Libros y lectores en México: Un enlace imperfecto (2005)

The history of books is the history of their different readers and readings. In Mexico, the long colonial period is characterized by the Church's strong hold over society's small number of readers. Afterward, the country's independence in many ways signaled the beginning of freedom to read and think for those who already knew how to read. Finally, due the 1910 Revolution, books and readership finally conquered the majority of the nation's population. In our days, however, readership among Mexicans is quite limited. Why is this the case? What does reading do for us? Why does reading nourish our lives and why does its absence weaken us? In this documentary, leading voices of the country's literary and editorial life sketch out the answers.