Metralla Rosa con Carla Tofano
In this, Metralla Rosa’s 50th episode, Carla Tofano talks to the Venezuelan editor and photographer Carsten Todtmann in his home in Caracas, to celebrate, in turn, the 50th anniversary of Oscar Todtmann Editores, the publishing house he created in 1973, in order to expand the concept behind the bookshop his parents opened in 1951. As a natural inheritor of the German spirit of exploration, Carsten is responsible for the creation of an astonishing number of Coffee Table Books which quickly become an unavoidable part of a country brimming with natural beauty. Thousands of Venezuelans have helped preserve a country, impeccably portrayed by renowned photographers and writers, through owning the publications Carsten began creating fifty years ago, thanks to his ambitious editorial visions and tireless creative appetite.
The 50th birthday celebrations for this emblematic publishing house, that has survived such a challenging era – not only because of the suffocating cultural reality that Venezuela is currently undergoing, but also because of the universal crisis affecting the world of books – began in November 2023, with the unveiling of new titles from its poetry and prose collections. And the celebrations will continue into 2024 with the presentation of Carsten’s autobiographical trilogy at the Humboltd Cultural Association in Caracas. The three volumes entitled ‘Dos Mundos’ I, II & III are published both in Spanish and German and, through an autobiographical lens, tell the social and political stories of an oil rich Venezuela, undergoing a full, modernist boom, a family of German immigrants and their son, who, while defining himself as a ‘guerrilla editor’, is now considered a distinguished editor and is household name within Latin America.
To be able to share this interview with the world fills us with hope for the future of publishing in Venezuela, and to celebrate our 50th episode alongside the 50th anniversary celebrations of Oscar Todtmann Editores, only confirms that perfect synchronicity will always prevail – despite geographical distances – whenever we allow a passion for culture and a faith in the legacy of human thought, to define us.
And now, enjoy the interview!
Watch Interview | Listen to Podcast
This interview was recorded on the 10th of April 2023 and released on the 1st of January 2024
Related Links>
O.T. Editores: LinkTree | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Catálogo
References during the interview
Socioeconomic and political crisis in Venezuela 01:19 | Karl Krispin 02:13 | Coffee Table Book 04:00 | Geografía literaria de Venezuela 05:17 | Arturo Uslar Pietri 05:40 | Luis Britto García 05:43 | Alfredo Armas Alfonso 05:44 | Juan Liscano 05:45 | Salvador Garmendia 05:47 | José Ignacio Cabrujas 05:50 | José Manuel Briceño Guerrero 05:53 | Rafael Caldera 05:54 | Francisco Suniaga 05:55 | Henry Ford 07:30 | Coco Chanel 07:35 | La Florida (Caracas) 08:27 | German Diaspora in Venezuela 09:27 | Mérida 09:53 | Los Llanos 09:56 | El Oriente 09:57 | El Occidente 09:58 | Canaima 10:01 | Libreria Lectura Chacaíto 12:12 | Chacaíto 12:13 | Stefan Gold 12:30 | Arturo Garbizu 12:32 | Colour Printing 14:14 | Javier Aizpúrua 14:28 | Ganadero 18:01 | Colegio Americano de Caracas 18:34 | Las Minas 18:36 | Robert Musil 20:41 | Vladimir Nabokov 20:43 | Henry Miller 20:45 | Arthur Miller 20:47 | Ernest Hemingway 20:50 | Sigmund Freud 25:22 | La Florida 27:33 | La Pastora 27:34 | Clínica Fleury Cuello 27:43 | Colegio Humboldt 29:26 | Librería la France 29:43 | El Libro Italiano 29:44 | Mondadori 29:47 | Altamira 29:50 | Los Palos Grandes 29:52 | Libro de bolsillo 33:17 | Francisco Suniaga 34:34 | La Otra Isla 34:35 | Mauricio Vélez 34:42 | Nada Sagrado: Textos Zen 34:47 | Zen 35:29 | Karl Weidmann 37:44 | Paolo Gasparini 37:49 | Venezuelan Islands 37:54 | La Guajira, Venezuela 37:57 | El Zulia 37:58 | Gorka Dorronsoro 38:01 | Caracas by Gorka Dorronsoro & Jose Ignacio Cabrujas 38:05 | Todos Marchan 39:18 | Richard Avedon 41:56 | August Sander 41:57 | Vogue 42:13 | Salsa 44:49 | César Miguel Rondón 44:58 | Guillermo Yepes Boscán 45:45 | Copei 45:46 | Rafael Caldera 46:03 | IVA 46:33 | Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá (FILBo) 47:10 | Ley del Libro 47:20 | Monte Ávila Editores 48:15 | Kindle 51:55 | Tipografía de plomo 56:03 | Tipografía 56:04 | Linotipia 56:07 | Pen Drive 56:39 | Johannes Gutenberg 57:59 | Terminología en Tipografía 57:58 | El Llano 59:33 | Franz Schubert 01:00:15 | Dos Mundas 01:02:09 | First World War 01:03:51 | Second World War 01:03:52 | Puerto Cabello 01:04:22 | Naval Blockade of Venezuela 1902-03 01:04:34 | Cipriano Castro 01:06:20 | Antonio Guzmán Blanco 01:06:23 | Edificio Galipán 01:07:55 | Luna Benitez 01:10:19 | German Literature 01:12:20 | German Romanticism 01:12:49 | Adolf Hitler 01:13:27 | Álvaro Sotillo 01:15:49 | El Sol de la Ceguera 01:16:14 | Kira Kariakin 01:16:41 | Flavia Pesci Feltri 01:16:43 | Trazos en Fuga 01:16:45
All images used on this page and during the interview are by kind permission of Carsten Todtmann & Oscar Todtmann Editores.
