The Bookshop Podcast
The Bookshop Podcast
Celebrating Cultural Identity: Inside Philadelphia's Only Spanish-English Bookstore
Step into Philadelphia's only Spanish-English bookstore, where literature becomes a powerful bridge connecting communities and celebrating cultural heritage. The Julia de Burgos Bookstore, named after Puerto Rico's most celebrated poet, offers more than just books—it provides a sanctuary where Puerto Rican and Latinx voices take center stage.
Lisa Moser, the bookstore's passionate manager, shares her journey from language enthusiast to literary curator. With a background in Spanish and theology, Lisa discovered what she calls "the dream job I didn't know existed" at Taller Puertorriqueño, a 50-year-old cultural center where the bookstore resides. This non-profit organization serves as a vibrant hub for Puerto Rican culture through after-school programs, art exhibitions, community events, and its unique bookstore.
The emotional impact of representation resonates throughout our conversation. Lisa recounts how visitors sometimes tear up upon entering a space where every book reflects Puerto Rican or Latinx authorship—"these are the books I wish I had when I was a kid," one visitor shared. This poignant reaction underscores why children's books are their bestsellers, as parents seek to affirm their children's cultural identity from an early age.
Beyond the carefully curated book selection focusing on BIPOC, queer, and women writers, the store showcases handcrafted items from local artists and Puerto Rican artisans. These exclusive partnerships make them one of the only U.S. locations selling certain Puerto Rican-made goods. Every purchase supports Taller Puertorriqueño's community programs, creating a virtuous cycle of cultural preservation and education.
Philadelphia has the second-largest Puerto Rican population in the United States, giving the bookstore deep community roots. The bookstore collaborates with nearby schools (including one named after Julia de Burgos), hosts bilingual storytimes, and offers cultural tours. Lisa finds particular joy in making personalized recommendations, connecting visitors with books that reflect their unique experiences and interests.
Discover how this literary haven honors Julia de Burgos' legacy of anti-colonialism, feminism, and cultural pride while building bridges between languages, generations, and communities. Follow their journey on Instagram or visit shoptallerpr.org to explore their collection and support this vital cultural institution.
https://www.history.com/articles/puerto-rico-great-migration-postwar
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a bibliophile. Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast. Each week, I present interviews with authors, independent bookshop owners and booksellers from around the globe and publishing professionals. To help the show reach more people, please share episodes with friends and family and on social media, and remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. You're listening to episode 307. 107. Hi and thanks for listening to the Bookshop Podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm back in Ojai after a fabulous week of in-person lunch with the North Literary Series events in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. In LA, I chatted with the fabulous Paul Radnick about his hilarious latest novel what Is Wrong With you. On Wednesday, I was in conversation with Chef Palak Patel about her philosophy on food and her superb vegetarian cookery book Food Is Love. On Thursday, I was back in Santa Barbara chatting with the inspiring Anne Hood about her latest novel, the Stolen Child. Thank you to everyone who attends these luncheons. I'm in my third year of this literary series and still going strong. If you'd like to know more about the Lunch with an Author literary series in Los Angeles, santa Barbara and, soon to be, ojai, you can go to my website at wwwmandijjacksonbeverlycom. Forward slash events. I'll also be moderating a panel at the Boston Book Festival on Saturday, october 25, 2025. This festival offers an incredible and diverse array of authors in conversation, in interviews and on panels. I hope to see you there.
Speaker 1:Now, here's this week's episode. The Julia de Burgos Bookstore is the only Spanish-English bookstore in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. In addition to Puerto Rican literature, they specialize in books by Latin and Latin American authors, with a special focus on BIPOC, queer and women writers. The store also sells handmade and one-of-a-kind items made by local Latina, latino Latin artists and artisans. Any income from the store goes right back into the Talla Puerto Raquinio, a non-profit cultural center that offers after-school programs, youth artist programs, community events and more. Hi, lisa, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you here. Yes, thank you so much for having me. Oh, my pleasure. When I first saw the website for the Julio de Burgos bookstore, I was enthralled with the photographs. It's so colorful. But before we get into talking about the bookshop, let's start with learning about you. You hold a BA in Spanish and Theology and you've earned certifications in TEFL, which is Teaching English in a Foreign Language, and Medical Interpreting, which I thought was fascinating. Are you originally from Philadelphia and what inspired your interest in the Spanish language and bilingual education?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I grew up in a bilingual church which was very small and close-knit it's actually where my parents met and so I was always exposed to the Spanish language really since birth, through the church, and a lot of our closest family friends when I was growing up were Puerto Rican. But then when I started high school is when I really started to study Spanish and it came very naturally to me. I really loved it. I went on to study it in college and I really love studying languages because I think communication is one of my top values. You know, I really love meeting new people, connecting with new people, hearing their stories, and there are so many people in the world and in the United States that don't speak English, and so to me it's been such a gift, both the meaningful relationships I've been able to build with people, but also just the little day to day interactions that I wouldn't be able to have otherwise if I didn't speak Spanish.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think in this day and age, it has become more and more important to learn another language. When I arrived in Los Angeles, I was just so taken with the culture of the city and I was so excited and I still am to live in a state where there is so much diversity. In California, I don't think enough credit is given for people coming to California, or coming to the United States, or anywhere for that matter, who speak English and they also speak Spanish. My Spanish is just a little tiny bit like my French and German, so, yeah, my hat goes off to anyone who comes from another country and learns to speak English.
