A new comics library in Brazil

by Maurice Horn
New York, NY, USA

On November 26, 2002, the Gibiteca SESI officially opened its doors to the public. A spanking new comics library located in the Cultural Center FIESP on Avenida Paulista, Sao Paulo's main thoroughfare, it is funded by FIESP, the social and cultural arm of the powerful Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo.

Even before entering the building, the visitors were greeted by giant reproductions of such superheroes as Superman, Spider-Man or Wolverine. Inside there were showcases displaying figures of famous characters from the funnies, from Blondie to Asterix to Snoopy. The main attraction consisted of course of the 3000-plus publications displayed on shelves for the enjoyment of the eager public. The organizers had been planning for a collection of 6000 publications after one year, but in the two weeks following the opening alone they received donations of more than 4000 books and magazines. Allowing for purchases and additional donations they now project to have about 15,000 publications by their first anniversary, thus making Gibiteca SESI into one of the largest comics libraries in South America.

The last week of November saw a number of inaugural ceremonies, including talks with Brazilian cartoonists, a roundtable moderated by noted comics scholar (and IJOCA contributor) Alvaro de Moya, and the preview of a stage play, Piratas do Tiete (Tiete is the river flowing through Sao Paulo) based on celebrated Brazilian cartoonist Laerte's eponymous comic strip. I gave a talk on the state of comics today to a lively and largely youthful audience, many of them art students and artists, some of whom brought books of mine (in English) for me to autograph.

All the activies, ably presided over by Silvio Anaz, Coordinator for Centro Cultural FIESP, and Tereza Cristina Grell, Director of SESI's Cultural Division, attracted huge media coverage from television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Thanks to all this attention, the readership at the Gibiteca is currently estimated at more than 1200 a day, twice that expected by the organizers. (The Gibiteca is not a lending library.)

Among the future projects envisioned by the organizers, in addition to a full-dress production of Piratas do Tiete, are an exhibition of comic art originals, a film festival devoted to comics-inspired movies, and an international comics conference.