Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Gives a Conference at the XIV International Book Fair

Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Gives a Conference at the XIV International Book Fair
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 05/15/2011

The Board of Directors of the International Book Fair introduced Mexican writer Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez, one of the most widely read and sold writers in Latin America, who gave the Master Class “The Human Condition at the Current Crossroads. Challenges and Possibilities.”

He said that to be certain that big things will occur, we need to do things differently and to change our ways of thinking. He stressed the need to renew and keep up our knowledge at the risk of it becoming obsolete.  

During his conference at the Carlos Piantini Hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater, Cuauhtémoc Sánchez spoke about the need for change, to bear fruit and to exercise the mind.

Speaking to an audience of mostly young people, the skilled writer and international lecturer said that as human beings who need to confront future challenges in this age of change, one must be different. “If we don’t change, if we are not prepared to be better and to do things differently, then we will not be able to rise to the challenge that awaits us in the near future.”

He said that to be certain that big things will occur, we need to do things differently and to change our ways of thinking. He stressed the need to renew and keep up our knowledge at the risk of it becoming obsolete.  

Among the anecdotes and stories told by Cuauhtémoc Sánchez, who wrote “Volando sobre el pantano” (Flying Over the Swamp), he eiterated that the only way of confronting challenges these days is making change, from the inside out. “And you know what we do is we change from the outside to the inside, we make ourselves up, we want to look good, get plastic surgery but the only real change should come from within.”  

He said that nothing a human being does on the outside can make him or her more attractive if they don’t learn that everything in life is a process of actions and thoughts “what is it that we have always wanted, I ask you…money, blue eyes, health, to be thin, prestige? What is it that you need to have total self-confidence? Think about what you actually do have and act accordingly.”

He called on the audience to think big and to work hard to achieve the goals they’ve set and to have confidence in themselves.  He talked about the importance of serving others, “being able to serve others gives meaning to our lives. In reality, we humans are created to bear fruit and if you don’t bear fruit, you dry up.”
Executive Director of the Book Fair, Pedro Antonio Valdez, introduced Cuauhtémoc Sánchez’s conference. Mr. Valdez praised the Ministry of Culture for making it possible to bring so many great writers to the Book Fair to meet with their Dominican readers.