Benjamin Prado Opens the Book Fair
The Plaza of the Training and Congress Palace in Fuerteventura hosted the official opening of the 35th edition of the Fuerteventura Book Fair on Thursday, 23 October. The cultural programme, which will run until Sunday, 26 October, features around twenty authors and began with the “Orchestra of Juggling” performance by the Galician company Pistacatro, winner of the 2025 National Circus Prize.
Prado’s Keynote Speech
The opening conference was delivered by poet, novelist and essayist Benjamín Prado, whose work has been published in numerous countries and translated into several languages. He titled his intervention “Which Book Would You Take to a Desert Island?” and spoke passionately about his love for the island of Fuerteventura, confessing that he would like to set one of his stories there.
“Which book would you take to a deserted island? Well, I know which inhabited islands I would bring one of my books to, in order to place the story I want to tell—whether in a novel or in my poems—on them. Could that place be Fuerteventura? I would love it, because I fell in love with it at first sight, as proof that I have added it to my catalogue of superstitions and magical places where one goes to look luck.”
Prado also explained a personal ritual: he never leaves Puerto del Rosario without “chatting for a while” with the statue of Miguel de Unamuno that stands beside the house where the writer was exiled.
The Importance of Books
“Books are an island, a territory where calm reigns and there is time to think. They are a refuge against the rushed life imposed by societies obsessed with vertigo, a space for reflection and learning— the opposite of the immediacy that governs us, where the minimal knowledge of being ‘informed’ reduces us to jumping from headline to headline without ever digging deeper.”
Prado concluded his address by reciting his poem “Libro de Familia” and praised the fair as “a celebration of intelligence and coexistence: two people who have read the same work will always have something to talk about, both to share a common experience and to discover that each has read a different book, even if it is the same title.”
Comments from Officials
Lola García (Cabildo) highlighted the collective effort behind the fair:
“After thirty‑five editions, this fair reflects a sustained collaborative work among the Cabildo, partner institutions, authors, and the general public—a commitment over time that has made the fair one of the archipelago’s major cultural references.”
She added that this year the fair enjoys a “luxury proclaimer” in Benjamín Prado and that the Alexis Ravelo Prize was awarded to the Cultural Association Raíz del Pueblo, recognized for defending popular education, reading, and citizen participation.
Rayco León, Councillor of Culture for the Cabildo, noted the historic scale of the edition:
“We are now celebrating 35 years of the Fuerteventura Book Fair with the highest number of publishing houses and bookstores ever participating, hoping to break attendance records among schoolchildren and the general public alike.”
David de Vera, Mayor of Puerto del Rosario, emphasized the event’s role in turning the capital into a literary hub, with the town hall operating its own stand at the fair.
Horacio Umpiérrez, Vice‑Councillor of Culture for the Government of the Canary Islands, welcomed the fair’s focus on Canary writers and observed:
“Books are increasingly in vogue; the industry is pushing hard, producing a large quantity of titles by a great variety of authors.”
A Morning for Students and a Musical Closing
The first day’s morning was dedicated to schoolchildren and youth, attracting 576 students who attended two performances in the Symphony Hall of the Training and Congress Palace and the Josefina Plá Pavilion:
- “Don Quixote” by the Tumbalobos Company
- “Pinocchio” by the Lucas Ultramarinos Company
The day concluded with a musical‑poetic finale, “The Generational Work,” featuring singer‑songwriter Nacho Vegas and poet Rafael Espejo.
Organization
The fair is organized by the Island Library Center, under the auspices of the Cabildo’s Department of Culture, with collaboration from the Canary Institute for Cultural Development of the Government of the Canary Islands.