One of a kind bookstore in North Philadelphia showcases Latino stories
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We are celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month. It begins Sept. 15 and runs through October 15.
Pages are filled with both Spanish and English words. It's the only bilingual bookstore in all of Philadelphia.
"The bookstore has been around since the beginning. probably about 40 years," bookstore manager Lisa Moser said. "It's named after Julia de Burgos who is a very famous and important Puerto Rican poet."
The bookstore, Julia de Burgo, is inside Taller Puertorriqueño, a Hispanic nonprofit where manager Moser has been working for three years.
"I'm not Puerto Rican, I'm not Latina but I feel like this community has just embraced me," Moser said. "I feel like everyone who walks through these doors is so welcomed."
Inside tables are covered with art made by Latino artists and handmade accessories while shelves are filled with over 1,000 books of which 400 are in Spanish.
It serves as a unique space in the heart of Philadelphia's Latino community.
"The biggest publisher in the world published a report that 80% of their authors are White and only 5% are Latinx," Moser said.
"Other bookstores with Latin or Hispanic sections, it's just a section," Taller Puertorriqueño graphic designer Annais Delgado said. "Versus here we are the main protagonist."
Aside from books strictly in Spanish, they also offer books in Spanglish which have become quite popular for families.
For Delgado, who grew up in Puerto Rico, they say having a space in which the community can access Spanglish literature, meaning books that combine both English and Spanish brings generations together.
"A lot of the younger Latino generation may not be as familiar with speaking Spanish or are not as strong with their Spanish and then the older generation is like the opposite where they speak Spanish but their English might not be as good," Delgado said.
Regardless of your Spanish-speaking abilities, there's a story for everyone.
