Monday 29 November 2010

Libros como medida de desarrollo - Books as measure of development

Hoy leo en el periódico El Carabobeño que en Valencia se clausuró la VI Feria Internacional del Libro de Venezuela. En esa feria no solo se podían comprar libros, sino también escuchar conciertos, presenciar obras de teatro y comprar artesanía.

Today I read in newspaper El Carabobeño that the 7th International Book Fair of Venezuela just came to an end. At the Fair you could not only buy books, but also go to concerts, attend a theatre piece and buy some handicrafts.

El diario nos dice que hubo "más de 4000 visitantes". Son menos de cinco mil.

The newspaper tells us there were "more than 4000 visitors". That is less than 5 thousand.

Por otra parte, leo que en la Feria del Libro de Amberes hubo más de 184 mil visitantes. Amberes apenas tiene un tercio de la población de Gran Valencia. Es verdad que poca gente en Venezuela va a ir desde Caracas o Barquisimeto a Valencia en una visita de un día y en Bélgica la gente puede ir fácilmente en tren entre ciudades principales. Es verdad que Venezuela, pese al consumo per capita de whisky que tiene, es un país pobre. Aun así: el número de visitantes en la feria de Venezuela es irrisorio.

Somewhere else I read the International Book Fair of Antwerp had over 184000 visitors. Antwerp has just a third of the population Greater Valencia has. It is true few people in Venezuela will travel from Caracas or Barquisimeto to Valencia for a day whereas in Belgium people can easily travel between major cities. It is true Venezuela, in spite of its per capita whisky consumption, is a poor country. Even so: the number of visitors in Venezuela' fair is just laughable.


La Feria tuvo lugar en lo que fuera el Ateneo de Valencia, un centro cultural al que yo solía ir cuando era chico.

The Fair took place in the Ateneo de Valencia, a cultural centre I used to visit as a child.


El Ateneo fue tomado por el régimen chavista hace unos años y no ha vuelto a ser lo que era antes.



The Ateneo was taken over by the Chávez regime a few years ago and it isn't been what it used to be.

Hubo un concurso de lectura y los organizadores - funcionarios chavistas - dieron como premio un libro titulado "Las Mejores Cartas de Amor entre Manuela y Simón" (Bolívar).

There was a reading competition and the organizers - Chávez's functionaries - gave as prize a book with the title"the Best Love Letters between
Manuela and Simón (Bolívar)".

Supongo que los ganadores tienen que estar agradecidos por no haber recibido Cómo salir del laberinto, del militar Hugo Chávez.

I reckon the winners should be thankful they did not get "How to get out of the Labyrinth", by military Hugo Chávez.

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