This is Aljibe, the only bookstore in Barichara

It is the first bookstore in Barichara in its 314-year history. It's the only one within 100 kilometers. It is a small, cozy space, founded in 2019 by Alejandra Espinosa Uribe, Diana's daughter. It is a place that gives way to any bookish whim, ready to sit and browse books and talk. The bookstore is located on the corner of the main park, where you can see the guayacans that bloom. Although Barichara is a small municipality, it still had room for a place like this, and what was it missing.

The concept of the site is as small as possible. The catalogue is based on the tastes of the reader who is Alejandra and is nourished by what people are asking for. Books are not organized on the shelves by genre or subject, by author's surname or origin. Here are books to love other books, to fall in love, to be moved, to know where you are at a particular moment. Alejandra, who is a journalist and was part of the team behind the script of the film Encanto, argues that it is a space to give free rein to dreams. He agreed to talk to Infobae about his experience at the head of the bookstore and what this space has meant for people.

Where did the idea of the name of the bookstore come from?

The name Aljibe, which is a word of Arabic origin that means water well, is a tribute to the cisterns that formerly existed in the houses of Barichara. Some are still preserved and when I met these births or freshwater wells in the houses, I was surprised that a resource such as water was so close at hand since today water is scarce in Barichara because the cisterns were covered with the arrival of the aqueduct. For me it is a perfect picture of the knowledge and knowledge that we had before, that we have lost and that now appear to be necessary. Also by the image of the source of knowledge, the unfathomable well of knowledge, etc.

Why Barichara?

The bookstore exists in Barichara because I have been living here for six years now. I arrived because I wanted to change my life and I found myself here in Santander.

What is it like to start a bookstore in this country?

Well, in my particular case, I had the advantage of being the author of Penguin Random House, which helped me tons to generate contacts with publishers; my mother's help with the same thing and my ability to have a clear vision of what I wanted and how I was going to do it. It has been a fantastic learning process and I say that with a pandemic involved. The truth is that there were many more bookstores in the villages. My experience has taught me that there is no shortage of readers in the country, as one might believe, there is a need for access to books. I must also say that in my case it was a very lonely process that depends on oneself and there is no instruction manual or support network that can guide you on this path.

How was the reception of people after a while has passed?

I have been privileged and fortunate that the opening and existence of the bookstore has received the warm reception of the Barichara community, and that Aljibe is a source of wonderful ideas in my life. I increasingly feel that the inhabitants of the village take over the space and, on the other hand, tourists are always surprised and appreciate such a space in Barichara.

Does the bookstore become a tourist attraction?

Yes, to my surprise, since the bookstore is designed to serve Barichara and the region I didn't expect tourists who come from places where there are many bookstores to visit Aljibe on their holidays and like it. On the other hand, it has also been for many others the first contact they have with a bookstore, that also makes me happy and of course it makes clear the lack of bookstores, or the lack of knowledge of their existence, in many parts of the country.

Where does your passion for books come from?

I grew up in a house of intellectuals surrounded by books, books for me are equivalent to my childhood home and my family, they are the umbilical cord. I grew up being a great reader, then I studied literature, I write and now I live surrounded by books to always feel at home.

If one day he could no longer take over, would cistern still exist?

Not yet, Aljibe is my daughter and is closely linked to my existence, to my selection as a bookseller, to my ability to imagine new dreams for this project, so for now it is an extension of my being.

What question can those who go to the cistern not fail to ask?

The obvious one, I think. “What book do you recommend?”

And what book are you recommending these days?

I recently read Vivian Gornick's Fierce Attachments, I loved it. As a good novel, it has the ability to transport the reader to another life but also to reflect on being a writer, a subject that fascinates me.

Something I recommend not to do in the bookstore

Come in with an ice cream.

Aljibe is an independent bookstore and as such, it is also a cultural project. From anywhere in the country they can order books through their social networks on Instagram and Facebook: @aljibelibreria

Don't forget to visit their website: www.aljibelibreria.com

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