Barcelona has been chosen as the Guest City of Honor at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, FIL in Guadalajara in 2025. This exciting announcement was made by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni and the FIL General Director, Marisol Schulz.
The Guadalajara FIL is the most important cultural and literary event in Ibero-America and represents a significant milestone in the recognition of Barcelona as a literary city by UNESCO.
The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) has become an epicenter of contemporary culture through three essential areas of action: publishing, academic and cultural.
This event has grown in importance and has become a fundamental space for the discussion and promotion of culture and literature in Ibero-America.
FIL Guadalajara 2025 beyond a literary event
For the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, the FIL Guadalajara represents much more than a literary meeting. He describes this achievement as “an operation of economic diplomacy in the cultural and creative industries at the highest level.
Barcelona’s participation as Guest City of Honor in 2025 will open up a series of opportunities in different areas and economic sectors.
The mayor emphasized that this collaboration will result in initiatives in the creative and digital industries sector, the promotion of Barcelona’s scientific dissemination, a gastronomic festival that will showcase Barcelona’s exquisite cuisine and the screening of feature films.
The general director of FIL Guadalajara, Marisol Schulz Manaut, highlighted the historic relationship between Barcelona and Mexico, which has deep roots in science and culture. Many Catalans found refuge in Mexico at the end of the Spanish Civil War and this land gave them the freedom to publish in their own language.
This long-standing relationship has influenced the culture and literature of both regions, and its legacy continues to be relevant.
Dream come true
Schulz emphasized that Barcelona’s participation in FIL Guadalajara 2025 is the result of a dream come true.
The FIL Guadalajara, founded almost 37 years ago, has established itself as the most important Spanish-language fair and is considered one of the most important at the international level, in terms of the number of visitors, countries represented and business conducted.
This collaboration represents a new chapter in the relationship between Barcelona and Mexico and promises to strengthen cultural ties between the two regions.
Barcelona’s participation in FIL Guadalajara 2025 will be multidisciplinary, which means that it will cover diverse cultural and creative fields.
This renowned international contest is a highly prestigious event that brings together more than three thousand activities in nine days, with the participation of 750 authors from 49 countries.
