Telde Book Fair 2023, written by @loretosocorro
The freedom we feel when we read, when we fly between the pages, is like flapping our wings and placing ourselves wherever we want, for example: in the Plaza de San Juan de Telde. During a long weekend the Telde Book Fair has been taking place. Once again they have surprised and, for this reason, this fair is so desired and expected. More participants than ever and with a varied and inclusive offer where books are the protagonists.
After the official inauguration with the authorities and the outpouring of joy and professionalism of the Telde Municipal Music Band, we have been able to walk from booth to booth admiring the sculptures that decorate the place: huge, beautiful birds and where large and small hands have collaborated.
The birds also took over the square by the hand of the illustrator Irene León, who has designed the poster for the fair.
Good Happiness and Loreto Socorro
Among so many professionals related to books, we want to give a voice to Maria Buenadicha, oral narrator. Listening to her is a delight, both in her sessions and when she is next to her: a woman who makes words powerful and sweet at the same time. According to her, she explains to us: "More than powerful, I would say that they are essential, they are part of the human essence, the ability to imagine, to imagine, is what identifies us as a species." We asked María to tell us about the oral storytelling workshop that she teaches in Telde: “What we do is create a listening space, to be able to narrate, we play, we have fun, we laugh, and we tell each other. I try to create a space where we feel comfortable, and we simply share stories, experiences, memories...
Antonio López is another of the participants who has shared his knowledge, his presence and his voice on stage in the Plaza de San Juan de Telde. Apart from being an oral narrator, he develops the valuable work of keeping the word told in the Municipal Library of Arucas, directed by Loly León, with the group Laborers of the Word. "The impulse to tell stories –comments Antonio- and the need to listen to them is inherent to the human being. It is part of our skeleton. At different moments in the history of humanity, the impulse and the need manifested themselves adapting to the times and ways of life.
Antonio López
López celebrates these events because they are meeting points for authors, booksellers, librarians and friends: “The rhythm of the visitors' walk is calm and pleasant. It is a space conducive to communication. There is an atmosphere of fellowship around culture, and personal satisfaction in each person for being part of that meeting. That Oral Narrative is present at the fair seems fundamental to me.»
Both Antonio López and María Buenadicha welcome, direct, advise and train people who love to tell stories out loud.
"The oral word existed long before the written one - Buenadicha speaks - Books are one more source, but they are not necessary to know how to narrate, because the oral always precedes the written.”
"I suppose -says López- that people accustomed to the reading habit have more internal tools to enjoy listening to a story, but I am sure that those who do not dedicate time to reading or Oral Narrative, would also enjoy it if they did.... "
Elia Verona, "Memory of Telde in feminine"
During this fair of the year 2023 we have been able to see how schoolchildren fluttered between handicrafts and handicrafts workshops such as working with wool, in addition to musical performances where the emotional memory of Alexis Ravelo stands out with a concert by the verser Yeray Rodríguez, the timplist Althay Paez.
The Telde School of Music put its grain of sand or its fluttering in this square of San Juan that has welcomed puppets, creating a space for children and families, various artists such as those who have executed the Cosplay and, of course, Of course, novel authors and others of prestige such as Santiago Gil or the journalists Pepe Naranjo who presented his book "The river that defies the desert".
Booksellers and booksellers, publishers and people who love to read can be happy with all this offer that has been double that of the year 2022 and that pursues the dissemination of reading as a source of leisure that leads us to corners of hope, full of ink and papyrus but also of memory.
In the tents we were able to find a wide variety of publishers, including Libros de las Malas compañías, the Estupiñan de San Gregorio bookstore in Telde or the Tao bookstore that has been in Las Palmas for more than thirty years.
Guacimara Socorro, Books of Bad Companies.
This is why we want to ask you a few questions Elia Verona, about the book that he presented these days: “Memories of Telde in feminine”.
Elia tells us that, as an anthropologist, rescuing stories and memories that are not lost is essential. "They are women - she speaks of the book - who have led a very normal life and who have contributed, supported and built Telde, so that it is what it is today." This project arose after the experience rescuing memory at the summit with the work with Mapy Pérez and María Almenara and thanks to Catherina Fleitas, director of the Telde Municipal Libraries. «The presentation was made surrounded by those women who were born or have spent a large part of their lives in Telde, they themselves have read their stories here and it was an endearing moment, also, because they are from Telde, it was the ideal place. Elia speaks to us excited and happy about what was shared at the Telde Book Fair: «this fair is particular for a diverse public, in age, in tastes, with a modern profile and quite self-publishing, which exists in other fairs... Carried out by a mostly female team.
Elia Verona, "Memory of Telde in feminine"
This year, once again, the impressive team that works at the Telde Municipal Libraries, directed by Catherina Fleitas, Gestel and the Department of Culture led by Juan Martel have made Plaza de San Juan the ideal place for the public to meet and writers.
Congratulates Revilla from Librería TAO, Elizabate and Mama Segunda.
Grateful because at this Telde Book Fair 2023 I was able to share a story told and a lot of fun, while I taught groups of Telde schoolchildren how to embroider with wool.
From Sal del Atlántico we thank all the people who have taken us into their wings to show us that words continue to beat even more alive each year. The fair grows and adapts, welcomes and enriches year after year.
