The patio of Paraguay’s National Library has begun filling with cushions, books, laughter, and sunlight thanks to Literary Picnic, a warm and creative initiative by illustrator and writer Mali Jara (39), known widely as the mind behind Anita Dice. The event debuted on Saturday, 22 November 2025, with a strong turnout, and it will continue across the next two Saturdays: 29 November and 6 December, from 14:00 to 19:30, with free entry.
From an accidental drawing to a beloved character
To understand the excitement surrounding the event, it helps to look at the story behind Anita Dice, the character that first introduced Mali Jara to national audiences. Anita was not the result of a long-planned artistic project. Instead, she emerged quite unexpectedly.
“I like to say that all the best accidents that ever happened to me were never planned,” Mali recalled. “I was not looking for Anita, but maybe she was looking for me.”
She explained that she had always drawn as a child, storing sketches in notebooks without formal training. One day, she created a small drawing, felt inspired, and posted it on Facebook. “That afternoon, Anita left me a little message. So I posted it.”
The response transformed everything. Friends, coworkers, and strangers encouraged her to continue. One coworker insisted that Anita should become a character, that she represented “the woman of the 21st century.” Mali remembers laughing at the idea, convinced she “did not know how to draw.” But she kept going.
“Luckily, I just kept doing it. Drawing by drawing. And today I make a living from this, and I cannot imagine my life without Anita. I love it.”
Growing up alongside a character
As the years passed, Anita evolved with her creator. Mali sees the character as a version of herself, sometimes accurate, sometimes amplified. “Even though she is a fictional character, she is either who I am or an exaggerated version of who I would like to be.”
This connection means that Anita grows through joy, mistakes, and challenges at the same pace as Mali herself. “It happens naturally, thankfully.”
Despite how personal the character is, sharing her with the world never felt frightening. At first, Anita’s creator remained anonymous. “I enjoyed that anonymity so much. If I could choose, I would have kept it, because it gives you total freedom.”
Although she no longer hides behind the character, she remains mindful when dealing with sensitive themes. Some drawings, she noted, require time. “Sometimes I prefer to wait a bit until I am more ready to talk about certain topics. But really, I do not hold back. And if Anita says it, then I say it.”
Bringing art into everyday life
Mali’s relationship with creativity extends well beyond the page. Her previous exhibition Mejor Enojada que Callada (Better Angry Than Silent) invited visitors to interact with her works playfully and physically. She described it with delight.
“Doing that felt like bringing together Anita, my art, my thoughts, and who I am,” she said. “It was really fun seeing the cartoons come to life, in a way. It is a balance between real life and the imaginary life on paper. I love it.”
Creating community through Robusta
Mali is also part of Robusta, a Paraguayan feminist art collective. For her, the group has been transformative. “The collective, with its good and bad, was one of the best things that happened to me since I grew up.”
Working with women, she said, feels fundamentally different. “I truly love working with women. It is not always perfect, but it is a completely different dynamic than working with men, and I choose working with women 100%, always.”
With admiration, humour, and collaboration, the artists of Robusta build their projects “step by step,” creating a space that reflects their values.
Humour is central to Mali’s art and worldview. She speaks of it with striking sincerity. “For me, and I am going to say it dramatically, humour saved my life. Through humour, I can say absolutely anything, as long as I find a kind way to say it. Humour has powers.”
Art as citizenship
Beyond her artistic projects, Mali is deeply involved in social initiatives and NGO work. “If I died today, having worked for NGOs would be one of the things I would be most proud of.” Her social engagement is reflected in the Literary Picnic, which is not merely a cultural event but also an act of civic participation: a commitment to reclaiming public spaces for community use.
When asked what she hopes people will take from the Literary Picnic, Mali’s answer was full of enthusiasm. “People often repeat that ‘there’s nothing to do here (in Paraguay)’ and more and more it is becoming obvious that is not true.”
She views the picnic as an opportunity to revive the National Library, whose patio she describes as beautiful and full of potential. “We have this amazing space. We should inhabit it and bring diversity into it. I love it.”
The event offers reading corners, drawing workshops, a book fair, coffee, snacks, and a special area for children. All presented in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
Stories still to come
Although Anita Dice has already told parts of Paraguayan life with humour and tenderness, Mali has countless stories left. “Millions. I have so many ideas I have not published yet. They are just waiting for me.”
And perhaps some of them will sprout during these three Saturdays in the library’s sunlit patio, surrounded by books, laughter, and the quiet magic of a community rediscovering public spaces through art.