Production by Carla Tofano & Toby Deveson | Subtitles & translations by Valentina Sarno & Alessandra Greco | Title music written and performed by Maya Petrovna
If you would like to make a donation to Metralla Rosa, please use this PayPal link. Your generosity will help us to continue producing free content and will primarily be used for the creation of English, Spanish & Italian subtitles. Thank you so much.
In questo episodio numero 50 di Metralla Rosa, Carla Tofano intervista l’editore e fotografo venezuelano Carsten Todtmann nella sua casa a Caracas, per celebrare, nello stesso tempo, i 50 anni della Oscar Todtmann Editores, la casa editrice che egli ha fondato nel 1973 con lo scopo di ampliare l’idea di libreria così come era stata concepita dai suoi genitori nel 1951. Da buon erede dello spirito pioniere tedesco, Carsten si è assunto la responsabilità di creare un’incredibile quantità di libri dalla copertina rigida, in edizione illustrata di lusso, che costituiscono una parte imprescindibile della memoria bibliografica di un paese ricchissimo di bellezze naturali. Migliaia di famiglie venezuelane conservano, tra le cose più preziose del loro paese impeccabilmente ritratto da fotografi e scrittori famosi, i volumi che Carsten ha iniziato a pubblicare cinquant’anni fa, grazie alla sua ambiziosa visione editoriale e alla sua instancabile voglia di creare.
I 50 anni di questa iconica casa editrice che, lottando contro ogni avversità, si è mantenuta in piedi in un momento così difficile, non solo per l’asfittica realtà culturale che caratterizza il Venezuela, ma anche a causa della crisi che affligge universalmente il mondo del libro, si sono iniziati a celebrare nel novembre del 2023, con la presentazione dei nuovi titoli della casa editrice OT facenti parte sia della collezione di poesia che di quella di narrativa. E questa ricorrenza sarà prolungata fino al 2024, anno in cui saranno introdotti al pubblico i libri autobiografici di Carsten Todtmann nell’Humboltd Cultural Association di Caracas. Si tratta di tre volumi intitolati “Dos mundos”I-II-III, pubblicati in spagnolo e in tedesco, che narrano, sotto forma di cronaca di vita vissuta, la storia di una famiglia di immigrati dalla Germania che in Venezuela hanno ricostruito la loro esistenza, sullo sfondo sociale e politico di un paese dall’economia petrolifera in piena ascesa nel mondo moderno. In tutto questo, si collocano le conquiste culturali di un editore che si autodefinisce un guerrigliero dell’editoria e che in Venezuela è considerato molto famoso e facente parte del patrimonio culturale nazionale.
Condividere con il mondo questa intervista aumenta la nostra speranza nel futuro del libro in Venezuela, e celebrare la pubblicazione dell’episodio numero 50 nel segno della ricorrenza dei 50 anni di Oscar Todtmann Editores, conferma che la perfetta sincronia degli eventi trionfa sempre, al di là delle distanze geografiche, quando ci si lascia guidare dalla passione per la cultura e dalla fiducia nel patrimonio del pensiero umano.
E adesso, godetevi l’intervista!
