The 49th Buenos Aires International Book Fair, the most attended literary event in the Spanish-speaking world, opened on April 24 and will run through May 12 at La Rural exhibition center. Covering more than 45,000 square meters, the fair welcomes over a million visitors and 12,000 publishing professionals during its nearly three-week duration.

The programming features about 1,500 cultural events including involvement from over 40 countries. There will be book presentations, poetry festivals, lectures, and storytelling sessions. Organized by Fundación El Libro, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting books and reading habits, the fair was first held in 1975. 

The fair officially opened on Thursday with a ceremony attended by government officials and leading cultural figures. Renowned writer Juan Sasturain delivered the inaugural speech, he is known for his work as a novelist, poet, journalist, editor, and scriptwriter. Sasturain was formerly director of Argentine landmark comic book magazine Fierro, as well as a director of the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno. At this year’s fair, he is presenting his latest novel, Tinta China, an adventurous detective story. 

Secretary of Culture Leonardo Cifelli also gave a speech at the opening ceremony, which was repeatedly booed by the public for his remarks. Some of the crowd carried posters of the late Argentine writer, historian and political activist Osvaldo Bayer. Last month, the culture sector was stirred after a sculpture of the renowned author of La patagonia rebelde in Santa Cruz was demolished by a government agency.

Main international guests speaking at the fair include Eduardo Halfon from Guatemala, Rosa Montero from Spain, Emmanuelle Bayamack-Tam from France, Joanna Rubin Dranger from Sweden, Gioconda Belli from Nicaragua, Erri de Luca from Italy, Arturo Pérez-Reverte from Spain, and Yuri Andrujovich from Ukraine, among others.

Riyadh, Capital of Saudi Arabia, is the Guest of Honor City. “Through this participation, we hope to provide an opportunity to discover new aspects of the culture of both countries and build bridges of understanding and fruitful cooperation,” said Hussein Alassiri, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, in a press release.

A number of renowned Argentine writers are featured in activities such as book presentations, conferences, and book signings. Keep an eye out for Claudia Piñeiro, Sylvia Iparraguirre, Mempo Giardinelli, Pedro Mairal, Magalí Etchebarne, Guillermo Martínez, Juan Diego Incardona, Alejandra Kamiya, and Jorge Consiglio, to get started. A full program of all the fair’s scheduled events is available online.

This year’s fair is featuring a handful of recently-published books by renowned political journalists about President Javier Milei and his administration. Highlights include Ernesto Tenembaum presenting his book Milei, Victoria De Masi presenting her book about the president’s sister Karina in a conversation with Iván Schargrodsky, and Jorge Fontevecchia presenting his book Fontevecchia vs. Milei. Adding to the political discussion is Maia Jastreblansky and Manuel Jove presenting El Monje, a book about presidential advisor Santiago Caputo.

Other politicians presenting books include Patria Grande leader Juan Grabois with Argentina Humana and Frente de Izquierda deputy Myriam Bregman with Zurda. 

This year’s Reading Marathon, a long-standing tradition at the book fair, will be dedicated to poet and writer Juan José Saer in the 20th anniversary of his death. Participants include Mauricio Kartún, Cristina Banegas, Irina Alonso, Claudio Martínez Bel, Ingrid Pelicori, Alberto Díaz, Agustina Bazterrica, and Jorge Fondebrider, along with other actors, writers, editors and other noteworthy individuals. They will read fragments of his novel El entenado with Marcelo Katz on the piano.

Hours and admission

The fair is open from Monday to Friday, 2 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday, Sundays and holidays (May 1 and 2) from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. The entry gates and ticket offices are located at Avenue Santa Fe 4201, Avenue Sarmiento 2704 and Avenue Cerviño 4474, the latter two entrances also offer parking.

General admission is ARS$5,000 on Monday through Thursday and ARS$8,000 on Fridays, weekends, and holidays (May 1 and 2). A three-visit pass is available exclusively online for ARS$12,000 and allows one entry per day. Tickets can be purchased online or at the fair’s ticket offices outside of La Rural. 

Each ticket comes with discount vouchers for purchases at fair stands and an ARS$8,000 book voucher redeemable after the event at participating bookstores. There’s free entry for children up to 12 years old, persons with disabilities, teachers, and — Monday to Friday except holidays — students, retirees and pensioners.