Book Adventures in Mexico

This year I had the opportunity to travel to Jalisco, Mexico in the month of September and experience El Grito de Mexico and all the patriotic festivities. Growing up, I remember my mom telling me about these celebrations, specifically about the time she left a then boyfriend at the plaza and ran all the way home once the fireworks started because she got scared. I thought about that as I too found myself racing back to my family’s home, on the verge of a panic attack, from the same plaza my mom had decades earlier on the night of El Grito, expect of course, minus a boyfriend.

The awareness that I was retracing my mom’s footsteps was quite surreal, and I finally understood her deep-rooted fear of pyrotechnics, because the fireworks in Mexico are no joke. In fact, my cousin pointed out the ice cream parlor we were to run for cover to avoid the fireworks that chase your feet. It should have been my first sign to leave.

Aside from that, September was also the time of year when the corn crops were ready to be harvested and the hills all around town displayed a vibrant green, paving way to scenic nature drives and open star filled skies at night. It was beautiful.

And the one thing I made sure to do this time around was check out the local bookstores. On my previous visits I hadn’t bothered to do so. Why? I’m not sure but I vaguely recall a book stand at the plaza where I purchased the Spanish edition of Nick Vujicic’s Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action book, along with a book I’d gotten at the airport as I awaited my flight home. And because I remembered the lady running the book stand had a vast collection of bestselling books, I asked around when I didn’t see her post and was told by the locals it’s because she goes to other towns, and no one knows when she’ll be back until they just see her at the plaza with her book stand.

So, I did the next best thing and googled searched the nearest bookstore to me and to my surprise, only one result came up. Nevertheless, I was determined to go and thankfully, with the help of the friendly locals in town, my sister and I were able to find the store before the rain started pouring. Ahh, taking refuge in a bookstore, I love it. Even when said safe haven was a bit on the smaller side with no windows and had a large display of cellphone cases for sale along with other random miscellaneous items. But I had the best time browsing the bookshelves that had a decent selection of YA books, mostly Wattpad Originals, but also a few other well-known books like Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling Fourth Wing, or as it’s titled in Mexico, Alas de Sangre. Fun-fact: The literal English translation of that would be Wings of Blood.

Other books I saw were Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of being a Wallflower and a lot of Jane Austin classics and some self-help books in the mix. What’s interesting is the books were all sealed and wrapped in plastic so you couldn’t necessarily skim through it or read the first pages as you would at a Barnes & Noble. Another thing I noted was they were all dusty, as if no one had picked up any of the books in ages or dusted the bookshelves. No matter, I ended up spending the equivalent to forty dollars on three books and was delighted to be informed by the lovely store owner that should I request any book in particular, she would try her hardest to get it for me as she frequently did whenever someone asked. I was searching for Gilraen Earfala’s Letter’s that were not sent book that I was told had been recently requested by another person.

Next up, let’s talk about the libraries in town as I was fortunate enough to visit one thanks to my amazing aunt who, knowing my love for reading, took me to the local library so I knew where to check out books if I wanted to. Unfortunately, the employee there said I could only do so if I had a valid Mexican identification card, but if not, I was still welcome to come and read there anytime. He also emphasized that the library was currently undergoing renovations, the reason for the piles of boxes in the back and empty spaces. He let me browse the shelves and when I asked him if they held events, he said sure, that the teachers bring their classrooms, and they read stories to the kids.

The library wasn’t that large and had a scarce selection of Young Adult books. However, copies of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series were all available but what stood out to me were the white covers that had only the title. No Edward Cullen’s hand holding the famous red apple or tie in movie poster cover. It was basically a white canvas with book title and author name printed. I wondered the reason behind this and if that was the case for all Spanish editions or I just stumbled onto a peculiar version.

Another thing that was interesting about this library was the lack of books in the foreign language section, but I can say that they did have an abundance of literature from Shakespeare to Mexican authors. The science and history sections were also plentiful so that was pretty neat.

The other library in town was the one located at the university about a ten-minute drive away, but as I wasn’t a student and it was gated, I wasn’t able to check it out. Maybe if I had asked, they would have let me tour their library but alas, I didn’t.

Then, something remarkable happened, by sheer luck, during my last few days in Mexico, I saw the book stand at the plaza! I was beyond excited to see the familiar tent and its table overflowing with books which as you can see in the photo below, had a vast selection consisting of even Ali Hazelwood’s latest novel, Check & Mate along with other popular books. I was thrilled to see that.

All in all, I really had the best time in my mom’s hometown. A place I’d have called home had my mom not immigrated to the United States. At times I wonder how different my life would have been if that were the case. If I had grown up in this small town instead of California. Would I have still found a love for reading? Want to be a writer?

I’d like to think so. That in no matter what lifetime or country, I’d have still discovered my passion for reading and writing. It’s so engraved in me that I simply can’t imagine a world in which I’m doing anything else.

But I can, however, envision a life in Mexico. It’s a country rich in culture and wonderful people and in my short time there, I was inspired to someday write a novel set there. I’m not going to lie, I even started taking notes already!

I just wish books would be as accessible as they are in the states. How with a simple click of a button, you can place a book order on Amazon and have it delivered at your front door the next day. Or drive to any Barnes & Noble or local indie bookstore and be confident they’ll have the book you want in stock to purchase and take home that same day. Heck, even the large grocery stores would be sure to carry some books.

Of course, I can’t speak for all of Mexico, and I’m sure in the bigger cities it’s easier to find a large variety of books, but as for my mom’s hometown? Where the nearest cinema is approximately three hours away and the international airport even further? And where I was told that having Amazon deliver is not that simple? And vendors who do carry books to sell try to get what they can?

I wish it were.

On another topic, BTS’s popularity knows no bounds as I stumbled upon a store selling K-pop posters and cups and obviously I had to get a BTS poster.

Well guys, that concludes this post and until next time.