PETROPERU presented “Viajes y virajes” anthology of stories from Andean countries

Culminating with the cycle of literary events on the Facebook Live platform of the PETROPERU Cultural Center, on Thursday, July 23, “Viajes y virajes”, an anthology of 21 stories by authors from the countries of the Andean Community of Nations, compiled by Ricardo Sumalavia, was presented.

The event was chaired by the manager of the PETROPERU Communications Department, Carla Santa Cruz Sandoval, and was attended by Ambassador José Antonio Arróspide, Director General of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), representing the Secretary General of the organization international. The book was commented on by the Ecuadorian writer Solange Rodríguez and the Peruvian author and publisher Johann Page.

Santa Cruz expressed that "PETROPERU develops stimulus programs and promotes actions that defend the plurality of social and artistic expressions... and tonight pays tribute through the book" Travels and turns "to the literary creation of our nations in the Ibero-American region”. While Ambassador Arróspide stressed that the CAN is not only an organism of economic integration but also promotes artistic production "spreading the immense wealth and cultural diversity" of the member countries of this international entity, in this case, the literary creation produced by young authors.

On the other hand, Solange Rodríguez pointed out the theme of tradition as the “common thread” of the narrations of this anthology; which –in a good proportion of the stories– is treated “not from the key of realism but from the imagination, the fantastic and even the horror genre”. At the same time, he commented that there are also works that are "one hundred percent realistic, well accomplished, mimetic and with poetic values" in the anthology. Another constant is the theme of the family, although he especially appreciated the promotion of creative efforts in the field of “the fantastic, the terror and the strange”. On the other hand, Rodríguez highlighted that the anthology has maintained a gender equality since almost half of the authors are women and welcomed "PETROPERU's commitment to promoting literature" at such difficult times for writers.

For his part, Johann Page agreed in congratulating the state oil company for "bringing to the people the literary effort" of so many authors in this time of crisis. He stressed that the anthology is "a transfer of the word, which can circulate between countries that are [with their borders] closed to each other", due to the ongoing pandemic. At the same time, Page pointed out that literature allows “to make what is really far away close and… to be able to build our memory”, and highlighted the enormous diversity that prevails in this anthology composed of “individual efforts with particular worldviews”.

“Viajes y virajes”, an anthology of stories from the CAN countries, as well as the novel and poetry books awarded with the 2019 Copé Award, and other works from the Copé Editorial Seal are available at the Virtual Library of the PETROPERU Cultural Center: https: //bit.ly/2WiRmkg

The presentation of this book work is part of the continuous work that PETROPERU carries out permanently, within the framework of its cultural policy for the benefit of students, researchers and society in general.