Speaker 2:Yes, a lot of people. Even they speak an indigenous language as their first language. Spanish might be their second language. English would be their third language.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's impressive. Let's talk about what sparked your love of books and how did that journey lead you to becoming the general manager of the Ulia de Burgos bookstore and I'm afraid my pronunciation is not as beautiful as yours.
Speaker 2:Well, I've always loved reading. Since I was a little kid Loved writing too. In school I always loved writing essays. I think I've developed an increased appreciation for books just because my major in college was just reading book after book after book, and I think the books that I read was really what expanded my thinking and changed my mind a lot about a lot of things and really shaped me as a person.
Speaker 2:I'd say that was kind of disconnected from how I ended up. It was really just by chance, or maybe destined to be, that I found this job. I was working at a Mexican restaurant after college and kind of looking to move on to something else, but really didn't know what. So you know, that's when I got the TEFL certification and I was teaching English to some of my co-workers at the restaurant. I did the medical interpretation program because I thought maybe I would want to go into that. But then one day my friend just sent me this Instagram post that was a job opening at this organization I'd never even heard of, called Taller Potriqueno, and I read the job description and I just thought that is the perfect job for me, like it just combined my interests and talents, like in a way that I didn't know it was possible for them to be combined in one job, and I always say that I never knew exactly what I wanted to do, because this was the dream job that I didn't even know existed.
Speaker 1:I love that about life when you finally discover something that you're just passionate about doing, it's exciting. It's also one of the blessings about getting older, because you have so much more experience and you start to realize that you can actually almost make your own job. Yes, now the Julio de Buros Bookstore is part of Taller Puerto Carreño. Can you share the mission and vision of this organization and how those values shape the bookstore's purpose?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so Julio de Burgos Bookstore, it's not its own separate entity, it's part of an organization called Taller Puerto Rican, which is a non-profit Puerto Rican cultural center here in Philadelphia, and so the organization has a lot of different programs. You know the mission is to preserve and promote Puerto Rican culture, but also to represent and support, like other Latino expressions as well. So we have a beautiful building, we have an education wing, so actually right now we have a summer camp going on, we do an after school program, we have a large event space that people rent for all different reasons or will collaborate with other organizations. You know, like on this past Thursday they had a live salsa band come or do a lot of different events, and then we also have an art gallery as well, and then our bookstore.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, it sounds fabulous. And how is it funded? It's funded through grants. Oh my goodness, and that's difficult at these times.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I have a publishing question. Are most of the bilingual books the store carries published in the US, or do you source internationally as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so most of them are published in the US. We carry a good number of books that are published by small presses in Puerto Rico and then we do have books that are international but they're published by editorials in the US. So, for example, like Feminist Press or Charco Press publish a lot of works in translation, and then like Grupo Editorial, which publishes a huge number of books in Spanish from Latin America. So it makes them easy to order. But I'm hoping in the next couple of years to go to the International Book Festival in Guadalajara, mexico, to make connections with some more international editorials to be able to get more international books.
Speaker 1:Oh, that sounds fantastic. And have you been to Puerto Rico?
Speaker 2:I have, yeah, so I had gone once before I got this job on like a hurricane relief trip and then I've gone back a couple of times since then. So another big part of our store, besides just selling books, is that we sell like merchandise and artesania, like the can-made artisan goods from Puerto Rico. So we got to go a couple of times like as a business trip to find like artisans and small businesses to sell their merchandise. So that's been great and that's something that makes the store really special is there's a few small businesses that make like stickers and other things that we are one of either the only or one of the only locations in the United States that sell their merchandise. Otherwise you have to order it online or in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1:And do you find that most of your customers are people within the Puerto Rican community in Philadelphia, or do you find that people are coming from all over the city to shop at the bookshop?
Speaker 2:It's a mix of both. We definitely I'd say no-transcript.
Speaker 1:I was particularly impressed with your art books. In fact I ordered one and it arrived. Nuyorican and Diasporican Visual Art, a critical anthology. I hope I pronounced that correctly. Yeah, nuyorican and Diasporican.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that book just came out recently. It's edited by Arlene Davila and Yasmin Ramirez and it's a very important book because it basically documents the Nuyorican and Diasporican contributions to art. So Nuyorican that's like Puerto Ricans that migrated to New York and like the generations of Puerto Ricans born in New York, and then Diasporican refers to, you know, the communities of Puerto Ricans that live, like, elsewhere, aside from the island, and so, yes, it documents the contributions of Diasporican artists, which are very underrepresented in the art world. You know it's underrepresented, underdocumented, same thing as in the publishing industry, you know, the percentage of Latino authors and illustrators is very disproportionately low.
