Latino Book Fair unites authors, readers at Union Station in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — “Good morning, Springfield!” was how 7 Arts Latino Foundation Executive Director Jorge Martinez greeted the people inside Union Station on Saturday morning.

He announced the official start of the second annual Latino Book Fair, which welcomed more than 20 authors to the city’s main transportation hub. The chairs for sitting in Union Station’s central hub were gone, replaced by booths with authors showcasing their work.

Among the authors was Liliana P. Arendano, whose picture book, “El Señor Libro y el Pececillo de Plata” — or “Mr. Book and the Silverfish” — teaches children about the importance of reading and taking care of their books. Arendano wrote the original version of her book when she was a student, and at her booth, she had the original version of her work — complete with her childhood drawings — available for people to see.

A few booths down, Maria Rodriguez Bross was eager to talk about her “Bodega Botanica Tales” book series with those that stopped by. The series is about six children who go to the bodega, and each of them ends up with a bracelet that takes them into an alternate universe.

“They go through this portal where they get one wish, kind of like a ‘genie in the bottle story,’ and they have to live with their wish, whatever that wish was,” Bross said, adding that, “Their wish comes true, but it comes with consequences.”

The noise of authors talking about their books and people passing through in their commutes went quiet when Martinez took to the microphone to thank everyone for supporting the Latino Book Fair.

“This is our passion. This is our mission to deliver to the city of Springfield arts and culture,” he said. “This is how we unite the community. This is how we can change society.”