arts

On the morning of July 4 I thought I wouldn’t make it to the presentation I planned to attend. The City of Knowledge was giving an update in ATLAPA’s Chaquira Salon, as part of the Seventh Central American Book Fair, the second of the series to be held in Panama. Public and private schools descended on the place, and at a few minutes before 10 am the lines to get in the front door snaked around the front and sides of the convention center toward the parking lot in back. I was prepared to pay the price of admission to support the cause but I wasn’t prepared to miss the City of Knowledge presentation, so I used my press ID to get in the back door.

Afterwards, I checked out the scene inside.

For starters, this fair took up more space than the last one. Two years ago the book displays were in a side room, but this year it was in the main hall. There were more booksellers this time, with more to offer. Governments, educational institutions and a plethora of businesses related to language and literacy were on hand. The kids immediately took over the SENACYT Internet center, the Catholic Church and the Moonies promoted their media and booths touting English and speed reading classes signed up dozens of new students.

Most impressive were a united Colombian effort to challenge the dominant multinational book publishers, the French government’s modestly sized by tasteful display and Taiwan’s beautiful selection of books in Spanish, English and Chinese. Had these been more normal times I would have had money in my pocket to spend and I would have bought the five-volume anthology of classical Chinese writings in English translation.

Fair organizers estimated a total attendance for the July 1-6 fair at 60,000. The kids had little money to spend, and their parents and teachers were not buying as much as they would have if the economy were better, so the business results might be called mixed. However, it was one more display that even if the public officials whose job is to promote education can’t be bothered, Panamanians of all social classes want their kids to learn and want to be better read themselves. Chalk it up as a step forward for Panamanian culture.


Also in this section:
Theater, La Cucarachita Mandinga
Letters, The Book Fair

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