The 16th International Buenos Aires Literature Festival (FILBA), one of the city’s main literary events, kicks off on Thursday afternoon. FILBA will feature activities with local and international authors from September 26 to 29 in different venues across the city of Buenos Aires. 

In a written statement, organizers invited people to “listen to the poetry of what the silence expresses.” FILBA will officially begin tonight with a conference at the auditorium of the Buenos Aires Latin American Art Museum (MALBA), featuring poet Diana Bellesi and author Pablo Katchadjian. The opening conference will be streamed live on the MALBA’s YouTube channel and in a written statement, organizers invited people to “listen to the poetry of what the silence expresses” over the next four days.

“The only thing we know about silence is that it opposes sound and that in that absence of noise, it speaks, it talks endlessly, and to us. We know perfectly well the delicacy and brutality with which it is capable of acting out its verbiage,” read the statement. “Knowing what silence is capable of speaking — and what it says is precisely what cannot be said, what cannot be heard — words, and literature with them, were invented to surround it.”

Throughout the weekend, FILBA will feature free conferences, debates, workshops, and readings with both Argentine and international authors. 

This year’s international guests include Jesse Ball, Kim Thúy, Katya Adaui, Charlotte Aigner, Luis Carlos Barragán, Alejandra Costamagna, and Benjamín Labatut.  An International Booker Prize finalist, Labatut will join renowned filmmaker Lucrecia Martel for an open conversation on Friday at 8 p.m.

Renowned local authors who will participate include Mariana Enriquez, Liliana Heker (the opening speaker at this year’s Buenos Aires Book Fair), Federico Jeanmaire, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, Magalí Etchebarne, Carlos Gamerro, María Sonia Cristoff, and María Gainza, among many others.  

FILBA will also feature evening outings, performance art shows, film screenings, poetry readings, and parties. Participating artists include Kevin Johansen, Paula Maffia, Diosque, and Laura Paredes. An Open Library will offer a chance to exchange books. “In times of crisis, this is an open space to share stories,” the organization stated. 

Tickets for the activities will be available for pick up at their respective venues the same day they take place, a few hours before showtime. Check the program on FILBA’s website for more information.