Madera Fina inició su camino literario con Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez / Keyla Brando

Madera Fina Began Its Literary Path With Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez

                  [Rodrigo Blanco, Willy McKey and Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez |
                  Photo: Carlos González]

Luis Yslas, Willy McKey and Rodrigo Blanco used cocuy liquor to baptize the novel Y recuerda que te espero, a work that passes through two continents and traces the possibility of drawing a map from memory. The publishing house will seek to disseminate the work of Venezuelan writers.


Yesterday at Kalathos bookstore, at the Los Galpones Art Center in Caracas, the book Y recuerda que te espero by Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez was presented by the publishing house Madera Fina. The event included important figures from Venezuelan literature, among them the writer Elisa Lerner, who later this year will publish a compilation of all her non-fiction writings along with an unpublished text with this publisher.

Willy McKey was in charge of presenting the book. He conjugated his words to the rhythm of the golpe tocuyano, traditional music from the state of Lara, where part of the book takes place. He described Méndez Guédez as an “eternally young writer” who with this new project seeks to reconstruct his birthplace: “Barquisimeto is seen more clearly from Spain.”

He affirmed that the image of the novel emerges when the main character starts to miss his hometown and is forced to imagine a city made to be recalled vividly. But this journey involves “looking back, without nostalgia, with no need for stopping, only keeping on.”

The writer himself thanked the support of Venezuelan readers and he noticed a particular passion for work produced in Venezuela. He pointed out that this is a travel book: what’s important aren’t the situations, but rather the places. The work involves “exploring your own city as if it were an unknown space,” which is why he incorporated the chance characteristic of all voyages.

Rodrigo Blanco, founding editor of Madera Fina, expressed his enthusiasm about this new publication and pointed out that they decided to begin with Méndez Guédez because they believe in the permanence of Venezuelan writers. Despite the “hostile environment” that is lived in Venezuela today, books can still be read, written and published.




Translator’s note: You can find Madera Fina on Twitter (@EditaMaderaFina), Facebook and Instagram (@EditaMaderaFina).




{ Keyla Brando, El Nacional, 11 October 2015 }