For thirteen years, Marisol Schulz (Mexico City, 1957) has been at the helm of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), which a few months ago Barcelona was received as guest of honorSchulz received the Gold Medal for Cultural Merit from the Barcelona City Council this Wednesday. She was accompanied on this trip, which she describes as "very special," by her partner, daughter, and two grandchildren, who move about the hotel with enviable freedom. "I brought them all here because it's the first time I've received an honor like this," she says, ready to reminisce about her past as an editor—she directed Alfaguara Mexico for almost a decade—and her Valencian family roots.

We're facing the final weeks of the year, and with the start of 2026, new resolutions will begin. Perhaps, on some wish list, there's an item that says: "Write the book once and for all." A few days ago, at the Guadalajara Book Fair, I moderated a panel of Catalan women writers who have published their first novels. The participants were Maria Canelles (Against nostalgia, Editorial Angle), Montse Albets (Only earth, only rain, only mud(Ediciones del Periscopio) and Regina Rodríguez (Panties in the sun(The Bell). Of everything they said, which unfortunately wasn't recorded, I remember a few ideas that will surely be useful to those people who, this New Year, are thinking of finally getting down to that damned novel.

In the Barcelona pavilion, the authors are a changing map. The Barcelona City Council offers most participants four nights' accommodation, in addition to flights. Like most young, childless writers, I've decided to extend my stay, and every afternoon I stroll towards the FIL (International Book Fair), like our parents, I suppose, used to go to the cinema, to see what's playing. At first, I tried to approach it from every angle, to avoid being unfair or biased, but the FIL, as a fair, is an insurmountable behemoth, and an essentially anti-literary spectacle. A vast expanse of stalls with books encased in plastic, impossible to browse. Five or six times I wander around trying to buy a book, and this sight of the plastic-wrapped books always dampens my enthusiasm. I finally give up when I find myself, somewhat disoriented, in front of the stand of a Mexican artificial intelligence company for publishing called "Tirando lo Blanch" (Pulling the Blanch). Its slogan is...We see it differently"I think so. In comparison, the Barcelona pavilion is welcoming, and it's right at the entrance. I end up heading there exclusively."

More than sixty Catalan authors They have traveled to Mexico to represent Barcelona at the 39th International Book Fair (FIL) From Guadalajara, where the city is the guest of honor. Ten of the participants summarize their journey across the Atlantic in their own words.

I've just arrived from Mexico and I'm struck by the paradox that I suddenly hear less Catalan spoken in Barcelona than at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). The FIL was a fabulous bubble of self-esteem. It was full of Catalan-language authors—74% of the invited authors wrote in the country's own language—and those who write in Spanish, who for obvious reasons were the most successful there—Javier Cercas or Eduardo Mendoza—naturally also frequently used Catalan in private conversations.

It's three in the afternoon in Guadalajara, Mexico. One hour until... Joan Manuel Serrat He's giving a talk at the Book Fair, and outside the room there are about a hundred people queuing. Inside, the chairs are almost full. A mother and daughter are chatting with two women about how much they admire the speaker. At one point, one of them mentions the surname "Serrat," and the others are taken aback: they thought the queue was for Richard Gere, who's speaking later. "That's why they said he was so handsome!" one of them points out. "Well, Serrat is very attractive too!" the older woman chimes in, and they all laugh. Gere's fans leave the queue, but there are still too many people: the organizers hold up a sign that saysCapacity is full"And there's a generalized 'Oh' that starts out denoting sadness and turns into bad temper.

Barcelona's year as guest city culminated with the official opening of the Catalan pavilion at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). The final day of speeches, this time mostly in Catalan, included a nod to the emblematic director of the FIL, Marisol Schulz Manaut, whom the Barcelona City Council had announced that morning would be awarded the city's Medal for Cultural Merit. Alongside Schulz were the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the Catalan Ministers of Culture and Foreign Affairs, Sònia Hernández and Jaume Duch; and the President of the Catalan Publishers' Guild, Patrici Tixis.

In Guadalajara these days, there's a strong Catalan influence. Barcelona is the... Guest of honor at the International Book Fair (FIL) From the Mexican city, an event born 39 years ago has become a key annual gathering for the publishing world, especially in the Spanish-speaking world. In 2004, Catalonia was the guest of honor, and after some initial hesitation and pressure from Spain, it attended with its own pavilion and program. This success opened doors for Catalan culture at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2007. Since then, Catalonia has been present at the FIL every year with a significant presence. This year, Barcelona has made a remarkable effort, with an ambitious cultural program that, in addition to the world of books—with a clear majority of Catalan-language authors—also includes music and the visual arts. The Mexican reception has been generous and even enthusiastic.

This...Dear and very attractive Mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni:

The two most emblematic mayors Barcelona has ever had are, without a doubt, Bartomeu Robert, popularly known as Dr. Robert, and Pasqual Maragall. These days, at the spectacular and massively crowded Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), where Barcelona is the guest city—and where it's playing a brilliant role and where the speeches are part of a pompous protocol—paradoxically, no one has bothered to mention the remarkable fact that Dr. Robert was born... Yes, I guessed it! The famous mayor of Barcelona has Mexican roots. How can it be that no one has pointed this out? Mayor Collboni was right to express his gratitude for the generous and fruitful welcome Mexico gave to the exiles of the Spanish Civil War; so was the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. But what about Dr. Robert? Why this absurd oversight?

