Barcelona is the Guest of Honor at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) 2025, and with five months to go, the general program for the “City of Counts” in Jalisco has already been presented.
With the motto “Vindran les flors” (The Flowers Will Come), Barcelona will arrive at FIL Guadalajara 2025 with a delegation of more than 60 authors, nine nights of shows, exhibitions, performing arts, a film series, and a gastronomic festival that will enrich the Catalan experience in the pearl of Guadalajara.
According to the program released, the Barcelona Guest of Honor delegation will be led by authors such as Eduardo Mendoza, Colm Tóibín, Javier Cercas, Xavier Bosch, Andreu Martin, Carme Riera, Cristina Fernández Cubas, and many others.
The program was announced this Wednesday, June 25th, at a press conference held at Barcelona City Hall. The event was attended by Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona; Josep Maria Carreté, Secretary General of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Trinidad Padilla López and Marisol Schulz Manaut, President and Director of FIL Guadalajara, respectively; and Anna Guitart, curator of the Barcelona program.
FIL Guadalajara explained that, taken from a story by Mercè Rodoreda, “the motto ‘The Flowers Will Come’ is the symbolic symbol of Barcelona’s participation.
“Flowers as a link to Guadalajara, known as the city of roses, and flowers also as a symbol of our Sant Jordi Day. “Barcelona is a city where literature, art, science, and gastronomy flourish,” according to Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni. He emphasized that “relaunching, rebuilding, and strengthening Barcelona’s ties with the Latin American world” will be one of Barcelona’s goals as Guest of Honor.
“The celebration of a plural identity, a rich tradition, and a creative avant-garde that has known how to engage with the world without losing its roots.” “Barcelona’s presence will leave a lasting mark on our fair and on our reading communities, and it will be an honor to welcome them as Guest of Honor at an edition that promises to be unforgettable,” stated Trinidad Padilla López, president of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL Guadalajara).
Furthermore, the general director of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL Guadalajara), Marisol Schulz Manaut, emphasized that Barcelona’s presence as Guest of Honor is a “manifestation of a deep, historic, and endearing relationship between two worlds that share imagination and cultural vocation.”
FIL Guadalajara explained that Barcelona will have a prominent role in FIL Niños with the presentation of a show and several workshops for children. Furthermore, the Guest of Honor city will be responsible for defining the graphic image of this space, which will be led by Catalan artist Miguel Bustos, who will illustrate and design the venue.
Likewise, the so-called City of Literature will be present in various programs at the Fair, such as FIL Ciencia, FIL Pensamiento, and the training program for professionals. In addition, its Pavilion, Designed by the Fàbric architecture studio, the project will recreate a Barcelona square, covering an area of 1,183 square meters. It will feature a bookstore housing approximately 10,000 books, as well as a 120-seat auditorium hosting some of the literary and professional programs.
In addition, the FIL Forum will feature an important musical program with performances by Maria Arnal, Rigoberta Bandini, Mushkaa, Love of Lesbian, Lucía Fumero, Queralt Lahoz, Roger Mas and the Cobla de Sant Jordi, Joan Garriga and Mariatxi galàctic, La Sra. Tomassa, and Tarta Rpelena. In the performing arts, three performances stand out: Sonoma by La Veronal; Jo, travesti by Josep Maria Miró; and a dramatized reading of La plaça del diamant by Mercè Rodoreda, directed by Carlota Subirós.
The 39th edition of FIL Guadalajara will take place from February 29th to February 30th. November to December 7 at Expo Guadalajara.
