There are those who have rediscovered the love for literature in this place. For some years now, in the Plaza de la Santa Veracruz, an esplanade shared by the Franz Mayer Museum and the Museo Nacional de la Estampa, in the Historic Center of Mexico City, public book auctions have been held every Saturday. Also known as “Plaza de la Cháchara”, this space has partially stopped its activities due to the health crisis caused by the coronavirus. However, it is still a meeting point for sellers who, despite the risk of contagion, have found it impossible to maintain quarantine.
This esplanade began its exchange activities when buyers and sellers were displaced from the surroundings of the Metro Bellas Artes; places where, mainly on weekends, they met to make the payment against delivery of the volume purchased or won at auction during the week. Little by little that meeting point was also becoming a social center where editors, academics and even writers converge, beyond the boom in online sales.
The idea arose from the success of Facebook groups dedicated to the sale and auction of bibliographic copies of all kinds, mostly old books that are difficult to access, either because they are out of print or because they are first editions. For this reason, this site has also been a gold mine for collectors and bibliophiles. The main nature of the pages dedicated to this activity through social networks responds to the needs, not only economic, but also for the pleasure of socializing literature and making the reading community larger.
Writers based in Mexico City, such as Alejandro Toledo or Josefina Estrada —of whom some titles are suddenly offered at auction — actively participate in these groups. "I have seen authors who have come to bid for their own books", tells Verne Germán Camacho, who with Abraham Saldívar created the group El rincón de la Cháchara which, over the three years since its creation, has managed to create a community of almost 50,000 users on Facebook. They negotiated permits with the government of Mexico City to occupy the plaza on weekends during the afternoons.
“The Plaza de la Santa Veracruz was a red hot spot for the sale of drugs and male prostitution, in that sense, the appropriation of this space was positive. We got it back, ”says Camacho. “The sale and auction groups on Facebook are being the pillar for the bookstores that have had to close due to the pandemic,” he says.
Auctions usually start from zero pesos and usually end 24 hours later. There, dozens of titles from different publishing labels are published, but it is also possible to find records and other antiques. Despite the fact that almost all of them are second-hand books, the administrators of the groups ask the community to advise those interested of the conditions and specificities when offering them. With this you can make a safe exchange and pay for what is offered. If the winner or the bidder of the auction does not comply with the closing of the deal, they can be penalized with expulsion from the group. “An auction is a matter of honor; you have to know how to keep your word ”, emphasizes Saldívar.
Another similar group is The Dark Nena Auctions, formed in 2012, which has around 15,000 members. Karim Yaver, its administrator, points out that "because they are unique specimens, it is almost always a fun practice and at the same time frustrating when one loses by not bidding on time," he says.
"It is a totally different experience: in bookstores you are going to look for specific titles, but in virtual sales groups and auctions the reader finds opportunities as they appear", comments to Verne Omar Hernández Salgado, lawyer for ITAM and bibliographic collector. “And you find not only literature, but historical documents; I recently saw a volume of the 1824 Constitution of Mexico being offered. I bought a copy of the original edition of the 1917 Constitution, as well as a first edition of Pedro Páramo and Borges's Poetic Work signed by the author. The difference, in terms of the collector, is that the price is more accessible ”.
Despite the health contingency due to covid-19, the activities in this square have not stopped. The organizers indicate that they try to follow sanitary protocols. "They have tried to keep the measures requested by the capital's government and the points to follow have been published on the sales pages to avoid contagion," he says. "It is very difficult to have absolute control, because many people depend on the weekly income from the sale of their books, and they cannot stop completely," he says.
Yadira Gaytán has been in the book business for almost two decades. Five years ago she began to distribute her collection through auction groups and her own page, Virtual Bookstore "In search of the lost book." She assures that the pandemic completely paralyzed her. Fortunately, she has been able to live on the few savings she has. “I had to stop working since the pandemic started, but I preferred to guard myself and protect myself. There are people who are forced to continue selling, because they have children and depend on it. In this sense, "social networks have been of great help to those of us who sell books," he says.
For David Rodríguez, who offers his material through the page La casa de Asterión, within the social network, it has not been easy to get around the pandemic, and he talks about the distribution chain of the bookseller that has been interrupted. “Many of us have to go out every day to track down some titles in warehouses or flea markets that might interest our clients; being everything closed, it is impossible to stock more products. I had to stop too ”, he details.
A virtual library for collectors
As well as the auction groups, there are virtual bookstores focused almost exclusively on the sale of collectibles. The books that Alex Santos offers dazzle in themselves for the historical value of the work. "They are witnesses of time," he tells Verne, alluding to some volumes that have come into his possession and that he sells through his Facebook page, Sale of used and new books (The Rebel Man). “The bookseller business in this network depends a lot on trust with the buyer. Luckily I have had more positive experiences because my type of client is usually very dedicated to studying or collecting and really has a very deep interest in books, "he says.
On this sales page you can see some editorial rarities, such as the first edition of The Complete Novels of Anatole France, from 1946, or The Decameron , by Giovanni Boccaccio, in its original language, published in 1587. “I sold a German edition of the Book of the Spiritual Scale , by Juan Clímaco, from 1583. This volume was marked in the upper part or gut of the book with the acronym of the monastery of San Diego and has a vellum or parchment style binding ”, says Santos.
The sale and auction groups on Facebook have become the virtual places in which the bookseller sector has been able to float during the pandemic. According to its organizers, it is an alternative not only for those who are dedicated to this trade but for all users. Being able to go from buyer to seller at any time has been the solution of many members to avoid the effects of the economic crisis derived from the health contingency.
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