Guarda l’Intervista | Ascolta il Podcast
Questa intervista è stata registrata il 10 aprile 2023 e rilasciata il 01 gennaio 2024
Link correlati
O.T. Editores: LinkTree | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Catálogo
Riferimenti durante l’intervista>
Socioeconomic and political crisis in Venezuela 01:19 | Karl Krispin 02:13 | Coffee Table Book 04:00 | Geografía literaria de Venezuela 05:17 | Arturo Uslar Pietri 05:40 | Luis Britto García 05:43 | Alfredo Armas Alfonso 05:44 | Juan Liscano 05:45 | Salvador Garmendia 05:47 | José Ignacio Cabrujas 05:50 | José Manuel Briceño Guerrero 05:53 | Rafael Caldera 05:54 | Francisco Suniaga 05:55 | Henry Ford 07:30 | Coco Chanel 07:35 | La Florida (Caracas) 08:27 | German Diaspora in Venezuela 09:27 | Mérida 09:53 | Los Llanos 09:56 | El Oriente 09:57 | El Occidente 09:58 | Canaima 10:01 | Libreria Lectura Chacaíto 12:12 | Chacaíto 12:13 | Stefan Gold 12:30 | Arturo Garbizu 12:32 | Colour Printing 14:14 | Javier Aizpúrua 14:28 | Ganadero 18:01 | Colegio Americano de Caracas 18:34 | Las Minas 18:36 | Robert Musil 20:41 | Vladimir Nabokov 20:43 | Henry Miller 20:45 | Arthur Miller 20:47 | Ernest Hemingway 20:50 | Sigmund Freud 25:22 | La Florida 27:33 | La Pastora 27:34 | Clínica Fleury Cuello 27:43 | Colegio Humboldt 29:26 | Librería la France 29:43 | El Libro Italiano 29:44 | Mondadori 29:47 | Altamira 29:50 | Los Palos Grandes 29:52 | Libro de bolsillo 33:17 | Francisco Suniaga 34:34 | La Otra Isla 34:35 | Mauricio Vélez 34:42 | Nada Sagrado: Textos Zen 34:47 | Zen 35:29 | Karl Weidmann 37:44 | Paolo Gasparini 37:49 | Venezuelan Islands 37:54 | La Guajira, Venezuela 37:57 | El Zulia 37:58 | Gorka Dorronsoro 38:01 | Caracas by Gorka Dorronsoro & Jose Ignacio Cabrujas 38:05 | Todos Marchan 39:18 | Richard Avedon 41:56 | August Sander 41:57 | Vogue 42:13 | Salsa 44:49 | César Miguel Rondón 44:58 | Guillermo Yepes Boscán 45:45 | Copei 45:46 | Rafael Caldera 46:03 | IVA 46:33 | Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá (FILBo) 47:10 | Ley del Libro 47:20 | Monte Ávila Editores 48:15 | Kindle 51:55 | Tipografía de plomo 56:03 | Tipografía 56:04 | Linotipia 56:07 | Pen Drive 56:39 | Johannes Gutenberg 57:59 | Terminología en Tipografía 57:58 | El Llano 59:33 | Franz Schubert 01:00:15 | Dos Mundas 01:02:09 | First World War 01:03:51 | Second World War 01:03:52 | Puerto Cabello 01:04:22 | Naval Blockade of Venezuela 1902-03 01:04:34 | Cipriano Castro 01:06:20 | Antonio Guzmán Blanco 01:06:23 | Edificio Galipán 01:07:55 | Luna Benitez 01:10:19 | German Literature 01:12:20 | German Romanticism 01:12:49 | Adolf Hitler 01:13:27 | Álvaro Sotillo 01:15:49 | El Sol de la Ceguera 01:16:14 | Kira Kariakin 01:16:41 | Flavia Pesci Feltri 01:16:43 | Trazos en Fuga 01:16:45
All images used on this page and during the interview are by kind permission of Carsten Todtmann & Oscar Todtmann Editores.
Produzione di Carla Tofano e Toby Deveson | Sottotitoli e traduzioni da Valentina Sarno & Alessandra Greco | Musica scritto ed eseguito da: Maya Petrovna
Se desideri fare una donazione a Metralla Rosa, utilizza questo link di PayPal. La tua generosità verrà usata principalmente per la creazione di sottotitoli in inglese, spagnolo e italiano e ci aiuterà a continuare la produzione di contenuto gratuito. Grazie mille.
