28th Pan-Amazonian Book and Multivoices Fair is launched in Belém
The event takes place from August 16 to 22, at Hangar, and honors Master Damasceno and Wanda Monteiro
The Government of Pará, through the State Secretariat of Culture (Secult), launched this Monday (4), the 28th Pan-Amazonian Book and Multivoices Fair. This year, the event takes place from August 16 to 22, from 9 am to 10 pm, with entry until 9 pm, again at the Hangar Convention and Fair Center in Belém, honoring Master Damasceno and Wanda Monteiro.
Ursula Vidal, head of Secult, commented on the highlights of this edition during a press conference held at the Gasômetro Theater in Belém. “Our Fair is coming with more than 100 Pará writers signing their books, over 70 guests for our literary talks, almost 200 booths among bookstores, distributors, publishers, and partners who are always very important in the realization of our Fair,” highlighted the secretary.
Seven thematic axes guide the activities throughout the seven days of the Fair, highlighting the plurality of knowledge and experiences of the Amazon. The opening, on the 16th, will feature the Voices of Poetics and Enchantment, followed by the Voices of Climate and COP30, Voices of Diversity and Inclusion, Voices of Childhood and Youth, Voices of Pará Writers, Cabanas Voices, and at the closing, Voices of Ancestral Knowledge.
“Our Fair is about books, but it is also about Multivoices, about Amazonian oralities, valuing our traditional peoples and communities, quilombolas and indigenous. We want the people, as every year, to embrace our authors and the literary production that transforms minds, that forms citizenship, that creates a people aware of its role in building a fairer future,” added Ursula Vidal.
Another highlight of this edition is the reinforcement of sustainability actions, which will be reflected in the fair's scenography. The entire structure was designed prioritizing the reuse of materials from previous editions and avoiding the use of plastics and disposable items. The proposal aims to reduce waste generation and reinforce the commitment to the conscious use of public resources, in alignment with state guidelines.
Structure - The 28th Pan-Amazonian Book and Multivoices Fair will be held in a total area of over 10,000 square meters, with complete air conditioning and occupying the entire ground floor of the Hangar. In the event pavilion, the sale of books will take place. The cultural programming will occur in the Multivoices Arena, which this year will operate in Hall B. Additionally, the Fair features a food court.
Among the spaces that have already consolidated in the programming are the Author's Point, the Artist's Alley, and the Creative Fair. In the Author's Point, state writers hold autograph sessions and book launches. In the Artist's Alley, illustrators, comic artists, and visual artists sell their works. In the Creative Fair, entrepreneurs linked to the creative economy present their products to the public.
This edition features 120 companies, including 32 publishers, 40 bookstores, and 48 distributors. The number of businesses from Pará has also grown: there will be 70 local companies, ten more than in the previous edition. In total, 189 book booths and nine focused on gastronomy will be set up. University publishers such as UFPA, Uepa, Unesp, and the Brazilian Association of University Publishers (Abeu) are also confirmed.
The expectation is that the financial movement will exceed R$ 12 million in book sales and orders. The estimate is to generate approximately two thousand direct and indirect job vacancies during the setup and the seven days of programming.
Honorees - Guto Nunes, producer and businessman, represented Master Damasceno during the launch. “Master Damasceno was very happy with the invitation, which crowns a whole trajectory he has been achieving thanks to his way of speaking, of expressing himself, which is not the literature laid on paper, traditional, but the literature of orality. Secult, very sensitive to this, made this invitation that he received with great happiness, especially for being one of the honorees alongside Wanda, who is incredible,” he emphasized.
Born in 1954, in the Quilombola Community of Salvá, in Salvaterra, in the Marajó archipelago, Damasceno is a reference in carimbó, toadas, and oral poetry, and is the creator of the Búfalo-Bumbá de Salvaterra, a June festival manifestation that blends popular theater, quilombola culture, and elements of the Amazonian nature. Damasceno has been visually impaired since he was 19 years old and, in May of this year, was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit, the highest honor granted by the Ministry of Culture.
Also honored at the 28th Fair, Wanda Monteiro spoke of her satisfaction in receiving the invitation. “It was a surprise and a feeling of great gratitude because being recognized in our land is very difficult, and as an Alenquerense, a cabocla from Baixo Amazonas, coming to an event as a honoree. This has value and meaning for me. A person from the river, a riverside dweller who happens to write, but who has other struggles beyond writing,” said Monteiro, emotionally.
Daughter of writer Benedicto Monteiro, Wanda was born in 1958, in Alenquer, in western Pará, and inherited from her father the literary vein and militant action. She is the author of books of poems, short stories, essays, and novels, with works published in important literary magazines in the country. She also works as a lawyer and researcher of her father's work and legacy.
Launches - During the fair, three books published by Secult will be launched. “Mestre Damasceno and the Songs of Marajó,” by Antonio Carlos Pimentel Jr., with illustrations by Mandy Modesto, presents life stories of the honoree and invites the reader to know the culture of Marajó in a sensitive and accessible way, especially for the youth audience.
“Wanda Monteiro – Collected Poetry” gathers texts from the author that deal with affections, everyday life, and Amazonian experiences with lyricism and depth. The title “The River Man – The saga of Miguel dos Santos Prazeres,” by Benedicto Monteiro, receives a special edition in honor of the author's centenary, celebrated in 2024.
