Night of the Bookstores to fill Montevideo with literature, music

The second edition of the Night of the Bookstores in Uruguay is expected to fill this capital Friday night with literature for all tastes, live music and other events.

“The objective is to offer a moment of leisure and a stroll for the whole family on a near-summer night, where everyone can get closer to the heritage of the country of the bookstores, and to the figure of the bookseller,” Xurxo Ponce, coordinator of Cultural Action at the Cultural Center of Spain (CCE) in Montevideo, told EFE.

The Spaniard said that this year’s edition will include 46 bookstores - including eight in the Uruguayan interior - and that participating shop plans to organize between three and four special activities.

“There is everything from a market of independent publishers to (a market) of illustrations at the CCE. In addition, there will be a poetry slam, music concerts, readings, book presentations and meetings with authors,” Ponce said.

The 25 Montevideo bookstores that took part in the inaugural Noche de las Librerias reported “very high” sales, he noted, attributing that boost to Uruguayans’ habit of stocking their bookshelves ahead of the arrival of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.