The Eighth Houston Hispanic Book Festival was held on Sunday, February 21, 2010, at the Hilton Houston Southwest, with a large attendance of persons interested in books and culture, and the enthusiastic participation of fifty local and visiting poets and writers.

The festival honored Marie Delgado Travis, a prominent writer of Puerto Rican origin based in Houston.  Award-winning writer Bucci Graciela traveled from Buenos Aires, as a guest of this year's Festival and gave an interesting lecture on Victoria Ocampo, a leading figure in her native Argentina. Writers Ani Palacios McBride, Maria Gabriela Madrid and Maricarmen Esper visited from San Antonio, Texas, while the distinguished Cuban writer Josefina Leyva and writers Patricio Palacios, Maricel Mayor Marsans and Fernando Hernandez traveled to the Festival from Miami, Florida.  Peruvian writer Hemil Garcia and author Jesus Guajardo attended from Centerville, Virginia and Monterey, Mexico, respectively.

In the Writers' Room and in the Main Hall, more than twenty-two writers were presented continuously throughout the afternoon in ten minute segments.  In the Poetry Forum, one of the most popular features of the Festival, twenty-seven poets recited or read their poems.

The Children's Room or Kids Zone was also busy with the presentation of a puppet show courtesy of MD Anderson Cancer Center, a visit from Ronald McDonald courtesy of the restaurant chain McDonald's, the Room's sponsor.  Other activities included storytelling, face painting and a presentation by the Kids' Writers Club, under the direction of the Professor Maria Elena Cortes of Kids Write to Know.

The event ended with the presentation of a Latin American show that included a dramatization of the poem "El Credo" ("The Creed") by Mexican poet Ricardo Lopez Mendez, as adapted by Carlota Spalteholz, a performance of Latin American dances by the Compañía de Danza Folklórica Latino Americana, and presentations by Puerto Rican singer Lorraine Torres Geaux, singer-songwriter José Antonio Simón and child singer Daniel de la Hoz (Vallenato Kid). There was also a special appearance by candidates for the Miss Latin America contest, directed by Ms. Gladys Salgado.

As in the past, the festival received support from the the press, radio and television stations, universities, as well as cultural and community organizations, such as the Institute of Hispanic Culture, Casa Argentina, Casa España and Casa Cuba.

It was an evening of culture for the enjoyment of families and book lovers.

Andrés D. Puello
Festival Director.