Laura giving a talk for Mitote Por El ARTE, Café Fénix, Salamanca
A Conversation About Culture and Creativity at Café Fénix
During her book tour in Mexico, author and illustrator Laura Elena Rodríguez Garcidueñas had the opportunity to share Juego de Pelota: Descubre sus secretos con La Catrina Bohemia in a particularly meaningful setting: Café Fénix in Salamanca, a city that holds an important place in Laura’s personal history.
The evening began with music. Professor Héctor Luis Rodríguez Peña and his student Florecita opened the event with several pieces performed on the violin, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere before the conversation began.
Café Fénix, led by Gina and Jorge, has become a welcoming space for cultural encounters in Salamanca, supporting and promoting local culture and creating opportunities for artists, writers, and cultural projects to connect with the community.
Rather than a traditional book presentation, the evening took the form of a conversation led by Galia Guillermina Razo Almanza, a writer, journalist, teacher, editor, and cultural promoter from Guanajuato. Galia guided the conversation through questions about Laura’s career, the origins of Juego de Pelota, her research process, and the creative journey behind bringing Mexico’s ancestral ballgames to younger readers.
Laura shared how her research for the book led her to connect with players, associations, and people dedicated to keeping these traditions alive. She also spoke about the role of La Catrina Bohemia, the character she created, as a guide who allows young readers to enter the world of Mexico’s cultural heritage through storytelling and illustration.
The conversation also touched on an interesting coincidence: Laura’s book tour in Mexico took place during the FIFA World Cup season. While football captured the attention of audiences around the world, Juego de Pelota offered an opportunity to look further back into Mexico’s history and discover the ancestral ballgames practiced by communities.
For Laura, the evening was also an opportunity to talk about the journey of becoming an author and illustrator, living between cultures, and finding ways to share Mexican heritage with audiences in different parts of the world.
The event was warmly welcomed by the members of Mitote por el Arte, a cultural collective coordinated by Galia that promotes artistic and cultural activities in Salamanca. Their support created a welcoming space for conversation and brought together people interested in literature, art, and Mexican culture.
As the Mexico tour continues, encounters like this have become an important part of the journey behind Juego de Pelota. Each conversation offers a new perspective and reminds us that cultural heritage can be shared in many ways—through books, art, dialogue, and the people who choose to keep these stories alive.
Parangueo Media is grateful to Galia Guillermina Razo Almanza and the Mitote por el Arte collective for helping make this meeting possible, to Professor Héctor Luis Rodríguez Peña and Florecita for opening the evening with their music, and to Gina and Jorge for creating a space where culture and community can meet.
