The Community of Madrid will install 7,200 plastic strips with literary fragments on Metro and buses to celebrate a new edition of Libros a la calle (Books to the streets)
It is a campaign promoted by the Regional Minister of Housing, Transport, Mobility and Infrastructure and Culture, Tourism and Sport. The most outstanding are texts by 19 authors, among them the award-winning Rafael Cadenas and Luis Landero, and the tribute to Jorge Semprún, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. All the plates feature illustrations by leading graphic artists and incorporate a QR code that gives access to more information about the book and its author.
The Community of Madrid is celebrating the 26th edition of the Libros a la calle initiative, with the distribution on public transport in the region of 7,200 plastic strips with fragments of works by prominent authors to arouse the interest of passengers in literature.
The Regional Minister of Housing, Transport, Mobility and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, and of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Mariano de Paco Serrano, presented this regional government campaign today at Chamartín station on Line 1 of the Metro, as part of the Plan to Promote Reading, with the collaboration of the Madrid Publishers' Association (AEM) and the Spanish Centre for Reprographic Rights (CEDRO).
This year, 6,080 plastic strips will be installed on suburban trains and 1,140 on urban and interurban buses, which will reproduce texts from 19 works by award-winning writers such as Rafael Cadenas, winner of the Cervantes Prize, and Luis Landero, winner of the National Prize for Spanish Literature in 2022.
"Thanks to initiatives such as this, we highlight important authors, as well as the vitality of our culture and the richness and beauty of our language," said Rodrigo. De Paco Serrano recalled that the Community of Madrid launched this initiative 26 years ago, "key to encourage and bring the world of books closer to the public, from the youngest to the oldest. In doing so, we support this industry in the region and promote reading as a backbone for them to find a means of entertainment and learning".
A SPACE WHERE ALL GENRES HAVE THEIR PLACE
Libros a la calle covers all genres, from the poetry of Aurora Luque to the essays of Joan-Carles Mèlich and the narrative of Marilar Aleixandre. There is also space for children's and young people's literature by Rafael Salmerón, drama by Josep María Miró Cormina and comics by Paco Sordo. The illustrated album is represented by Rockevaquera, by Cristina Expósito Escalona and Leire Martín, and La excursión, by Eva Manzano and Carla Novillo.
In addition, a tribute is paid to the recently deceased writers Fernando Marías and Domingo Villar, with a passage from Arde este libro and La playa de los ahogados. Similarly, the centenary of Jorge Semprún's birth is commemorated with a piece taken from his work, Federico Sánchez se despide de ustedes.
All the sheets feature illustrations by prominent graphic artists such as Ana Oncina, Lady Desidia, Alba Cantalapiedra and Javier Olivares, and include a QR code that can be used to access the website for more information about the text and its author. The campaign will run under the hashtag #SomosBibliodiversidad.
Mariano de Paco, consejero de Cultura
Presentation of the Libros a la calle
