Tijuana While waiting to cross the border, why not read a good book?
That's the goal of a program called Lecturas de cruce, or Readings while Crossing, that will begin in February at the San Ysidro port of entry. It's a joint project of the Tijuana Cultural Center and the School of Humanities of the Autonomous University of Baja California.
The project consists of placing shelves at strategic points along the path that leads to the pedestrian crossing so people can take a book of their choosing and read it while they wait to enter the United States and, at the end, turn it in so that others can participate, according to an announcement from the cultural center.
The goal is to promote reading and put books of good literary quality in the public's reach. There is no cost to the pedestrians who participate.
Each day, about 28,000 cross on foot at the San Ysidro port of entry, according to U.S. figures, and there are a total of 106 million crosses on foot or by car at the land port annually.
In the program's first phase, the School of Humanities, through its publishing house Minibúks, will make available 7,000 short science fiction books in Spanish that can be read in thirty minutes to two hours. Many of the authors are young writers from the school. The book covers were designed by the comic book writer Bernardo Fernández, nicknamed "Bef."
The pilot program begins in February and it's expected to become permanent in April, according to the cultural center.
More information in Spanish is available at the center's site at cecut.gob.mx.
Omar.millan@sandiegored.com
