The Guatemala International Book Fair (Filgua) will take place in Majadas Forum from July 4th to 14th and will feature more than 300 different activities, but one of them is emotional because almost 40 days after the death of the biologist and former member of Alux Nahual, Jack Schuster (who died of natural causes on June 2), one of the last projects in which he was involved will be launched.
The presentation of the Spanish edition of the book will take place on Tuesday, July 9. Sex, Bugs and Rock & Roll, dedicated to paying tribute to the doctor Jack C Schuster. It will be at 5 p.m. in the Marilena López room and will feature the participation of the panelists Gabriela Alfaro, biologist; Vanessa Granados, veterinary doctor and translator of the book; as well as Fernando Paiz, dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG).
ANDThis book explores in a unique and entertaining way an encounter between sexual life, nature and music. Dr. Schuster left a job as an entomologist and was a professor of Biology at the UVG, director of the Laboratory of Systematic Entomology and Arthropod Collection, in addition to having been co-director of the Center for Environment and Biodiversity (CEAB).
The organizers say that the presentation will focus on the doctor’s work and life. It will pay tribute to his career as a person, teacher, scientist and artist.
As a teacher he taught around 25 courses during the more than 45 years he lived in Guatemala. He also stood out as a musician of different styles, from rock to blues and country; during that journey he was a member of Alux Nahualfamous Guatemalan rock band.
On the day of his death he received multiple messages from Guatemalan musicians and scientists and moments were remembered such as the last concert in which he participated with Alux Nahual on July 18, 2013, the Músicaconk account on Tiktok shared the moment.
@musicaconk American biologist, researcher and musician Jack Schuster was part of the Guatemalan group @aluxnahualoficial from 1979 to 1988. In addition, he contributed to university teaching in Guatemala and died on June 1, 2024 at the age of 80. This video contains scenes captured on July 18, 2013, during a concert by the Guatemalan group. On that evening, Jack Schuster was one of the guests and it became the last time he shared with the national musicians. #aluxnahual ♬ original sound – Musicaconk
How was Jack Schuster involved in this latest book?
Vanessa Granados, from the University Press and who translated the book, explains that this project took about four months to translate, “personally I knew him well… having edited the English version and knowing Dr. Schuster’s humor and way of telling stories very well. But the project of revision, editing, design, communication between UVG Publishing House, Piedrasanta and the authors took more or less a year,” she says.
The English publication was in 2020, Schuster said that he published it when he was technically 19 years old… since he was born on February 29 (a leap year), so he said: “I have been writing this book for about 20 years.”
“It all started when he told me that he had this idea, to write a book called Sex, Bugs and Rock&Roll“To capture his famous stories and at the same time continue sharing with young people about the importance of sex in evolution, about the biodiversity of Guatemala and about how music enriches life and fuels creativity,” Granados recalls.
Thus, in 2020, they began the task at the UVG University Press of encouraging him to finish this book and José Monzón, with whom Dr. Schuster worked on other titles, discoveries and research, took on the task of collecting information with the doctor. and above all edit using the photographs of his authorship of the entomological biodiversity of Guatemala.
Granados also comments that when she proposed to Dr. Schuster to translate the book, he told her that it seemed difficult because it could be a challenge to translate some jokes or wordplay and maintain the message. “I told him that we would achieve it since I would be in charge of ensuring that the Spanish version was faithful to the author’s voice and also scientifically correct.
He participated in this translation because when he finished a chapter or section of the book, I would visit him or we would communicate so he could give me his approval and he was enthusiastic about this project,” he adds.
“Guatemala is one of the richest countries in the world, rich in biodiversity and culture. Many of us were lucky enough to learn directly from him in the classroom, and now that he is no longer physically with us, everything he did for science and for Guatemala must continue. It is our job to continue what he started. Dr. Schuster was a true “rock star” of Guatemalan science and rock. An icon and a great human being who, with his humor, humility and generosity, made all of us who were lucky enough to know him feel valued and capable. We hope that this publication in Spanish reaches many people,” concludes Granados.
Important details of the book
- The book is divided into three sections. The first part talks about the sexual strategies of insects to ensure their offspring and achieve their evolution. For example, how males and females communicate to find a mate: the use of pheromones by moths, the flashing light of fireflies, and the sounds of grasshoppers.
- In the bugs section, and in a manner faithful to the doctor’s narrative, the reader learns about spiders, fleas, flies, ants, cockroaches and Schuster’s favorites, the passalid beetles.
- In the third rock & roll section, Shuster tells about the music groups in which he participated among them Jeff & Jack trio, Kemosabe, Quimera and Alux Nahual. The book is also illustrated with photographs by José Monzón and moments in Dr. Schuster’s life during the more than 40 years he lived in Guatemala and worked at UVG.
