Just as restaurants look for original concepts to capture the attention of the city, bookstores need a distinctive element to avoid disappearing, as (unfortunately) has happened to many (even to “the old ones”) in the last five years.
The Celama bookstore (93 Don Ramón de la Cruz St.) has that something that, as Andrea Reyes, its owner, would say, invites you to “relax, slow down and stay”. For her, “it is a space that in itself gives play with its heights, stairs and corners”.
Celama boasts several environments in a single location: there is an art and stationery section, a children’s literature room (where storytellers go), cozy corners to sit and read, and shelves full of unconventional illustrated editions.
The bookstore focuses on illustration. Reyes has drawn for Valparaíso, Trotalibros and many other publishers, and has made Celama a veritable temple for collectors of illustrated books. In the art and stationery section, we see works by Spanish artists such as Fernando Vicente, Ana Jarén or Koko the Jota, who are already regular contributors to the store.
“Some of the books we have sold the most are Poeta chileno by Alejandro Zambra, La península de las casas vacías by David Uclés or La vegetariana by Han Kang,” says Reyes two months after Celama opened its doors for the first time. The star of the bookstore is its collection of bookmarks with portraits of writers. There are Matute, Zafón, Woolf, Lorca and many other geniuses who would undoubtedly love this corner of the Salamanca neighborhood.
Like all avant-garde bookstores, Celama organizes events to make the love of literature collective. These include storytelling sessions, writing workshops, presentations and even blind dates with novels.
More unique bookstores in Madrid
There are many bookstores in the capital, but not all of them are on the second floor of an old building, nor do they have one of the best collections of comics in the world. In Madrid Secreto we delve into them and talk to their owners so that the city’s inveterate readers can visit them.