Books and my city, Caracas - IYC Contest


Hello Hivers, happy Sunday to you all.

For the last few days, I had been waiting to make my entry out of competition for the Introduce Your City community contest hosted by the awesome @beeber, which theme this time is Books and your City. But Covid had prevented me from going out the last days and taking the photos I wanted for my post. Finally, yesterday, I was able to go out to do it.

I wouldn't say that Caracas is a city of readers. It is not like some other big Latin American capitals where there are big bookstores and many book fairs. It has never been. But the crisis that the country has gone through has affected the situation even more. And some of the good bookshops have closed their doors, although a few of them have managed to resist.

But let's not talk about what we had, but what we have. I am going to talk about one bookstore, in particular, that is one of my favorites when it comes to looking not only for new books but also for second-hand books.

Surely if anyone living in Caracas is reading me when they hear about second-hand books, they will think of the dozens of kiosks that are located under the bridge on Av. Fuerzas Armadas in the center of the city.

PuenteFuerzasArmadas_Caracas1.jpgFuerzas Armadas Av. bridge seen from Urdaneta Av., Caracas

And if you are looking for second-hand books at low prices, you will usually go to this place where there are lots of kiosks selling used books. If you have patience, you can get good bargains on technical books, school textbooks, and literary classics.

PuenteFuerzasArmadas_Caracas2.jpgUnder Fuerzas Armadas Av. bridge , Caracas

But if what I want is to spend a few hours among books in a small but charming bookstore where you can find some gems in books, I'll opt to go to El Buscón.

ElBuscon1.jpg

It is a small bookshop located in a space with several cultural options, cinema, theatre, an art gallery and of course where you can have a coffee. The place is called Trasnocho Cultural and is located in a shopping center in the east of the city. There you will find this small bookstore.

ElBuscon2.jpg

They specialize in general literature, classics and contemporary, Venezuelan literature, books about Venezuela, art, and cinema. And they also have a good selection of children's books.

ElBuscon4.jpg

They sell both new and used books. And it's the first place I think of if I want to give a book as a gift. I can spend hours looking for a book because there is so much variety. I think the name El Buscón suits it. It should translate into something like The Searcher, referring to a person.

ElBuscon3.jpg

There are a few other little gems in the city in bookstores. Where you can go to browse, and where sometimes there are book presentations and talks, but we'll leave that for another time.

If you want to tell us about books and your city, the contest runs until today, so there are still a few hours left to participate.

Thank you for reading.

All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.

© CoquiCoin

May 29, 2022



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They literally have attempeted my murder and are trying to kill me with V2K and RNM. Five years this has been happening to me, it started here, around people that are still here. Homeland security has done nothing at all, they are not here to protect us. Dont we pay them to stop shit like this? The NSA, CIA, FBI, Police and our Government has done nothing. Just like they did with the Havana Syndrome, nothing. Patriot Act my ass. The American government is completely incompetent. The NSA should be taken over by the military and contained Immediately for investigation. I bet we can get to the sources of V2K and RNM then. https://ecency.com/fyrstikken/@fairandbalanced/i-am-the-only-motherfucker-on-the-internet-pointing-to-a-direct-source-for-voice-to-skull-electronic-terrorism ..... https://ecency.com/gangstalking/@acousticpulses/electronic-terrorism-and-gaslighting--if-you-downvote-this-post-you-are-part-of-the-problem

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I'm not from Caracas but it's good to know what options there are to buy second hand books or to spend a nice time having coffee reading and choosing books.

Good luck in the contest, it was nice to see images of caracas and books. Regards @coquicoin

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Hello, Ana Maria, thank you :)

If you ever come to Caracas. An afternoon in that place is a good plan. There is a cinema and a theatre, and the bookstore is cozy and has a lot to choose from. Or only to browse around, which is what I usually do, hehe;) The coffee shop is good but a bit expensive. And there is a small art gallery.

Thanks for stopping by 🤗🤗

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This looks wonderful @coquicoin 😁 My kind of place.
Books and a place to read. 😎
Great murals on the bridge in the first photo.

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It is a nice place, indeed :)
The murals on the bridge are eye-catching. I wish I could have taken better pictures of that place. But it is in a part of the city center that is quite chaotic, and where it is not a good idea to take out your cell phone to take pictures. ;)

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I understand… better not than 😉

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Yep better not 😉
Night night 😴

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Thanks @coquicoin 😁
Time to switch off… night night 👋🏻😴😴
Talk tomorrow! Have a wonderful evening.

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Night night and sweet dreams 😴😴 and good morning when you read this 😉😊☀️

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Thanks a lot @coquicoin 😁
Distracted a bit hahaha still here, but will go… and sleep soon I hope.

