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From 25 November until 3 December the European Union was guest of honour at the 37th edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, the largest book fair in the Americas and second-largest book fair in the world. 2200 publishing houses representing 49 countries were present at this year’s edition.

With a 1300 m² pavilion, designed by a Barcelona-based architecture studio and under the slogan « Building a Union of Cultures », the EU presented the European cultural diversity and contemporary creative dynamics with a rich programme for the public and professionals from the book sector generating new spaces for collaboration and dialogue.

For the EU’s literary programme more than 70 writers from the EU’s 27 countries and from Ukraine participated. The authors Nathalie Ronvaux and Jean Portante represented the delegation from Luxembourg. Both authors participated in several readings and roundtables on various topics in exchange with other European authors like Pascal Quignard, Elena Alexieva or Colm Tóibín. Jean Portante, well known in Latin America for his translations into French of Latin American poets and also himself being translated and published in Spanish, notably in Mexico, also presented at the Guadalajara International Book Fair the bilingual edition Diario De Un Olvadaor Íntimo Y Otros Poemas, published by the Mexican publishing house Mantis Editores, and Mrs Haroy y la memoria de la ballena, published by the Mexican publishing house La Otra and the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa. Both publications received a publishing support by Kultur | lx. Outside of the Guadalajara Book Fair, Luxembourg literature was also present at the Fiesta Literaria 2023 at the Patán Ale House in Guadalajara. Together with the Colombian poet Felipe García Quintero Jean Portante read from and talked about Diario De Un Olvidador Íntimo Y Otros Poemas.

The Luxembourg music sector also participated in the EU’s artistic programme. The opening concert on 25 November was given by the European Union Youth Orchestra, with the participation of the young Luxembourg trumpeter Philippe Neumann and accompanied by 40 young Mexican musicians. In the „Añoranza“ concert on 29 November pianist Francesco Tristano played together with the French-Lebanese pianist Rami Khalifé.

For the Guadalajara International Book Fair, Luvina, the literary magazine of the University of Guadalajara, published a new book about the literatures of the European Union which also highlights some poems by Nathalie Ronvaux and Jean Portante in Spanish translation. The Guadalajara International Book Fair created a dialogue and exchange plateform between European writers, artists, professionals from the book sector and Latin Amercian authors, artists as well as professionals from the book sector.