She, Gabriela Guerra, a resident in Mexico, and he, Vicente Amor, who lives in Tampa, spoke with the public attending the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington DC, to hear from their authors how their most recent “literary births” took place.
Guerra, winner of the 2016 Juan Rulfo Prize for her novel Bahía de Sal, spoke about Avándaro, a book she wrote during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, published last year, which she had the pleasure of presenting in February at the International Book Fair in Havana (Fillh).
She said that the work, which belongs to her Water Trilogy, revolves around what “happens to a human being when he reaches that land that was supposed to be the ‘promised land’, but in reality was the one you had in front of you.” It is the life of a family that emigrates from Bahía de Sal across the sea, through those great journeys that we Cubans have made, and arrives in search of a new beginning in Avándaro, a fictional town, but now it is inspired by a continental land, said the journalist and editor naturalized in Mexico.
For his part, Amor agreed with Gabriela that the pandemic stage was the time for his literary creation Isabella, his first novel, which inspired him to the point that he currently has “about five more books in my head.”
Isabella was a text that emerged “in Florida during that traumatic event for everyone and especially for Cuba,” he said, alluding to the long-standing dispute between the two countries, whose main obstacle is the economic, financial and commercial blockade of more than six decades against the Caribbean nation.
Amor explained that in Isabella -also presented at Fillh- there is a positive point of view towards Cuba, “we look for a way to take refuge, to enjoy our country, to enjoy the beautiful things it has” and it is a story “that takes place between Tampa, Havana and Madrid.”
The plot has among its characters Daniel, perhaps a reflection of part of himself or what he might want to be, and Isabella, a model, in “a long-distance love” in the era of WhatsApp, Messenger and emails, he stressed.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Cuban embassy in the United States, Lianys Torres, thanked the presence of both authors and commented that their exhibitions motivate people to seek out and enjoy their work.
The singer-songwriter Mauricio Figueiral gave us a bolero (Lo que quise ser) written especially for the Cuban diva, Omara Portuondo. “I am an island that boasts/… and I faced with a bolero everything that I wanted to be…”, says part of the lyrics.
This is a nice meeting, especially because these days in Washington DC the Day of Cuban Culture is being celebrated and breathed.
The Ibero-American Literature Festival will extend until next week.
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