“Solisluna is the most authentic expression of this vein of Bahian creativity in the editorial segment”
We had a brief chat with one of our great partners, the journalist, professor and writer Gustavo Falcón . Born in Salvador, Falcón has a PhD in History and is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). He directed several cultural publications, including Revista da Bahia and Afro-Ásia magazine, from the Center for Afro-Oriental Studies at UFBA.
By Nilma Gonçalves
When and how did your relationship with Solisluna begin ?
GF: I can say that I saw Solisluna born. I followed your first steps and was never far from your growth. As a friend, partner, collaborator, author, editor and, above all, as an enthusiastic admirer.
In your opinion, how important is Solisluna to the publishing market (not just in Bahia, but in Brazil)?
GF: Bahia has, among other characteristics, that of being a land where experience, racial contact happened in a profound way, resulting in an extremely original culture. Alongside this, as in all other realities, there are very creative people, capable of working this rich raw material with great zeal. I see Solisluna as an integral part of these cultural manifestations in Bahia, a land capable of generating surprising things in the country's cultural life, such as Cinema Novo and Tropicália, and where every year something new is invented in arts and culture, in music, in dance and even in recent literature. My opinion is that Solisluna is the most authentic expression of this vein of Bahian creativity in the publishing segment. So you can see how seriously I take this admiration of mine.
You are the author of the book Coronéis do Cacau and co-author of the books, Imagens da Diáspora , with visual artist Goya Lopes, and Bahia de Todos os Cantos , with writer Antonio Risério, both published by Solisluna. Can you talk a little about them?
GF: As the author of the Solisluna catalogue, I feel honored. I have published a pioneering sociological essay on the cocoa saga and two partnerships with important people, such as Goya Lopes and Antônio Risério. I consider both to be among the best in Brazil in their areas of expertise. As a collaborator, I created several institutional books with the publisher, among which I highlight Três Décadas que Mudaram a Bahia (2003) and Uma Luz na Noite do Brasil (2000) . Very recently, our partnership generated two beautiful books about Marian devotions in Recôncavo. In these thirty years on the road we have done a lot together and how I wish there had been more!
What are your next literary projects?
GF: At the moment, we have two projects underway: the publication of a bibliographical retrospective on the Casa da Torre latifundium and a book on the remaining Catholic devotions in Recôncavo, where I consider the first and most expressive Marian sanctuary in Brazil to exist, whose traditions, celebrations and popular fervor are firmly preserved.
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