A book brings together 38 years of Cristina Pacheco's contributions to La Jornada.

Reyes Martínez Torrijos

La Jornada Newspaper, Monday, June 16, 2025, p. 5

Writer and journalist Cristina Pacheco first published her column "Mar de Historias" in La Jornada in 1986. The series concluded shortly before her death in December 2023, when she bid farewell to her readers. An anthology (published by Tusquets) of the stories that appeared in the newspaper over a period of 38 years was presented yesterday at the Museo del Estanquillo.

The narrator recounted, in a 2022 Canal Once program, that when this newspaper was created, she thought: "I would like to write here." She interviewed director Carlos Payán to ask him if she could publish a story every week.

The dialogue continued: "Do you think you'll be able to hold out? I don't know. If I can't, I'll let you know ." Payán decided: "Bring me the first one. We'll publish one for you every week ."

The author mentioned this to her husband, the poet José Emilio Pacheco, who encouraged her in this endeavor; the writer and editor even suggested the title: Sea of ​​Stories, because nothing ends, nothing has a finality. Each story is independent of the other .

Cristina Pacheco (1941-2023) said that, despite her doubts, once she started she couldn't stop. It's tiring, yes, but it's very exciting. It's like going on a date .

The book "Mar de historias" (Sea of ​​Stories) brings together nearly 160 texts from the extensive narrative work published in La Jornada; it explores dramatic and emotional narratives, with a style that also incorporates humor.

The first story in "Mar de Historias" was published on Sunday, January 5, 1986; it is titled "El batalla de los reyes" (The Battle of the Kings ). The volume begins with "El eterno viajero " (The Eternal Traveler) (La Jornada, 2/2/14), which addresses the author's relationship with José Emilio Pacheco, who had died a few days earlier.

There it reads: "I've almost filled Almudena's little notebook. I'll date it today: January 26th. Tomorrow I'll write in the first of the many notebooks I'll have to fill, telling you about my life until the day you return. I know this time it won't be soon. In a way, it's better: you'll give me time to fulfill all your requests, including finding the black pen that gave you the best handwriting. This reminds me of another of my pending tasks: deciphering what you wrote on loose sheets of paper the nights before your trip.

I paused. I got up from my desk because the hummingbird you loved so much had reappeared in front of your window. If he's back, it's impossible for you not to.

The gallery of characters he sketched in these texts offers a glimpse into thousands of stories, with a tenderness that makes these individuals endearing. The narrative is nostalgic or emotional. There is a chronicle and psychological exploration, and a constant defense of human dignity.

The writer claimed that her contributions to La Jornada were a way of taking a stand and making people aware that their political activity does not have to begin with party affiliation, but rather with words , according to the book Confrontaciones (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 1987).

He then added: "I'm on these people's side, and they certainly have the need, they have the right, and in the end, they'll be right." That's the political position of those texts .

The aforementioned book emerged from a meeting with the university community, to whom she told me that the stories in Sea of ​​Stories were also "a way of not being alone and not feeling lonely. When I tell you that I know marginalization, because that's how I grew up and lived, I also know that terrible aspect of poverty: abandonment, loneliness.

I remember that loneliness, and that's why, and to hopefully share it with someone who's feeling it right now, I write these stories. I don't intend them to be educational; that would be very difficult, but if they can teach someone something, something about other people's lives, and I can share them, I'm satisfied.

Cristina Pacheco titled her latest collaboration, dated December 3, 2023, "It Has Been Wonderful ." She thanked her readers and friends for their support and perseverance over the decades they have read her.

He concluded: "To the Director of La Jornada, to my colleagues, my deepest gratitude for your support and generosity. I wish you all the best of luck."

Dpa

La Jornada Newspaper, Monday, June 16, 2025, p. 5

Hamburg/Cologne, More than 100 German museums are participating in an initiative to bring their exhibitions closer to people who cannot see or be physically present at the venues, with guided telephone tours that allow viewers to sit on their sofas at home.

The program is aimed at people who would like to experience a live cultural experience but cannot, for example, because they are blind or have limited mobility, or don't feel comfortable in large groups. At the Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne, the guided tour is about to begin. Fifteen people are waiting for their guide, Corinna Fehrenbach, but the art expert is alone at the entrance. She puts on her headphones, calls a number, and begins to talk.

I'm here, ready in the museum's grand foyer, and Cologne Cathedral is just two minutes away. "To give you an idea of ​​where we are ," she says, talking about the design exhibition. Fehrenbach offers a one-hour guided tour by phone.

On Sunday, June 15, the Hamburger Kunsthalle joined the initiative with an exhibition of works by Manet, Schmidt-Rottluff, and Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere.

The idea was launched by the Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted, Hamburg museums, and an inclusion office in February 2021, during the COVID pandemic.

There are 111 cultural organizations that have already offered a telephone visit or will do so , says director Melanie Wölwer.

Gertrud Feld, 61, a resident of Saarbrücken, has already been guided through the Helmut Schmidt House in Hamburg, Museum Island in Berlin, and the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar.

I'm so happy to hear and experience so many things from home. I always discover something beautiful, new, and exciting , she shares.