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EXPLORING MEXICO CITY

Calle Donceles - Mexico Used Bookstore Heaven
by Ron Mader

MEXICO FORUM

MEXICO -- Used books -- if they've had a good life -- seem to find their way to one particular street.

PHOTO GALLERY: Mexico City
SLIDESHOW

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For visitors and residents alike, Calle Donceles offers a rewarding visit.

This noisy yet charming avenue could be rightfully called 'Mexico's Used Bookstore Heaven.' Donceles is located in the heart of the Centro Historico neighborhood, north of the Zócalo and running east to west from Argentina to the Eje Central (Lazaro Cardenas).

WALK THROUGH HISTORY

Donceles is one of Mexico City's most fascinating streets and one of the few that maintains its name from the colonial era. Dating back to 1524, the name was originally Calle de los Donceles - a 'doncel' being a nobel (and virgin) assistant to a knight. On a five-block trek, you'll pass buildings constructed over the past half millennium. It's an energizing visual mix of Colonial, Art Deco and Just Plain Ugly Architecture and an unbeatable urban trek.

Any walk in the Centro Historico is a trek through history. Most of the streets in this district specialize in a particular product. This is a century-old tradition that continues to serve practical needs for residents and visitors alike. Looking for sporting goods? Head to Calle Venustiano Carranza. Electrical supplies and lamps? Those are found on Calle Victoria. Wedding dresses? Go to Calle Honduras. And if you're looking for used books, Calle Donceles beacons.

There are at least a dozen specialized stores here, each of which has tons of low-priced, eclectic titles. This would be the perfect place for a literary scavenger hunt. While most of the books are in Spanish, some foreign language titles occasionally pop up, though curiously enough, most of the titles are from the 60s and 70s as if entering the bookstore were akin entering a time warp of sorts.

Look for the entire collection of retro-best-sellers. The obligatory collection of old National Geographic magazines can also be found, but so can old issues of the classic revista Mexico Desconocido and lesser known periodicals.

In the early part of the century the stores served the universities and colleges in the Centro and Donceles was an obligatory stop for all of the students. The academic centers migrated from the Centro in the 1940s and 1950s, inspiring a transformation of the bookstores, from selling new books to old. Students, however, still make up the largest percentile of customers

In a personal quest for good books about Mexico's nature and culture, I've purchased narrative and fictional histories of Chapultepec Park and Xochimilco and the odd-ball guidebooks from the 1950s -- my favorite instructs travelers to visit Morelia, 'good for tires and car parts,' it says in its understated manner.

FAVORITES

Note: Most of the bookstores are open everyday except Sunday, generally from 10am to 8pm. They also buy used books and make trades.

Libreria Selecta
Donceles #79. (Founded in 1956)
One of the oldest bookstores on the street, Selecta's cluttered shelves and tables deserve close scrutiny. You'll find great bargains. Among the specialties here are regional and international guidebooks and police novels. And, if you ask, you'll be shown to the warehouse (bodega) in the back of the store that it shares with Libreria Popular next door.

Bibliofilia: Libreria Anticuaria
Donceles #78-2. (Founded in 1993)
Some of the best books about Mexican history and culture are on the shelves and the more expensive titles are guarded behind glass. They also stock old maps and photos. Historians will be in 7th Heaven. Just ask and the clerk will be happy to show you any book.

Libreria de Viejo
Donceles #75-A. (Founded in 1990 )
'Lectura para todos' or 'Reading for everyone' is the motto here, and, indeed the selection of bookr range from historical texts about individual Mexican states to Marxist philosophy and cookbooks. Look for good 1-peso bargains from the La Bota editorial house. Just for the 1950s Ediciones Botas' art deco covers alone, these books are collectibles.

El Laberinto
Donceles #74,. (Founded in 1993 as "El Mundo Feliz" and renamed El Labertinto in 1996)
'Libreria de las utopias posibles' (Bookstore of Possible Utopias). Wind your way back through the store - it is a literally labyrinth - and you'll find a good selection of Mexican authors and English-language novels.

Those are just a few of the many fine bookstores on Calle Donceles. There are now more than a dozen bookstores on this street, and that number is climbing!

If your interest has been piqued, be sure to also visit the following establishments:

Libreria El Gran Remate, Donceles #81-1
Hermanos de la Hoja, Donceles #78-1
El Mercader de Libros, Donceles #75-B
Libreria Regia, Donceles #48
El Callejon de los Milagros, Donceles #42-A
El Tomo Suelto, Donceles 4#2

VISITING?

Calle Donceles is located in the Centro Historico of Mexico City.

TIPS -- While Calle Donceles specializes in used books, this street is also home to Mexico's first Camara de Diputados (now the city Assembly), el Teatro de la Ciuadad as well as hard-to-find flour tortillas (tortillas de harina), candies and stores that develop film or that sell camera supplies -- Donceles is also the city's photography street. In the middle of this hubbub, there are several banks with ATM service.