Libros al aire was presented for the first time in August 2023 with its first season, which had 12 episodes that were around 25 minutes each.
Libros al aire returned at the beginning of this month with a second season of its program on Channel 15-UCR, which you can tune in every Tuesday at 8:30 pm
This television space is dedicated to promoting the books published by the University of Costa Rica Publishing House and to talking with the authors of their various works, which range from research, novels, to collections of poems, stories and essays.
This second season will cover poetry texts, translations, life stories, games such as chess, art and among others.
Due to the success on social networks of the first season and the “vast creative wealth in letters” in the country, in the words of Iván Porras, director of Canal 15-UCR, it was decided to continue with this space for literature lovers.
The nature of the program is in a discussion format between the authors and two of the three presenters: the philosophers Alexander Jiménez and Camilo Retana, and the architect Rebeca Woodbridge, all of them professors at the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
They are in charge of leading this space to take those behind the screens by the hand on a tour of the process of creating a book, to show the public the difficulties and doubts that authors may have while writing it. .
“The program seeks to talk about the time of writing a book,” explained Alexander Jiménez, and stressed how important it is for them to focus attention on everything behind the final product of a book, although without ceasing to side the content of this.
Likewise, it is important to highlight that Libros al aire is one of the few spaces in the country that “deal with this cultural task,” said Camilo Retana, referring to the television dialogue of national literature.
In Retana’s opinion, the program is not interested in “erudite, Aryan or distant discussion with the people we invite,” but rather a more pleasant and warm environment of discussion that brings people closer to the world of reading and writing.
Rebeca Woodbridge announced that this season there will be “a very special episode because we had the opportunity to interview Gioconda Belli.” On May 30, the prominent Nicaraguan writer received the first honoris causa of his life, delivered by the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
In addition, he said that they will offer poetry from two lines like the one done by the writers Jeymer Gamboa and Arabella Salaverry, and there will also be the translation of the book of a prominent specialist in bioethics made by the philosopher and pharmacist Gabriela Arguedas.
The origin of Libros al aire occurred last year, when the closure of the production cycle of the Punto y Coma program, produced by the State Distance University (UNED) and broadcast on Channel 15-UCR, was declared. This was a program in which there was a television dialogue with attention fixed on Costa Rican literature, so creating another space that contributed to the dissemination and promotion of literature was vital.
After this new need, Iván Porras spoke with Alexander Jiménez, who was beginning work in the Editorial System for the Scientific Diffusion of Research (Siedin) and gave him the program proposal, which was accepted and preparations began.
Since then and to this day, Libros al aire makes a valuable contribution to the dissemination of Costa Rican literature, in addition to making an effort to bring the world of books closer to areas outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM).