En este, el episodio número 50 de Metralla Rosa, Carla Tofano entrevista al editor y fotógrafo venezolano Carsten Todtmann en su casa en Caracas para celebrar, a su vez, los 50 años de Oscar Todtmann Editores, la casa de publicaciones que el fundara en 1973 para ampliar el concepto de librería creado por sus padres en 1951. Como buen heredero del espíritu explorador alemán, Carsten ha sido el responsable de concebir una cantidad asombrosa de libros de tapa dura y formato ‘coffee table book’, que forman parte ineludible de la memoria bibliográfica de un país rebosantes de bellezas naturales. Miles de familias venezolanas conservan, como joyas de una Venezuela impecablemente retratada por fotógrafos y escritores de gran renombre, estos volúmenes que Carsten comenzó e crear hace cincuenta años gracias a su ambiciosa visión editorial y a su incansable apetito creador.
Los 50 años de esta emblemática casa editorial que contra viento y marea se ha mantenido de pie en un momento tan desafiante, no solo por la asfixiada realidad cultural que atraviesa Venezuela, sino por la crisis que aqueja universalmente al mundo del libro, se inició en noviembre 2023, con la presentación de los nuevos títulos de OT editores como parte de su colección de Poesía y de su colección de Narrativa. Y la celebración se extenderá hasta el 2024 con la presentación de los libros autobiográficos de Carsten Todtmann en la Asociación Cultural Humboldt de Caracas. Tres tomos titulados ‘Dos mundos’ I-II-III, publicados en español y en alemán, narran en clave de crónica-confesional, la vida de una familia de inmigrantes alemanes que se reinventaron en Venezuela, la historia social y política de un país petrolero en pleno auge modernista, y las conquistas culturales de un editor que se autodefine como un editor guerrillero y que Venezuela considera un editor insigne e ineludible.
Compartir con el mundo esta entrevista nos llena de esperanza por el futuro del libro en Venezuela, y celebrar la publicación de nuestro episodio número 50, en el marco de la celebración del año aniversario de los 50 años de Oscar Todtmann Editores, confirma que el engranaje perfecto de acontecimientos triunfa siempre, mas allá de las distancias geográficas, cuando permitimos que la pasión cultural y la fe en el legado del pensamiento humano nos determinen.
¡Y ahora, disfruten la entrevista!
Ve la Entrevista | Escucha el Podcast
Esta entrevista se grabó el 10 de abril del 2023 y se publicó el 01 de enero 2024.
Enlaces relacionados
O.T. Editores: LinkTree | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Catálogo
Menciones durante la entrevista
Socioeconomic and political crisis in Venezuela 01:19 | Karl Krispin 02:13 | Coffee Table Book 04:00 | Geografía literaria de Venezuela 05:17 | Arturo Uslar Pietri 05:40 | Luis Britto García 05:43 | Alfredo Armas Alfonso 05:44 | Juan Liscano 05:45 | Salvador Garmendia 05:47 | José Ignacio Cabrujas 05:50 | José Manuel Briceño Guerrero 05:53 | Rafael Caldera 05:54 | Francisco Suniaga 05:55 | Henry Ford 07:30 | Coco Chanel 07:35 | La Florida (Caracas) 08:27 | German Diaspora in Venezuela 09:27 | Mérida 09:53 | Los Llanos 09:56 | El Oriente 09:57 | El Occidente 09:58 | Canaima 10:01 | Libreria Lectura Chacaíto 12:12 | Chacaíto 12:13 | Stefan Gold 12:30 | Arturo Garbizu 12:32 | Colour Printing 14:14 | Javier Aizpúrua 14:28 | Ganadero 18:01 | Colegio Americano de Caracas 18:34 | Las Minas 18:36 | Robert Musil 20:41 | Vladimir Nabokov 20:43 | Henry Miller 20:45 | Arthur Miller 20:47 | Ernest Hemingway 20:50 | Sigmund Freud 25:22 | La Florida 27:33 | La Pastora 27:34 | Clínica Fleury Cuello 27:43 | Colegio Humboldt 29:26 | Librería la France 29:43 | El Libro Italiano 29:44 | Mondadori 29:47 | Altamira 29:50 | Los Palos Grandes 29:52 | Libro de bolsillo 33:17 | Francisco Suniaga 34:34 | La Otra Isla 34:35 | Mauricio Vélez 34:42 | Nada Sagrado: Textos Zen 34:47 | Zen 35:29 | Karl Weidmann 37:44 | Paolo Gasparini 37:49 | Venezuelan Islands 37:54 | La Guajira, Venezuela 37:57 | El Zulia 37:58 | Gorka Dorronsoro 38:01 | Caracas by Gorka Dorronsoro & Jose Ignacio Cabrujas 38:05 | Todos Marchan 39:18 | Richard Avedon 41:56 | August Sander 41:57 | Vogue 42:13 | Salsa 44:49 | César Miguel Rondón 44:58 | Guillermo Yepes Boscán 45:45 | Copei 45:46 | Rafael Caldera 46:03 | IVA 46:33 | Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá (FILBo) 47:10 | Ley del Libro 47:20 | Monte Ávila Editores 48:15 | Kindle 51:55 | Tipografía de plomo 56:03 | Tipografía 56:04 | Linotipia 56:07 | Pen Drive 56:39 | Johannes Gutenberg 57:59 | Terminología en Tipografía 57:58 | El Llano 59:33 | Franz Schubert 01:00:15 | Dos Mundas 01:02:09 | First World War 01:03:51 | Second World War 01:03:52 | Puerto Cabello 01:04:22 | Naval Blockade of Venezuela 1902-03 01:04:34 | Cipriano Castro 01:06:20 | Antonio Guzmán Blanco 01:06:23 | Edificio Galipán 01:07:55 | Luna Benitez 01:10:19 | German Literature 01:12:20 | German Romanticism 01:12:49 | Adolf Hitler 01:13:27 | Álvaro Sotillo 01:15:49 | El Sol de la Ceguera 01:16:14 | Kira Kariakin 01:16:41 | Flavia Pesci Feltri 01:16:43 | Trazos en Fuga 01:16:45
All images used on this page and during the interview are by kind permission of Carsten Todtmann & Oscar Todtmann Editores.
Producción por Carla Tofano & Toby Deveson | Subtítulos y traducciones por Valentina Sarno y Alessandra Greco | Música por: Maya Petrovna
Si deseas hacer una donación a Metralla Rosa, utiliza este enlace de PayPal. Tu generosidad nos ayudará a continuar produciendo contenido gratuito y lo recaudado se utilizará principalmente para la creación de subtítulos en inglés, español e italiano. Muchas gracias.
Poeta | Escritor | Antropólogo
15th March 2024Butoh Dancer | Choreographer
1st March 2024Journalist | Author
26th November 2023Cantante | Compositora
15th April 2022Baterista | Músico
1st April 2022Músico | Activista Cultural
1st March 2022Artist
15th February 2022Curadora de Arte
15th January 2022DJ | Musician | Music Producer
15th July 2021Ceramic Artist
1st July 2021Artist | Fashion Illustrator | Art Tutor
15th June 2021Músico | Cantante | Sanadora
2nd June 2021Artist
15th May 2021Actor | Writer | Director
1st May 2021DJ | Music Promoter | Events Producer
15th April 2021Historiadora | Feminista | Escritora
1st April 2021Artista Plástica
15th March 2021Artist
1st March 2021Artist | Art Tutor
15th February 2021Artista Digital | Programador
1st February 2021Compositora | Pianista | Productora musical
15th January 2021High Cardinal of the Global Order of Satan
1st January 2021DJ | Productor Musical | Performer
15th December 2020Ceramicist | Artist
1st December 2020Escritora
1st November 2020Photographer
15th October 2020Artista Plástica
1st October 2020Shoe Designer
15th September 2020Writer | Actor | Director
1st September 2020Artista | Diseñador | Artesano
15th August 2020Baterista | Percusionista | Surfer
1st August 2020Podcast Creator | Life Coach
15th July 2020Artist | Art Historian
1st July 2020Periodista | Acróbata Aéreo | Yogi
15th June 2020Art Critic | Writer | Speaker
1st June 2020Artist | Designer | Maker
15th May 2020Directora de FLAWA | Socióloga
1st May 2020Visual Artist | Art Historian
15th April 2020TV Presenter | Producer | Mental Health Activist
1st April 2020Artist | Entrepreneur | Author
15th March 2020Performance Artists | Dancers | Models
1st March 2020Wine expert | TV presenter | Author
15th February 2020Artista | Dominatrix | Tarot
1st February 2020Visual Artist
15th January 2020Attore | Ballerino | Modello
1st January 2020Directora Editorial | Escritora | Músico
1st January 2020Actriz
15th December 2019Músico | Cantautor | Poeta
1st December 2019Artist
15th November 2019Artista Visiva
15th November 2019Artista Plástica | Historiadora del Arte | Curadora de Arte
15th November 2019
