FILAH concludes after 10 days full of activities

Mexico City. The International Book Fair of Anthropology and History (FILAH) concluded this Sunday after 10 days full of activities that revolved around two essential themes: Cultural heritage and sustainability. This year, the guests of honor were Belize and Quintana Roo, whose presence imbued the event, held at the National Museum of Anthropology, with a rich cultural diversity.

From August 8 to 18, 145,000 in-person visitors and another 175,000 connected remotely attended the literary event, according to the organizers.

From early on, the area surrounding the museum, located on Paseo de la Reforma Avenue, began to fill with families, friends and couples, who had access to thousands of copies – offered by 100 publishing houses – that ranged from works specialized in anthropology and history to titles that invited reflection on Mexican culture and traditions.

Fernando Zamora, a 70-year-old retiree, was one of the many who was captivated by the fair. Accompanied by his family, he stopped in front of a table displaying the works of renowned Nahuatl philosopher Miguel León-Portilla, who died in 2019.

“This man was a wise man and a committed defender of the native cultures of our country,” Zamora commented with admiration. I decided to buy the volume Literary works and various essaysa publication of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and El Colegio Nacional, which is worth every 400 pesos I spent on it.

“I bought the book for my grandson Nature photography. Although he is ten years old, from a young age he showed great interest in animals and landscapes,” he added with a proud smile.

However, not all visitors shared the same enthusiasm. Maricela Domínguez, a design student, commented that “this fair is not to her liking.” Despite it being a Sunday, she was disappointed with the editorial offering, perhaps because her interests are far from the predominant themes at FILAH.

This year, the fair featured more than 400 activities, including 150 editorial presentations that addressed highly relevant current topics, such as traditional medicine, food security, indigenous education and sustainability in heritage preservation.

Diego Prieto Hernández, director of INAH, said in an interview with The Day The fair “has established itself as a plural forum, where fundamental aspects of anthropology, history and other related disciplines are discussed. In addition, this space allowed us to explore the reality of the guests of honor, Belize and Quintana Roo, enriching the cultural offering of the event.”

For Prieto Hernández, the most valuable contributions of this edition are grouped into three key areas: the in-depth study of the Mayan civilization, both in its past and present; the reflection on sustainability, inclusion and social justice in the debate on development; and the incorporation of new technologies and digital resources into anthropological work and the preservation of cultural heritage.

“We close this fair with great enthusiasm for the results, both for the numbers and for the comments we received from the public, and above all, because we are aware that this is an effort that is worthwhile and that contributes to the reflection, knowledge and recognition of our country as a complex, vibrant, but above all diverse nation, which finds in its multiculturalism one of its distinctive hallmarks and one of its greatest strengths,” concluded the anthropologist.