The following is a guest post from Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress.
In the beginning of this year, I had one of the most intense and meaningful trips of my laureateship. On January 7th my husband and I flew to Mexico City so I could participate in Un Fandango por la Lectura, a celebration of music, dance, and poetry hosted by Dr. Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, wife of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador–with special guest Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States. This Fandango took place in the Salon Tesoraría, Palacio Nacional, during the North American Leaders Summit, and it highlighted the commitment to the power of language and the importance of reading shared by Dr. Biden and Dr. Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller.
Even though my husband and I could only stay in Mexico City for a little over 48 hours, the trip was deeply moving. My paternal grandfather was from Mexico, and somehow flying into the capital felt almost like a homecoming.
We were met at the airport first by Dominique Martineau, our contact for the Presidency of the Republic and the organizer extraordinaire of the Fandango, and then by members of the State Department including David Fay, Regional English Language Officer. In the arrival lounge, we also met the incredible band La Santa Cecilia