The Novel Ideas Book Fair returns to the Contemporary at Blue Star. The fair showcases local publishers, writers and artists while allowing for a chance to engage in conversations about community, empathy and creativity. The fair ran on April 4 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on April 5 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The event spotlighted the Mexicano culture of San Antonio as well as its Chicano legacy. Offering an opportunity for overlooked vendors and writers to advocate through their art, The Novel Ideas Book Fair became a display of the grit and determination in communities continuously ignored on the national stage.
Juan Tejeda of Aztlan Libre Press sold works of Chicano literature ranging from poetry and science fiction to a biography on his late brother and former congressman Frank Tejeda. A conversation with Tejeda leads to a revelation of his vast knowledge of Mexican-American literature. Upon his table was a misprinted anthology of Reyes Cardenas’ work that sold for $5 — one of the best deals found at the fair — and a publication of University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley graduate Amalia L. Ortiz’s thesis, “The Cancion Cannibal Cabaret” — a Xicana sci-fi rock opera.
“What’s the importance of Chicano literature,” Tejeda slyly pondered. “San Antonio is the Chicano culture capital. We have Chicano music, literature, film and poetry. It’s always been a cultural hub. It’s the continuation of a culture. It’s us labelling ourselves and rejecting the labels imposed on us. Literature and art guarantees that it continues into the future.”
Legacy became a recurring motif in the fair. Akin to Tejeda’s table, Mark Mejinavar’s is filled with literature composed of pamphlets and books. Menjivar’s work focuses on amplifying the stories of incarcerated people on death row. He hands a fold-out of a musical score created without instruments or musical training by David Lee Powell while he was on Texas death row.
“I used to do installations, but with COVID, I realized how temporary they were,” Menjivar said. “I mainly work in books now. They live on.”
Mejivar believes in the dialogues of community being at the forefront of art. His work is not an amplification of their stories but rather an echo. He hopes to inspire others to advance the community art scene and believes that San Antonio is the epicenter for such endeavours.
Although literature was naturally the focus of the book fair, some vendors sold art pieces, such as zines, stickers, buttons and jewelry. Analysa Castalleno, who owns FLOWER Art and Design at the Wonderland mall, sold caricature stickers and a zine series titled Uncommon Crushes — which included drawings of Jack Black, Danny Trejo and Nicolas Cage. Castalleno creates all the pieces she has on display at the fair and on her online shop. Many of the pieces highlight the culture of San Antonio, including a “Nacho Libre” sticker where the luchador holds elote.
The Novel Ideas Book Fair has become a staple for the Contemporary at Blue Star, with some vendors returning each year and new ones joining to further the discourse of art in the San Antonio community.
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