During the last ten years, thanks to the generosity of El Siglo de Durango, the weekly page of Letras Durangueñas has had the book –contents, authors, resonances and permanence, titles of yesterday and today, from here and beyond- as one of its most important objectives, in the way of reviewing our cultural heritage while showing current literary creativity and historical research. Kind readers will know to what extent these goals have been achieved. Now, after the recent disappearance of Sanborns, and with it the loss for us of its excellent bookstore, added to the similarly recent closure of El Palacio de la Revista, an already emblematic establishment in the city center, should lead us to rethink the future of its immediate consequences.
It will be said, in principle, that these effects will only be suffered by a minority of the population, because in these times of the internet do the new generations read newspapers and paper magazines ?, since it seems that books are better defending themselves from the possibilities that offer amazing electronic advancements. That is what the specialists point out, that in the medium term the two forms will still coexist: traditional and digital. If newspapers and magazines already see their salvation in the consultation by computer or cell phone, how long will paper books last without moving permanently to modern screens? We do not know. Two or three years ago I saw long lines of young people at the Guadalajara International Book Fair waiting for their favorite writer to sign their books. What a relief, he told me, although I confess that I am adjusting well to both types of formats: the extraordinary opportunity to have a short story or poem within reach that cannot be found elsewhere, the fresh scientific note (such as the detailed follow-up of Perseverance on its journey to Mars, for example) and the pleasure of reading the old-fashioned way – how hard it sounds – a novel of many pages, pencil in hand for the underlined ones, not to mention the classics, which are always waiting for us.
For the time being, good readers from Durango, which there are, although not as many as would be desired in a truly developed society, will have to look for other options, since they no longer have the corner of 20 de Noviembre and Juárez, for both sidewalks. La Enseñanza Bookstores -always the first, for legendary- Vargas, Ochoa, Ciencia y Cultura, José Revueltas, the Fondo de Cultura Económica or EDUCAL, among other religious, technical, etc. books have long been available to them. However, we do not have the ones we would like to have, when will a Gandhi finally open in Durango, which must have something for all tastes and interests? Let us hope then that the closure of Sanborns will make its arrival closer, if in contrast the spirits of the entrepreneurs of the project do not fall flat. By location there will be no problem: a large number of premises in the central streets have been available, after the tragic pandemic … which has not just concluded its wake of death and suffering. Thus, true friends of reading will not be totally unprotected in Durango’s bookstores, and incidentally will contribute to ensuring that these cultural consumption businesses do not disappear. By the way: here we have a good old-fashioned book store: Alfarabía, on Negrete street, a few steps from Zaragoza. I would not like to forget either the hard-working publishing companies of our capital – or the modest and meritorious flea markets of used books – who risk their heritage in such a difficult business area, in the context of a country that does not have a well-established culture of the book as an agent of continuous educational training.
For the faithful of newspapers and magazines there are alternatives in the establishments that are still active: in front of the Gómez Palacio market, inside the Plaza Nueva Vizcaya, near what was the Alameda cinema, next to the Plazuela Baca Ortiz, and a not so long list. And there are the Oxxos and the small shelves of some shopping centers. It is not the same, of course. But something is something, that more was lost in the war, they say. Another one: in many squares of some cities such as León, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Puebla, or just a few meters away, one can find well-stocked stands of newspapers, magazines and even books, will it be impossible for Durango to walk that route? Who has to put the batteries?
With the closure of the Sanborns bookstore, the people of Durango undoubtedly lost variety and promptness in informative and intellectual access. With the loss of El Palacio de la Revista – note the now extinct quality: a palace of magazines! – readers will no longer have the opportunity to get, who knows how long, the best magazines in the country and the splendid series of Spanish books : Sarpe, Gredos, Orbis, RBA … What a shame and what sadness, they just left and we already feel the longing. It will be because of the enlightened affection of gratitude. However…
“No one will end books,” wrote the great Umberto Eco hopefully. If readers recommend the works offered by our bookstores, if writers publish comments for the same purposes, if government officials from the economic area support this type of establishments, if schools order titles available in Durango, if the promoters of reading become more closely linked with the editorial dynamics of the locality, we can finally have the certainty that the phrase of the unforgettable Italian scholar will recover all its noble reality.
Kiosko, DURANGUEÑAS LETTERS
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