The announcement by Barcelona City Council of a new literary grant for Latin American authors The event held at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) has stirred up controversy in the Catalan cultural and political world. Complaints from writers like Núria Cadenes and Melcior Comes have been joined by those from the Association of Writers in the Catalan Language (AELC), and finally, political unease: both the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya) have called for its removal. For its part, the City Council's Deputy Mayor for Culture, Xavier Marcé, explained to Guadalajara that he finds it difficult "to see a controversy in this matter." According to Marcé, what should be done is to examine "the commitment to Catalan in relation to the overall initiatives and not just this specific action."

With the Guadalajara International Book Fair inauguratedThe writer Javier Cercas kicked off the literary season yesterday in a packed auditorium at the Barcelona pavilion, the city where he has lived for twenty-five years, although most people still think he lives in Girona. He divides his time between the Alt Empordà region and the Catalan capital. In the capital of Jalisco, he gathered a devoted and enthusiastic audience.It's coming, it's coming, how exciting!"Announced an admirer sitting in the second row. Most had attended the previous session to secure a place at the talk by the author who rose to worldwide fame with Soldiers of Salamis when he was 39 years old, and now, at 63, coinciding with the death of Pope Francis, he has brought out God's madman at the end of the world.

"I'm a huge fan of everything related to Josep Pla," explained Juan Carlos, a high school teacher in Guadalajara, Mexico, one of the many visitors early in the morning at the bookstore located in the plaza that replicates the Barcelona pavilion, right at the entrance to the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). "I discovered him with The gray notebook "Many years ago, and since then I've bought every book of his," he adds, showing off the little treasure that has just been recommended to him: the recent Spanish translation of The man in the overcoatThe biography with which Valentí Puig won the Josep Pla Prize in 1998.

Why on earth is there such a sense of optimism in Guadalajara and Mexico? With limited public transportation, Guadalajara's traffic is chaotic. I ask a resident of Guadalajara about its dilapidated urban landscape, and they respond ironically, "Urban planning? What exactly do you mean?" The standard of living is low. Social problems are glaringly obvious. Cartel violence remains a menacing scourge. And yet... there's a palpable sense of hopeful optimism. What's going on? It can't be solely due to the International Book Fair (FIL), right?

The Guadalajara Book FairThe Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), popularly known as the FIL, was born from the vision of a university rector who wanted to transform the city. And he succeeded. Raúl Padilla López (1954-2023) is largely responsible for Guadalajara's culture: thanks to the FIL and the International Film Festival, which he himself championed. He also championed tequila (more than just a drink, it's a cultural phenomenon), the murals by painters who emerged from the Mexican Revolution (especially those of José Clemente Orozco), and the... mariachisYes: Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, concentrates a great deal of Mexican identity.

Barcelona is the guest of honor at the 2025 Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), the most important publishing event in Latin America and one of the most significant in the world, second only to the Frankfurt Book Fair in terms of business volume. The event begins today and runs until December 7. This designation recognizes the efforts of the Barcelona City Council, in collaboration with the private sector, to promote literature and culture in the city.

Dozens of Catalan writers, editors, agents and booksellers They are landing in Mexico, where from November 29 to December 7 the 39th edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), the second most important book fair in the world, will be held, only surpassed by FrankfurtThe presence of Barcelona as the guest city of honor – with 80% of authors writing in Catalan and 20% in Spanish – is a good time to analyze What Catalan literature is read in the world And in which languages, what are the sector's strengths, and what challenges lie ahead?

The international expansion of Catalan culture began at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) in 2004, when it was the guest of honor. Two decades later, it returns in much better shape: while two decades ago around one hundred titles were translated from Catalan into other languages annually, that number has steadily increased since then, and last year's figure was spectacular (348).

A couple of weeks ago, the announcement of the performance of Bad Bunny In the halftime of the 2026 Super Bowl, a multi-million dollar event on many levels, also for the viewers who follow it, it aroused the enthusiasm of many people and also some criticism: the musician excluded the United States from his world tour because he did not want raids by Imi Trump's Service before and after the concerts. Those who disagreed with his performance, in February, wonder if the raids are the same now. Bad Bunny, forceful and at the same time very friendly, responded to them from the Saturday Night Live, a flagship NBC show known for its irreverent and unabashed humor, hosted by countless stars. In Spanish, in his opening monologue, he said he was happy to perform at the Super Bowl and praised all those Latinos who, before him, have worked to open doors, asserting that it's not his success, but a collective one, proving that no one will ever be able to erase the mark of Latinos and their contributions to the United States. In English, he added: "If you didn't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn it."

Xavier Bosch, Núria Cadenas, Javier Cercas, Carlota Gurt, Eduardo Mendoza, Marta Orriols, Jordi Puntí, Regina Rodríguez Sirvent, Màrius Serra, Silvia Soler, Colmo Tóibín, Carlos Zanón and about sixty other authors will participate in the Guadalajara International Book Fair and on December 7 in Mexico.