Rain and Julia, in La Lumbre.
People getting out of the subway, the sound of an excavator and passing cars dragging trails of trap. It is rush hour on the streets of Madrid and a door is the best shortcut to the shelter. At the entrance, the novelties of poetry welcome you, the dim lights play with the leaves of its tropical plants and Lluvia, an affectionate dog, becomes the best guide among the shelves. La Lumbre is a bookstore that delivers on the warmth it promises and it is consolidated as a place of search and reading, but especially, of (re)encounter.
Located at 48 Granada street and founded by Julia Ugarte and her husband Álvaro, this oasis of letters reveals what we already suspected: the power of a bookstore as a social link and escapism in a world of screens and algorithms.
La Lumbre is a place of (re)encounter.
A NEIGHBORHOOD IS NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD WITHOUT A BOOKSTORE
Julia's life was always linked to audiovisual production and that of her husband, Álvaro, to bookstores. Their passion for literature prompted the birth of La Lumbre in 2017 with the aim of converting books in seeds of a new community. Today, Julia manages that dream as the best tribute.
“The basis of the project has always been the bookstore and its cafeteria, where we had about eight tables and served cakes and coffee” , Julia tells Traveler.es while Lluvia glides through the charming little room of La Lumbre. “The third pillar encompasses the presentations, reading workshops and recitals. We also do master classes with authors such as Sabina Urraca or Jon Bilbao.”
The starting point for a literary magic that she combines with many other hooks: “We liked to do pairings between editorial presentations and cafeteria products, for example, novels combined with beers related to the background of the work. we try to further the experience of reading a story”.
A mandala of interactions, aromas and flavors forced to reinvent its dynamics during the pandemic: "The cafeteria does not continue at the moment, but we do continue to make presentations with limited capacity, since it is what we like and what is the essence of La Lumbre”.
The bookstore is also supported by its location. In the Pacific neighborhood there are not many other similar businesses and the social bond with a more fixed clientele is in turn more solid, especially at a time when reading has reached maximum levels of consumption.
“During the pandemic there have been many aspects of cultural life that have been diminished, such as concerts or the cinema, and many people have resumed the habit of reading”, Julie continues. “Some have rediscovered it and even many have discovered it for the first time. In any case, I do not believe that literature is a competition to other forms of leisure, perhaps it is a less passive act because your mind has to imagine the characters, aromas and colors. But it's not exclusive."
LA LUMBRE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS SUMMER
“‘Feria, by Ana Iris Simón, sells out right away, although perhaps the book that we have sold the most is Infinity in a reed, by Irene Vallejo, followed by Panza de burro, by Andrea Abreu”, says Julia. “Beyond the hits, we have noticed a increased consumption of essay and thought. Today the essay it is written in a very pleasant way and there are people who enjoy it without the need to be professionally linked to the subject it raises.”
The recommendations are intertwined and the two books that Julia recommends us for this summer waiting on the table. The first is In the Land of Dionysus: Wanderings in Northern Greece, by María Belmonte. “It is travel literature and narrates Belmonte's experience in Macedonia. I really like the way she writes because she narrates her direct experience in a very sensory way. Is a reading that combines great beauty in addition to the historical component, since Belmonte has a doctorate in Anthropology.”
The second book is Mujeres de los mares, by Ana Alemany: “It is a book that presents a journey through oceans and coastlines through the stories of women whose professional or life project is linked to the sea. It's a good way to travel the world through the lives of all these heroines who are dedicated to studying manta rays, like Andrea Marshall, or the divers from the Haenyeo community on the island of Jeju, in South Korea”.
In La Lumbre there are always travel recommendations.
Conversations about oceanic women are diluted in time and space. Nobody here misses asking for a book and check if the delivery man will arrive before going out to buy the bread.
“People who come to La Lumbre talk to you. It is about fostering a social bond, beyond acquiring a piece of paper. In the end we are humans and not robots”, concludes Julia, who seems to have it clear: "We need fewer algorithms and more encounters." Sitting next to her, Rain looks at her owner. She also seems to agree.
Address: C/ Granada, 48 Pacific (Madrid) See map
Telephone: 91 91 92 102