Getting on the same page with Latin America

As President Xi Jinping tours South America to boost the nation's ties with the region, the Hong Kong Book Fair has been holding its own event with Latin American diplomats.

At a booth shared by representatives from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Peru at the fair's international "Cultural Village" yesterday, the countries' consuls general shared ideas on how people in Hong Kong and on the mainland could better relate to their countries' people and culture.

"Latin America is like the new frontier for many Chinese," Peru's consul general David Malaga said, adding that they had received many requests for visas to visit the area recently, especially during the World Cup season.

"We have a very intense commercial relationship," said Argentina's consul general Gustavo Horacio Lui Fazzari, noting that Xi had inked numerous trade agreements with his country a few days ago. "It's a good step towards deepening cultural ties."

Mexico's deputy consul general Aureny Aguirre O.Sunza recommended readers pick up a book by Mexican poet Octavio Paz to better understand the country's spirit and culture.

Colombian consul general Miguel Angel Rodriguez recommended Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the late novelist who penned One Hundred Years of Solitude. "To understand our region, you have to understand Marquez," he said.