The Ninth International Book Fair was dedicated in honor of Tony Raful and Gabriel Garcia Marques, who received a posthumous tribute. Tony Raful, center, receiving a Resolution from Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera while Father Joel Almono, president of the Book Fair smiles happily.
Tony Raful, centro, recibiendo una Resolución de manos de Daniel Rivera, Alcalde de Lawrence mientras que el Padre Joel Almonó, Presidente de la Feria Internacional del Libro sonríe satisfecho.
By Alberto Suris
The Ninth International Book Fair was dedicated in honor of Tony Raful and Gabriel Garcia Marques, who received a posthumous tribute.
Raful, poet, essayist and Dominican politician born in Santo Domingo on April 28th, 1951 with a degree in Political Science from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, institution where he gave lectures for several years at the Faculty of Legal Sciences
He began his literary career under the guidance of the University Cultural Movement of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the group called Postwar Poets emerged from the Revolution of April 1965. He had lectured on art, literature and politics in the country and abroad. Part of his poetry, comprising about eight published titles, have been included in major national and international poetry anthologies.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, he was awarded the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Garcia Marquez started as a journalist, and wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but he is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude.
He was most notable for popularizing a literary style labeled as magic realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations. Some of his works are set in a fictional village called Macondo, and most of them explore the theme of solitude.
The four days program of the Fair began on the morning of Thursday, October 16th at the LHS Performing Arts Center, with the presentation of the International Book Fair Board of Directors, followed by performances by the high school theater group. Hundreds of students 9th through 12th grade conducted interactive writing exercises leaving Father Joel Almonó very impressed for their ability to speak themselves in both English and Spanish.
Panelists the likes of César Sanchez Beras and Professor Barahona and others discussed literature, present and future, in the world of technology.
The official opening of the fair took effect on Friday night, at Esperanza Academy Amphitheater, 198 Garden Street in Lawrence, where the guests were introduced.
Seeing an amphitheater filled to capacity, Father Joel Almonó, in his peculiar way of expressing himself, apologized to those present saying, “The Theater is the same, is not small. If we don’t fit is because we have grown.”
Perhaps motivated by Father Almonó’s confession, Mayor Daniel Rivera promised a home for the Book Fair. The audience received the news with great enthusiasm.
On Saturday, the day was spent with a tight program held at the Lawrence Senior Center, which included, in the morning, children’s activities and later was dedicated to poetry readings, documentaries, folk performances, and two major conferences, one on the Different Faces of Terrorism by Dr. Reuben Vaisman Tzchor and the other on the impact of the decision 168-13 by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic by Mr. Roberto Santana.
Saturday ended with a Gala Dinner held at the Masonic Center, located at 43 Jackson Street, with live music by Maestro Ramón Orlando and his orchestra.
Multiple activities were conducted on Sunday at the Senior Center ending after 8:00 P.M., with the National Anthem, played by Elizabeth Avila.