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🤣🤣🤣 I know about those distractions haha! Sometimes we say goodbye here like ten times, LOLOL
Sweet dreams anyway 😊😄

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(Edited)

I would say the mural is horrible ( part of it) I hate that Simón Bolivar zambo. But for sure, the pain goes beyond. It is not the picture itself. It is the ideology and its ideologists. Venezuelans' traumas. I am mestiza or zamba ( not derogative use here by me. Proudly mestiza), most of Venezuelans are; but Bolivar? He sure was not. Just another distorsion of reality.

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I get your point, and I usually avoid murals with Bolivarian themes which have to do with the government, to be honest. This one, in particular, is the place and the bridge, so there was no option but to show it. It is striking beyond the distortion of our history that the ideology that governs us has made and that the people that are not from here can't see. ;)

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(Edited)

Yes, of course. My opinion is a million percent biased. Not way ! 😂 In fact, I would say part of it is because there are things that I respect, just for the sake of being Venezuelan : José Gregorio, our indigenous people, our past wars; but, the more i see it , the least I like it . What is that faucet meaning? 😂 The oil boom sputtering they had and that they wasted? I cant. Sorry @littlebee4. Just a comment to make a little catarsis 😂

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but, the more i see it , the least I like it .

I can relate to that, believe me

Just a comment to make a little catarsis 😂

Quite needed once in a while;)

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No worries, 😉 everybody's opinion is theirs and for people on the other side of the world… that don’t know all of that, can’t see or know it.
So for me to talk about something I have no idea of… hhhmmm doesn’t make sense.
😁 if I would, a discussion once in a while isn’t all that bad 😎 and could go on for a bit too. Hahaha maybe next time!
Enjoy your day 👋🏻☀️

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Yes, I didn’t know… just saw the colourful mural.

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Yep, sure. It is colorful indeed despite the ideology or the meaning, one wants to give to it.

Have a lovely day!😄😊🪴☀️

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Of course there is always a deeper meaning behind murals… I didn’t look closer for it and just saw a colourful painting.
My main comment was more about the great bookstore 😉

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I see you have my book in the last picture "Completely Mad"🤣🤣🤣
Actually the sellers under the bridge reminds me of parts of Paris.
You might not have quantity but you have quality in Caracas!
Happy Sunday Super Eli I am late to the party today

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(Edited)

Of course, it is your book. I didn't tag you in the post. But I had the perfect book for you in the picture, didn't I? With the wee rascal included on the cover 😂 And if you know me well enough, you'll know that it is not by chance that this is the photo I have chosen. 😉

The vendors under the bridge have been there for as long as I can remember. It used to be even a bit makeshift without the kiosks. Yes, it's a bit of a Parisian idea, but believe me, the last thing you think of in that area is Paris. It's quite chaotic, so I didn't go down there to take photos and I took them from the car. And as it was a Saturday it wasn't so crowded. But on weekdays it's a hive of activity.

I hope you enjoyed your Sunday, Super Ed :)

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Oh trust me I know the effort you put into choosing the correct picture and what to put in the camera screen to take the picture;)

Oh so you were snapping from the car, well if it is safer then I do not blame you Super Eli!

It was a good Sunday thank you Super Eli, and was a busy Monday too, now getting back into the swing of it!

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😉😊
Back to the swing over here too.
Have a terrific and productive week, Super Ed! 😄

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Yes the swing it is good one, and tomorrow will be less busy, so more time to Hive in between things!
Here is to a good terrific productive week here and there Super Eli ☺️😁😁😃

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Thank you, Super Ed! 😄

And as here is still Monday, for a terrific week jaja

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Thank you ☀️🐝😄
Have a nice week :)

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You're welcome @coquicoin, you deserve it well! Thanks for being so active here 😊👍🌹

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Beautiful city sis💗 I love that you have such wonderful places where you get to read, buy, explore and appreciate books :)

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What a nice post! A better face of our capital. Unfortunately Caracas is not a reader city, but for me it used to be. In the past, of course. I used to go to Caracas to buy books and do research. I loved going to Suma in Sabana Grande . I'm not sure if they are still open, but the last thing I knew the business what not going well ( Of course). There I found most of my translation books. I also loved going to Librería Americana (or sth like that)there I found books in English and dictionaries. I also found good stuff at the UCV in the Pasillo de Ingienería. Great memories

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Hello! How are you? Of the places you mention, only the UCV hallway is still working as far as I know, although I haven't been there for years. Many bookstores have unfortunately closed with the crisis.
Thanks for stopping by.
Saludos :)

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I can't believe I missed this one. I have fond memories of bookstores in Caracas (American Bookstore, for instance) and the Fuerzas Armadas bridge second-hand book sellers. Great deals.
I will probably work on a related post about Cumaná. Reading here has been one of the most lamentable casualties of the two-decade socio-economic tragedy.
This was a great post. Thanks for reviving fond memories.

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The American Bookstore was so nice. I can imagine if the bookstores here have suffered so much and few have resisted, how can be the situation in this regard in Cumaná. Looking forward to reading your post about that.
You are very welcome. And thank you for stopping by.
Saludos🤗 !PIZZA

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