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NEA Chairman Dana Gioia Visits El Paso September 19
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Washington, DC -- NEA Chairman Dana Gioia will visit El Paso, Texas, on September 19 to help launch The Big Read Mexico at a gala kickoff hosted by the El Paso Public Library and the city’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department. Big Read Mexico is the newest international component of the NEA’s national reading program The Big Read, which brings communities together to read, discuss, and celebrate the same book. The featured book for Big Read Mexico is Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories, a new anthology created especially for The Big Read.
The free event will be held at the El Paso Museum of Art at 6:00 PM. Invited guests include Jorge F. Hernandez, the anthology’s editor; Alejandra de la Paz, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, DC; Adair Margo, Chairman, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities; Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, Consul General of Mexico in El Paso; representatives from the County Commissioners Court and City Council; and other dignitaries. The launch also will feature a performance by internationally renowned mariachi band Los Arrieros as well as give-aways, refreshments, and other performances.
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"I am delighted to be in El Paso to help launch Big Read Mexico, another milestone in the growing cultural relationship between the U.S. and Mexico," said Chairman Gioia. "The opportunity to read, discuss, and celebrate 20 of Mexico's great writers can bring together neighbors whether across national borders or neighborhood streets."
El Paso Public Library is one of only two organizations to receive a Big Read grant to host a program featuring Sun, Stone, and Shadows. Published in English and Spanish versions by Mexico's Fondo de Cultura Económica, the collection features short fiction by Mexican writers such as Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, and Rosario Castellanos. The library will host Big Read events in both El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
In El Paso Chairman Gioia also will present a keynote address during the opening session of the annual REFORMA National Conference. An American Library Association affiliate, REFORMA is a national association that promotes library and information services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking public.
For more information on the gala and other Big Read Mexico events in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, please visit www.elpasolibrary.org.
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