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FILVEN 2015 Comes to a Close in Caracas

Venezuela´s annual International Book Festival (FILVEN) came to an end in Caracas over the weekend. Here, Venezuelanalysis brings readers a selection of photos from the ten day long festival.

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Venezuela´s annual International Book Festival (FILVEN) came to an end in Caracas over the weekend, marked by mass participation from the public.

Founded in 2005 by the Bolivarian government, the festival is aimed at promoting a culture of reading and writing in Venezuela and encouraging creative activities.

This year the festival lasted from March 12-22 and welcomed over 240 thousand people to the Teresa Carreno Theatre and the “Corner of Good Living” garden in Caracas, where international publishing houses had a plethora of books for sale on a variety of topics, ranging from cookery to Marxist economics. The books were sold at “preferential prices” in order to make reading accessible to all.

This year´s FILVEN was dedicated to the memory of Cesar Rengifo, one of Venezuela´s most prominent 20th Century painters and writers. Now hailed as a revolutionary painter, the muralist daubed Caracas´main public boulevard, Los Proceres, with messages such as “Down with monopolies¨ and “Long live the Communards of Merida”. Los Proceres Boulevard is home to statues and memorials in honor of the country´s independence heroes.

FILVEN 2015 also included 628 different cultural and recreational activities, headed by artists, performers, poets, journalists and authors. The festival will be rolled out to other Venezuelan cities over the course of 2015.

Here, Venezuelanalysis brings readers a selection of photos from the ten day festival.