Monday 10 March 2025 at 20h
Azriel Bibliowicz (writer) in conversation with Reindert Dhondt and Theodor Dunkelgrün (University of Antwerp)
Lecture in English.
Lecture in room R.013, Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerp.
After the lecture, a signing session will be provided.
Free entrance. To register, email to ijs@uantwerpen.be.
Join us for a captivating conversation with Azriel Bibliowicz, one of the most prominent Jewish-Colombian writers, as he delves into the intertwined histories of his narrative work and the Jewish community in Colombia. Through the lens of his acclaimed novels, Bibliowicz will explore the complex, multifaceted history of Colombian Jewry, offering a unique perspective that bridges historical realities and fictional storytelling.
The journey begins in the 16th century, with the arrival of Sephardic Jews from Portugal, particularly in Cartagena de Indias, where being ‘Portuguese’ often signified being Jewish. It is a history shaped by slavery, the Inquisition, and profound contradictions, an era that forms the backdrop of Bibliowicz’s forthcoming novel.
Fast-forward to the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Jewish presence in Colombia dwindled to just a few families, despite a small Sephardic immigration to the Caribbean coast. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with the arrival of Ashkenazi Jews fleeing famine after World War I and the Holocaust of World War II, that a significant Jewish community took root. This pivotal moment is captured in El rumor del Astracán (1991), where Bibliowicz narrates the establishment of Jewish institutions such as synagogues, schools, kosher butchers, and cemeteries across Colombia’s major cities.
In Migas de Pan (2013, translated into Dutch as Broodkruim), Bibliowicz shifts focus to the devastating toll of Colombia’s 80-year-long conflict, during which the Jewish community lost a quarter of its population. Through the lens of kidnapping – a crime that transcended social classes and cultures – Bibliowicz examines the trauma of captivity, drawing poignant parallels with other histories of violence, including the Shoah.
Finally, in Del agua al desierto (2022), Bibliowicz explores the tensions of tribalism in our current globalized world, delving into the fragility of ancestral cultures and the natural environment, while reflecting on the contradictions that define them.
This conversation between Azriel Bibliowicz, Reindert Dhondt (Latin American literature and culture, UAntwerpen) and Theodor Dunkelgrün (Jewish history, UAntwerpen) will offer an engaging exploration of Colombian and Jewish identity, history, and the power of storytelling.
Azriel Bibliowicz (Bogotá, 1949) is a writer, journalist, and professor, renowned for his novels, short stories, and essays on literature and the craft of writing. He holds a PhD in sociology and communications from Cornell University (1979), where he also pursued studies in Hispanic American literature. A professor at the National University of Colombia (1983-2015), he founded Latin America’s first Master’s in Creative Writing program (2005) and co-founded the School of Cinema and Television (1985). Bibliowicz has been a guest lecturer at prestigious institutions like Cornell, Harvard, and Iowa. His well-received novel Migas de Pan has been translated into Dutch (Meridiaan uitgevers, 2022), Danish, and Italian. In 2025, his latest book of essays, La expectativa de lo imposible: los clásicos y la escritura creativa, will be published by Planeta. He also contributes regularly to El Espectador and Cambio magazine.