Jacob Kepler/VIewAztlan Books y Mas co-owner Mary Lou Rodriguez stands next to a display table inside the bookstore at 1014 E. Charleston Blvd., which she owns with her husband, Tony. The store offers books in Spanish and English, as well as Latin American-oriented gifts.
Jacob Kepler/ViewAztlan Books y Mas contains an entire section of children?s books in Spanish or on Latin American themes.
Advertisement
Latino-oriented bookstores abound in Mary Lou Rodriguez's native Los Angeles. After completing a degree in Mexican and Chicano studies, she did her graduate work in New Mexico, where she again was accustomed to stores full of books by Latin American authors. Moving to Las Vegas to teach Spanish was an adjustment.
"I would go to Borders, and at times I would find the titles I was looking for, but the majority of times, no," she said.
To answer her own need, she opened Aztlan Books y Mas at 1014 E. Charleston Blvd. with her husband, Tony, last year.
"My husband said, 'Let's give it a try.' It's something we always wanted to do," Rodriguez said.
The store is named for the mythical land of the Aztecs, and Rodriguez chose it for the ancient legends it evokes. But she also enjoys the ambiguity that comes from the political connotations attached to the word.
"A lot of people say that there is a movement taking place right now, which is called Aztlan. It is a movement where they want to take back the Southwestern states from the United States. So you have people who will ask 'Is that why you named it? Is it a political reason?' " she said.
Now, she's learned from customers and other people she's met that there is a small town in Mexico called Aztlan, giving the name a third possible dimension of meaning.
Many of the first books Rodriguez chose to carry were ones she became familiar with in college. Many of the titles she carries are hard to find and out of print. Some, like the work of Mexican short story writer Ilena Garro, she has driven south of the border to find.
She still has more books in English than Spanish -- books in Spanish are harder to come by -- but her inventory is growing. She often discovers new books to add to her shop when a customer comes in with a request.
Students from UNLV are among her best customers. They come in, she said, not just looking for books on Latino culture, but also other books they can't find in mainstream bookstores, like the political writings of Noam Chomsky.
And Rodriguez certainly doesn't confine herself to books on Latin culture. She carries books by feminist thinkers, books on Native Americans and indigenous cultures and a variety of other subjects. In this way, Aztlan fills another kind of niche, especially for her student customers.
"In a way, they have found, here in this bookstore, a place they can call their own," Rodriguez said. She said students often order books from her partly out of a desire to support the store.
Especially supportive are the members of MEChA, a Latin student group at UNLV. They pass out flyers for Aztlan at their poetry readings and other events.
Apart from students, she also gets a lot of teachers who heard about the store from peers. However, most of her business still comes from word of mouth.
Aztlan has an entire section of children's books in Spanish or on Latin American themes, such as the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration. There also are language workbooks and other curriculum materials for Spanish teachers or for teachers doing units on Latin American holidays or history.
Most are elementary school teachers looking for something, like the children's book on Cuban singer Celia Cruz the store carries, or a Hispanic Heritage Month unit. But high school teachers also have come searching for short stories by San Francisco Bay-area writer Gary Soto.
Rodriguez said most of her customers are at least bilingual, while some speak only English. She does get customers who speak only Spanish -- most of them happen onto the store accidentally, as it is sandwiched next to a Latino-style wedding boutique and a Spanish-speaking money transfer outlet.
The "y Mas" in the store's name includes anything from the extremely popular Mexican wrestling masks to the best-selling plush dolls of Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo and Gandhi.
Rodriguez said men from age 18 all the way to 50 have bought the colorful full-head masks from her. She was amused to find that some of her young customers bought the masks expressly to wear at rock concerts.
She has had one book signing with Gustavo Arellano, author of the book "Ask a Mexican," based on his column in the Orange County Weekly, which now also runs in City Life, and she hopes to have at least one more event before the year is out.
A book club focusing on Latina writers meets on the third Thursday of each month. So far, they have read "The Dark Bride" by Columbian writer Laura Restrepo and "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago, who was born in Puerto Rico.
Last year, Aztlan had a booth at the Winchester Cultural Center's Day of the Dead celebration, set for Nov. 1-2. The store carries a lot of Day of the Dead-themed gifts and books -- and Rodriguez sold out of everything at the booth.
She took out an ad briefly in a church bulletin but, beyond that, Aztlan relies on customers like Edgar Flores to advertise.
Edgar Flores is a MEChA member and frequent customer.
"If I'm not there shopping, I'm there visiting," said the Chicano studies major at UNLV, who most recently purchased a wrestling mask and "The Revolt of the Cockroach People" by Chicano writer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally from Mexico, Flores supports Aztlan because, he said, Rodriguez is "trying to give voice to a culture that is often stereotyped."
"Books give another perspective to who you are," he said.
For more information on Aztlan Books y Mas, call 242-2626 or visit www.aztlanbookslv.com.
Archived Editions| Advertising | Contact The Staff
