“My Two Worlds”: Venezuelan Writers in the Diaspora Meet in Buenos Aires

For the first time, Buenos Aires will host a series showcasing Venezuelan literature . From August 21st to 23rd, "My Two Worlds" will be held, the 1st Meeting of Venezuelan Literature and Culture in the South . This is an international and independent event whose purpose is to highlight the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the Venezuelan diaspora in South America and foster a more inclusive view of this regional phenomenon.

Organized by Venezuelan writers and scholars residing in various South American countries, this first series promises to be one of the most significant artistic and literary events for the Venezuelan diaspora to date.

For this reason, it has the sponsorship and collaboration of the Doctorate in Latin American Literature and Cultural Criticism of the University of San Andrés ( UdeSA ), the Faculty of Humanities of the National University of San Martín ( Unsam ), the Venezuelan-Argentine Center "Araguaney" of the Civil Association Alliance for Venezuela and the Foundation for the Cultural Integration of Migrants ( FICU ).

“ It is the city that houses the largest population of Venezuelan expatriate artists, writers, and cultural producers in South America, and has a rich history of cultural exchanges with Caracas,” said Gabriel Payares , a member of the organizing committee.

"The event, however, is intended as a traveling project , which can then be replicated in other locations on the continent, thus highlighting the artistic and intellectual contributions of the recent Venezuelan diaspora," he added.

In addition to Payares, the organizing committee includes Venezuelans Gustavo Valle (resident of Argentina), Gina Saraceni (resident of Colombia), Juan Cristóbal Castro and Cecilia Rodríguez Lehmann (both residents of Chile).

The event includes panel discussions in which academics, writers, artists, and editors will discuss the challenges and opportunities of Venezuelan cultural production abroad.

More than forty representatives of the Venezuelan artistic, literary, and cultural world in the south are participating: Gonzalo Aguilar, professor of Brazilian Literature at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA); Leonardo Alfonzo, narrator; Ricardo Añez Montiel, Argentine-Venezuelan writer, musician, and architect; Pablo Gamba, film critic, journalist, and professor; Valentina Guirigay, cultural critic and literature professor Alejandra Laera; filmmaker Blas Eloy Martínez (son of Tomás Eloy Martínez); Mori Ponsowy, writer; Blanca Strepponi, editor and author; among many others.

The opening ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 21st at 3:00 PM at the San Andrés campus. It will be led by Gonzalo Aguilar, a professor at UNSAM and researcher at CONICET , who is also the author of numerous critical essays on Latin American cinema and literature. He will be accompanied by leading figures from local Venezuelan literary and artistic culture: writers, filmmakers, visual artists, musicians, editors, and academics.

There will also be a discussion about Argentine immigration to Venezuela in the 1970s and a tribute to Buenos Aires-born writer Sergio Chejfec (1956-2022), who produced much of his work during his 14 years in the Caribbean country (1990-2004). This led to the first edition being titled "My Two Worlds," the title of one of the Argentine author's most celebrated novels.

The closing ceremony will be held on Saturday the 23rd at 7:00 PM at the Araguaney Venezuelan-Argentine Center, with a poetry recital by Igor Barreto . From Caracas, he will deliver his remarks via videoconference alongside 12 other prominent artists and poets. The series will also include book sales from independent Venezuelan publishers.

The activities will take place over three days spread across three venues in Buenos Aires , with one venue per day.

The First Meeting of Venezuelan Literature and Culture in the South will begin this Thursday, August 21st, at the University of San Andrés, in the British Arts Centre building (Suipacha 1333, room 201). It will continue on Friday the 22nd at the National University of San Martín (Volta building, at Roque Sáenz Peña 832, 4th floor, room 402). It will conclude on Saturday the 23rd at the Araguaney Venezuelan-Argentine Center (Julián Álvarez 866). The opening hours will be from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with free admission until each venue reaches capacity.

The topics for Thursday the 21st at the UdeSA headquarters are: Critical Perspectives on Venezuelan Culture Abroad (I); My Two Worlds: Venezuela and Argentina. Tribute to Sergio Chejfec; and The Wandering Word: Displacements in Contemporary Venezuelan Literature.

The following panels and lectures will be held on Friday the 22nd at UNSAM headquarters: Critical perspectives on Venezuelan culture abroad (II), Topics, forms and scope of Venezuelan migrant art (I), Challenges of independent Venezuelan publishing abroad, Round trip: experiences of Argentine migration to Venezuela in the 20th century.

Finally, on Saturday the 23rd, the Venezuelan-Argentine Araguaney Center will have the following activities: Topics, forms and scope of Venezuelan migrant art (II), The wandering word: displacements of current Venezuelan literature (II), Presentation of Saving the border: Exhibition of stories by Venezuelan migrant authors and Poetry reading marathon.