Spain, Guest Country of Honor at the Upcoming Riyadh Book Fair
From March 4-14, 2014 - RIYADH
March 03, 2014
Casa Árabe is collaborating with the Spanish Embassy in Riyadh and the State Secretariat of Culture on a broad cultural program which will be held at the Riyadh Book Fair and at various cultural institutions in Saudi Arabia. Amongst the many activities planned will be the presentation of the Arabic language edition of a book published by Casa Árabe, “Reflections on Cordoba in the Twenty-first Century,” with the help of Professor José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, who is one of the book’s authors.
The Riyadh Book Fair
The Riyadh Book Fair (Saudi Arabia), which will be held from March 4-14, 2014, has named Spain as the Guest Country of Honor. The Directorate General of Culture and Book Policy and Industries of the State Secretariat of Culture, with the cooperation of the Embassy of Spain in Saudi Arabia, has organized a wide-ranging cultural program at both the Book Fair and several cultural institutions in Riyadh and other Saudi Arabian cities, including Jeddah, Dammam, Buraidah and Jazan.
Spain will be present at the Book Fair with a 48-m2 stand at which it will be displaying an exhibit titled “The History of Spanish Books,” as well as a collection of approximately 400 books on different topics: a selection of Spanish literature, works on the culture of Al-Andalus, Spanish art and tourism, Spanish-Arab sources in bilingual editions, works by guest authors, and works by other Spanish authors in Arabic selected from amongst works which received Translation Aid. A large number of the books were generously provided by different institutions: Casa Árabe, the “Legacy of Al-Andalus” Foundation, Spain’s Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC), the Egyptian Institute of Islamic Studies, the Islamic Culture Foundation (FUNCI), the Turner publishing firm, the Cantarabia publishing firm, and the Publications Service of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.
At another site within the Fair, there will also be an exhibition called “The Legacy of Al-Andalus in Spanish Libraries,” curated by Nuria Torres Santo Domingo and consisting of reproductions of and comments on the most important manuscripts from the era of Al-Andalus to be preserved in Spain.
The holding of several talks is foreseen as a part of the Book Fair:
- “Spanish-Saudi Cultural Relations” presented by Ambassador Joaquín Pérez Villanueva and by Abdulkarim Al-Dakil
- “Spanish Football as a Cultural Phenomenon,” by sports writer and journalist Pedro Paniagua
- “Metaphors from the Desert. A Vision of Literature” by writer Ramón Mayrata
- “Arabic Manuscripts in Spain” by Nuria Torres Santo Domingo, a librarian and Arabist
- “The Translations of Arabic Literature in Spain,” by the Director of the School of Translators in Toledo, Luis Miguel Pérez Cañada
In the children’s area of the Book Fair, there will be readings of traditional Spanish tales translated into Arabic, presented by professional storytellers.
The program will be rounded off with other talks at other places in Riyadh and in other cities. In Riyadh, Carmen Ruiz Bravo-Villasante will be speaking at the King Faisal Foundation about “Arab Culture Viewed by the Spanish”; at King Saud University, José Miguel Puerta Vílchez will be giving a talk on “Monuments of Al-Andalus”; in the Diwan of the Hotel Mandareen in Riyadh, the presentation of the book published by Casa Árabe, “Reflections on Qurtuba on the 21st Century” will be held; and, last of all, Emilio Ballesteros Almazán will be giving a dissertation on “Al-Andalus in Spanish Novels and Poetry,” at the Riyadh Literary Club.
In the city of Dammam, Cristina de la Puente will be offering a conference at the Literary Club titled “The Literature of Al-Andalus and Spanish Arabism.” In Jazan, Luis Fernando Bernabé Pons will be speaking at the Literary Club on “Arab Literature Viewed by the Spanish”; Miquel Forcada will do so in Buraidah on “Science in Al-Andalus.” And in Jeddah, the Saudi Culture and Art Association will be hosting the talk “Music and Musical Instruments of Al-Andalus: the Legacy of Ziryab” by Eduardo Paniagua, as well as a concert by the trio “Música Antigua Eduardo Paniagua.”
