Libreria La Paz

I dont know how many times I’ve walked past this bookstore in the Mercado Central and paid it no mind, all the while tracking a burrito or some veggie tacos. It sits right in front of the row of restaurants and from the looks of the ceramic baby Jesuses (baby Jesii?) and plethora of rosaries for sale, it caters primarily to the good Catholics of the neighborhood. Being that I haven’t been to Catholic church since my first communion at age 7, there’s never been any magnetism to the tiny space.
The other day, as I waited on my burrito order to be up the other day, I ventured in. Ironically enough, the old adage «dont judge a book by its cover» applies. Inside, past the scripture-​inscribed bookmarks, I was pleased to find a bookshelf stuffed with a treasure trove of books in Spanish. Among those I admired: a copy of Sandra Cisneros’ La Casa en Mango Street, a hard-​cover photo-​heavy Williams-​Sonoma style cookbook with some intriguing salads, Che Guevara’s Bolivia Diaries, and another cookbook called something like How to Cook Authentic Mexican Food – a bilingual book with an intro including a glossary and a detailed description of traditional Mexican cooking utensils like the comal.
If you are trying to brush up on your Spanish or just move your home-​cooked Mexican cuisine beyond enchilada pie hot dish, I would highly suggest a visit to Libreria La Paz. What a lovely little gem!