Promoting Reading in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta’s Art and Culture Department and Los Mangos Public Library are working together to promote reading in Puerto Vallarta by organizing Puerto Vallarta Lee Pedro Paramo (Puerto Vallarta Reads Pedro Paramo) a community event with a host of activities scheduled to take place from October 11 to November 20, 2010.

Puerto Vallarta Lee is an adaptation of a National Endowment for the Arts program called “The Big Read,” which was originally launched in US cities such as Chicago, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles after a US study revealed that reading reinforces personal and societal development.

The idea was taken up by the Puerto Vallarta Lee organizing committee, which includes Art and Culture Department Director Monica Venegas, Los Mangos’ Ricardo Murrieta and Maria Jose Zorrilla, art curator Pilar Perez, cultural promoter Marcos Kuiland-Nazario, and Education Regional Director Carlos Murguia.

Five thousand copies of Pedro Paramo, Juan Rulfo’s acclaimed short novel, originally printed in 1955, will be printed for this event and distributed among locals. In addition, the organization is working along with the Juan Rulfo Foundation to organize conferences and exhibitions celebrating this important Mexican writer.

An English version of Pedro Paramo is available at Amazon.com. All Puerto Vallarta residents and visitors are encouraged to pick up a copy and join in the fun.

Within the framework of the Puerto Vallarta Reads Pedro Paramo program there will be a photographic exposition featuring the works of Juan Rulfo, public readings of Pedro Paramo at several venues and via radio and podcasts, as well as the presentation of movies and other activities based on the book and themes of Juan Rulfo. The idea is to make the book available in many formats and mediums so that everyone in Vallarta can participate in the project.

The organizers invite tourists and locals to join this important effort of cultural promotion through tax deductible donations. For more information, call Los Mangos Library at (322) 224-9966, or visit the Puerto Vallarta Lee page on Facebook.