MEXICO CITY, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — The 37th edition of the most important publishing gathering in Ibero-America, the Guadalajara International Book Fair, kicked off Saturday in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city.

Mexican poet Coral Bracho, laureate of the Literary Award in Romance Languages, spoke out against war, violence and inequality, upon receiving the top award during the opening of the book fair.

Bracho called for an education that not only encourages children’s creativity, but also deepens their capacity for introspection so they can better empathize with others.

“More than ever, it is important to have an education that fosters in children, youth and society in general, in addition to a reflective, purposeful and creative capacity that makes us freer, an introspective and communicative capacity that allows us to delve into ourselves and bring us as close as possible to the different ways of thinking and feeling of other people and cultures, through literature and the most diverse forms of art.”

“If verbal language is and has been the most complete mode of communication that has accompanied humanity throughout centuries, poetry is one of the most penetrating, suggestive and generative forms in which it manifests itself,” said the Mexican poet, who defined poetry as “a vital search through language to approach the complex universe that surrounds us from a broad perspective.”

Created in 1987 at the initiative of the University of Guadalajara, the book fair is currently the world’s largest Spanish-language book fair, attracting more than 800,000 people each year, according to figures from organizers.

The 2023 edition will run until Dec. 3. ■