, and illustrations printed on tote bags, pins, and cardboard at the Anarchist Book and Publications Fair of 2024. He says he is inspired, of course, by anarchism, but also draws from the nahuales that his grandparents told him about since he was a child. It’s in this fair that he reminds us of our roots, in order to raise awareness of how vulnerable they are and to defend them.

The number 10 on Donceles Street, in the Historic Center, looks enigmatic at first sight. Whether because it is an old building that denounces the years that have passed through it or because it has a banner hanging on its facade announcing that the property is not for sale, adding even more mysticism if possible. It almost seems like a secret location if you don’t know that on the first floor there is a book fair, as there are no signs or indications that give a clue about it. The entrance is through a dimly lit door that leads to an equally dark courtyard, where stairs finally take you to the event. Only by following the voices and the smell of tobacco is it that one learns that indeed, something is happening upstairs.

The fair space is small and barely covered by tarps; the organizers have put their own efforts into the event, and it shows. The budget proves to be tight with rented chairs, a banner announcing the event, along with an amplifier and a microphone. However, this austerity is in close logic with what this fair symbolizes: anarchy, which from its beginnings, goes against opulence. There are no subsidies or sponsors here, and as someone said at some point, they persist because they resist. Moreover, although at first glance, it may seem inhospitable, the truth is that many people were coming in and out, denoting movement and even creating a crowd of people to be near the table of talks and book presentations. The presenters of these books spoke, of course, about their works, but they also knew how to connect with the attendees, posing questions and inquiries. For example, when Ediciones Satánicas talked about religion, the question was: does it really contribute to us as a society, or is it, as Marx said, the opium of the masses? Or when El Ratoncito Literario presented “Micropolitics of Madness”, making us reflect if we are truly aware and empathetic with the mad, who are nothing more than people with mental illnesses who have been excluded over the years.

Many of these exhibitors are truly committed to spreading their ideals, such as those of the newspaper Resistencia, which usually offers its publications at the intersection of Bellas Artes with voluntary cooperation to continue with its printing press; they are always receiving publication material, with the only rule being that the theme is related to anarchism. It is worth mentioning that these exhibitors are mostly men who know each other, turning the fair into a meeting place. At the same time, they offer crafts, fanzines, and old books on their tables, which are largely themed around social criticism, the exclusion of certain communities, theatrical art, and rebellion. Undoubtedly, this fair is not for everyone (at least not for those who still do not want/cannot question themselves and their environment). And although this may sound like an event exclusively for adults, I did encounter a girl, and among the books, I also found one titled “Explaining Anarchy to Children“.

Inkitt: BbyKevs
Wattpad: @SugoiKevs
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I consider myself a city mouse, in contrast to Aesop’s country mouse. I have lived all my life in Mexico City, I have walked it many times from north to south, from east to west, and from top to bottom in its skyscrapers. However, it never ceases to amaze me that no matter how much one walks in this city, there is always something new to see, a new place to discover, full of people who live in this city, but who, were it not for these events, we would never cross paths in our daily lives. Likewise, I still find it fascinating that although the people who live in this city share the same streets, the same sky, and even the same love for this patch of land, our ways of seeing and perceiving it are very different.

One of the biggest proofs of all of the above that I have come across is the event divided into 3 parts of the Material Fair—World Art Book Fair—Qipo Fair that took place during the so-called Art Week, from February 8th to 11th, 2024. In its 3 venues—Expo Reforma, Humboldt Building, and Temoskali Building, respectively—there were European and Latin American foreign exhibitors who, from their art trenches, brought to Mexico City just a part of what they do. With each part having a unique essence, the Material Fair and the Qipo Fair focused on the exhibition of national and international plastic artworks, while the World Art Book Fair opened space for mostly Mexican publishers and publications.

