Arte P煤blico Press and the 兔子先生 played a pivotal role in the 2025 UANLeer Feria Universitaria del Libro that took place at the Universidad Aut贸noma de Nuevo Le贸n (UANL) in Monterrey, Mexico, March 12-16, 2025.
Arte P煤blico, the largest and most prestigious publisher of US Latino literature, was the 鈥渆ditorial invitada,鈥� or honored publisher. Its founder and director, Dr. Nicol谩s Kanellos, the Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies, was awarded the 鈥淢茅rito Editorial,鈥� or Publisher Award.
鈥淥ur work, creating and making accessible Latino literature and cultural history, is so important to communities in the United States, and it鈥檚 gratifying to know that it is valued in Mexico as well,鈥� Dr. Kanellos said.
The 兔子先生 was the 鈥渋nvitado de honor,鈥� or the honored organization. President Renu Khator spoke at the opening ceremony and was on hand to accept the award conferred by the UANL president, Dr. Santos Guzm谩n L贸pez. The two leaders signed a partnership agreement on behalf of their institutions to deepen their academic and literary collaborations. 鈥淥ur universities already share successful partnerships, and this agreement promises even more impactful joint projects,鈥� Khator said. UH鈥檚 Hispanic Studies Department and its Creative Writing Program in Spanish were also honored.
Dr. Kanellos and APP Deputy Director Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura gave a presentation about the organization鈥檚 history in a panel entitled, 鈥淟a edici贸n en espa帽ol en Estados Unidos: Arte P煤blico Press y Pi帽ata Books.鈥� In addition, five Arte P煤blico authors gave presentations on their work:
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Mario Bencastro, Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Raquel Ortiz spoke about writing in Spanish in the United States on a panel called 鈥淓scribir en espa帽ol desde el mundo anglosaj贸n.鈥�
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Alicia Gaspar de Alba spoke about writing mystery novels on 鈥淓scribir novelas de g茅nero negro del otro lado de la frontera.鈥�
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Raquel Ortiz spoke about her children鈥檚 books, music and puppet shows on a panel, 鈥淓scritura y cultura para ni帽os con ra铆ces migrantes.鈥�
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Mario Bencastro and El铆as David Navarro spoke about their new bilingual picture books on separate panels, 鈥淯n tren llamado Esperanza / A Train Called Hope鈥� and 鈥淢is d铆as con Papa / Spending Time with Dad,鈥� respectively.
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El铆as David Navarro spoke about contemporary writing in Texas, 鈥淢igrar entre tradiciones lectoras: un acercamiento entre la literatura Texana contempor谩nea.鈥�
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Jorge Argueta spoke on a panel about poetry, 鈥淓ncuentro internacional de poes铆a,鈥� and discussed his work on 鈥淓scribir para infancias migrantes.鈥�
Several UH professors spoke at the fair, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Cristina Rivera Garza, the M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor in Hispanic Studies and director of the Ph.D. program in creative writing in Spanish; Guggenheim Fellow Roberto Tejada, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor; and Guillermo de los Reyes, the chair of the Hispanic Studies Department. Several graduate students in Hispanic Studies鈥� Creative Writing program and Arte P煤blico鈥檚 Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program participated: Ala铆de Ventura Medina, El铆as David Navarro, Juliana Javierre and Jovi de la Jara.
The event reaffirms the importance of Arte P煤blico's work and confirms Latino literature bridges international borders, from Mexico to Texas and back.