Booklovers put fun spin on joy of reading under lockdown in Spain’s Costa Almeria holiday resort Mojacar

READING enthusiasts in Mojacar denied the traditional hunt around the locality for books to mark International Book Day due to the coronavirus crisis lockdown had the opportunity to take part in a fun alternative.
This year the council’s Culture and Tourism Departments and the local Guadalinfo centre set a different challenge to mark the day on April 23, inviting residents to upload a photo of themselves with a favourite book or a video of them reading out a paragraph.
Booklovers of all ages joined in through Facebook and Instagram, sharing books ranging from Spanish classic novel ‘Don Quixote’ to ‘Gone with the Wind.’
Mojacar has long been associated with talented and creative artists, as well as being the inspiration for numerous books, many by local writers. International Book Day proved to be the perfect occasion for locals to select some of these to share, including ‘Mojaqueros de Hecho’ by Francisco Haro Perez, ‘La Guajira’ by Jose Maria Montoya, and ‘A Peculiar Reign in Spain,’ written by the late Ric Polansky.
Among local residents’ other choices were volumes about the area’s landscapes and people, ‘Leyendas Mojaqueras’ and ‘Diccionario Mojaquero,’ recently published through the local authority’s Tourism department.
There was no shortage of younger authors among the selections, like Alicante writer Maite Castillo Camano, whose novel ‘Buscala!’ is set in Mojacar, and, Luisa Piñero, whose thriller ‘Llegado el Caso’ is about a Mojácar hotelier and his ups and downs on an international trip.
The teachers at the village’s Garabatos Nursery made a charming video for the children, reading stories and sending out greetings to the little ones.
The Bartolome Flores school teachers had the same idea, playing characters from stories or adventures to encourage reading and the magic of literature to help youngsters get through the enforced confinement.
The pupils also took part in a fun video called ‘Postuleo de Cuarentena del Bartolome Flores,’ highlighting the many ways and places to read and have fun reading.
Snapshots, arranged by the teachers and students of each class, showed that even at these difficult times they can all still find something to smile about.