The world artbookfair was pet-friendly and had more than 50 exhibitors, housed on the fourth floor, in a bright penthouse with balconies. Its walls were occupied with much of the merchandise the exhibitors were selling—illustrations, photographs, tote bags—and, in many cases, the authors of the artistic pieces offered them. The atmosphere was warm (for winter), and in the air, you could perceive a gentle aroma of beer, as it was the main drink being offered—unlike the Material Fair, where the main drink was artisanal mezcal. Although the space was not very large, it was well distributed, with a section where various authors gave talks about their books and fanzines, with the public just 3 steps away. This was the atmosphere that was lived in conjunction with the books and some plastic works presented in the stands.

The variety of books was beautiful. Roge Ediciones carried out the project “Dreamland” and “Adventureland,” which are books written and illustrated by children; Ediciones Sin Resentimientos brought the anthology of projects carried out by the theatrical collective “Lagartijas al Sol,” among many other titles that have been canned and rescued by them for publication, making an analogy with their name to the fact of not holding resentment towards the past for not having achieved the publication of a project; Can Can Press brought an excellent sample of what the publisher does: graphic design, illustration, and lots of color; Miau Ediciones had the most recent work of Sonia Madrigal: a book of photography of graffiti messages found on the streets, questioning why, at the same time as love is professed to women, they are also the main victims of violence.

The most exciting thing about these books is that the authors do not focus on themselves when creating—as is often the case in other art exhibition fields—but instead, they look outward to their environment, and they depict it. They are not afraid to criticize society with their work and expose it to the world, showing both the beautiful and the unpleasant and the perfectible. As I said before, this city is full of diverse perspectives, these artists recognize it and exalt it, offering the public hundreds of perspectives.

Inkitt: BbyKevs
Wattpad: @SugoiKevs
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Sol is 10 years old and is Ecuadorian, but he recently moved to Mexico because his mom works here. He supports the América Eagles, I knew that because of the shirt he was wearing, and also because he told me with great conviction. He also told me that he has read all the Harry Potter books; his favorite is The Deathly Hallows, and he argues that, although The Order of the Phoenix has a lot of action, he doesn’t like it because many characters die. We talked a bit more about books because we’re in the children’s area of the Index Art Book Fair in its tenth edition.

Constituyentes metro station is a portal that, when crossed, takes you from the outskirts of the city, from the neighborhood, from every day to a place where there are fancy cafes everywhere and art galleries where they hold book fairs explicitly dedicated to art books and artistic books, which is not the same thing, one only understands if they see them together. If you enter the Kurimanzutto Gallery for one of these events and find a comfortable place to observe everything, you’ll see that books are an excellent excuse for attendees to gather and see old acquaintances. Also, if you look closely, you’ll discover it’s also a runway. There are so many styles here that it’s hard to categorize them as vintage, old money, aesthetic, or similar trends. This is easily explained because many here are artists and they let it be seen through what they wear.

These artists come here to arm themselves with new material that inspires them in their new creations and to find out what’s going on out there. The books on display are often presented by their creators themselves; if you’re lucky, the author may personally explain what a particular work is about. But there’s more; these artists meet others who present their performances in the gallery’s courtyard, intervening in the not-so-everyday routine of an art book fair, and again, it’s possible to approach these performers to get to know them a little more or simply to see them outside of their environment.

Hanging above all these book stands are posters listing “25 ways to make love to the Earth,” and over the loudspeaker, someone is inviting people to some of the talks or book presentations taking place, where the authors are just half a meter away. The walls are decorated with posters, t-shirts, drawings, photographs, and paintings that not only serve as exhibits but are also for sale and are part of the collections presented by the artists. Along the stands, there is a wide variety of books that fascinate with their content, but even more so with their structure. There are proposals for book structures in many stands: books made of fabric, in unconventional shapes like hearts or circles, some very small with giant letters. The variety of formats and designs seems endless and invites you to want to continue exploring the place to see more.

It is inevitable to notice that there are recurring topics in the books presented: the environment, feminism, queer, recreational substance use, and of course, illustration, photography, and design. Because that’s what matters most to artists: knowing and recognizing their world, to try to capture it in what they do. This fair is open to the public and is an excellent opportunity to inhabit an uncommon space in most people’s lives: that of art in books and books in art.

Inkitt: BbyKevs
Wattpad: @SugoiKevs
TikTok: @bbykevs