She was born on the road, at the foot of a cart loaded with cauldrons and stills, about 70 years ago. Maria Stanescu grew up a nomad, helping in the family business of distilling. She slept under the open sky, next to the fire that served as both hearth and stove. She was free, even though she lacked basic necessities like shoes. Thirty years ago, “the winters were so harsh” that she and her family decided to abandon their nomadic life and build a house in the Romanian village of Fetesti, 145 kilometers east of Bucharest. After becoming a widow, she became the matriarch of a three-generation Roma family who now gather at the entrance of the house.

Seguir leyendo

“Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads,” goes a well-known Arab proverb about the cultural roles these capitals played in the past. A faded grandeur that transformed mid-19th-century Baghdad into one of the intellectual beacons of the Middle East. The Iraqi capital’s prestigious book market now sprawls across the Al Mutanabbi district, named after one of the greatest Arab poets. Turning its back on the Tigris, it opens onto a promenade lined with street booksellers, cafes frequented by artists and intellectuals, street portraitists, and benches where locals sit and read in the sun. Just a 200-meter walk leads to the iconic Shabandar Cafe, bringing one back to reality.

Seguir leyendo