Speaker 2:And so it's an amazing book because it documents this art. But it's very special to us because there's actually a chapter in it about Puerto Rican arts in Philadelphia, written by Johnny Irizarry, who is an artist and he was actually the executive director of Taller years ago and is so beloved in the community. But it talks about organization. It talks about a lot of local artists. Philadelphia has so many gorgeous murals, especially like murals of Puerto Rican culture, and Philadelphia actually has I believe it's the second largest population of Puerto Ricans in the US, like New York is number one, and then Philadelphia and Chicago are the next two.
Speaker 1:When I was researching Puerto Rico for this conversation, I went to an article on historycom titled Puerto Rico Great Migration Post-War and it was really sad. I'm going to put that link in the show notes because I think it's important for people to understand why the Puerto Rican migration happened across the centuries.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's a pretty complex history of different factors that caused Puerto Rican migration, factors that cause like Puerto Rican migration. You know like US colonialism is, you know, the main driving factor. And then you know citizenship was imposed on Puerto Ricans, that they could then be drafted to, which I don't know if it was World War I or World War II. But yeah, it's a complex history.
Speaker 1:Yes, it truly is, and it's sad, really, really sad. I'd like to get back to the mission and vision of Talla, puerto Rican, and how those values shape the bookstore's purpose.
Speaker 2:And so we see that in our after school program, which is very much like arts and culture oriented. And then with the bookstore, you know our criteria is very narrow we only sell books written by Puerto Rican or Latinx authors, and you know that's in line with the mission. But also I think it's important to have a space like that because you know Philadelphia has so many amazing bookstoresstores. You know we have general interest bookstores, you have radical bookstores, you have black owned bookstores, like there's a lot of great bookstores, and so I feel like our bookstore.
Speaker 2:Really, you know we're in this niche and you can come here. You know exactly what you're going to find, what you're not going to find, um, and it's really special people. People actually get emotional sometimes visiting because you know you're not if you are puerto rican, grew up maybe not seeing your culture represented in many books that you read as a kid and then you come here and to see every book on the shelf written by either a puerto rican or latino author, one person actually, he. He teared up when he was from visiting from new york and he actually teared up when he was visiting from New York and he actually teared up and he was like these are the books that I wish I had when I was like a kid and a teenager.
Speaker 1:Lisa, I think you just nailed it People want to see themselves on library bookshelves and in independent bookshops and in schools. Yes, I just think it's so important more than ever now, because our cultures are shifting within our countries. Do you also carry bilingual books for children?
Speaker 2:Yes, we do so. Children's books are actually our top selling genre. I think a big part of that is you know parents that are raising kids, that you know they want to pass on the Spanish language, or you know they want to make sure that the child's cultural identity is affirmed from a young age, and so, yes, we do have a lot of books that are bilingual. For some reason, usually they publish them like an English version and a Spanish version, but I love when they have them actually like bilingual both languages on one page, because that's what a lot of families are looking for.
Speaker 1:I'm about to become a first-time grandmother and I'm actually buying those books for my new granddaughter to be. I just think it's so important that children are raised learning another language. Let's talk about the curation of the bookstore. How does it reflect the community you serve, and do schools bring students to your bookshop to introduce them to your community and to authors?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so actually one of the programs that the organization does is we host tours for school groups, and so we do neighborhood mural tours, we do workshops like Latin dance or jewelry making and then we give tours of our gallery as well. We have good connections with the local schools and you know I've built some relationships with local principals and teachers. I've done some book fairs at school and, you know, with our afterschool program too, there's, you know, the networks of parents and some teachers too, and so, yes, we do host like bilingual story times on a pretty regular basis and I do try to send that out to the teachers. You know we have a lot of public schools in the area, like even within like a one mile radius, that have predominantly Puerto Rican students. Actually, there's an elementary school right around the corner that's also. It's called Juli de Burgos Elementary School and they have a big mural of her on the side of the school.
Speaker 1:Which brings me to this question. It's called Julia de Burgos Elementary School and they have a big mural of her on the side of the school, which brings me to this question. Julia de Burgos was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and teacher, and also an advocate for Puerto Rican independence. I love that the store is named after her. Can you talk a little bit about her work and also, do you know who decided on the name of the bookshop?
Speaker 2:I actually don't know who decided on the name, because our organization is actually 50 years old and so the store used to it was. I think it started as Juli de Burgos Arts and Crafts Store and then it became Juli de Burgos Gift Shop, and that's actually what it was called when I started the job. The position was gift shop manager and then we changed the store in the last few years to Juli de Burgos Bookstore. But she's the most famous Puerto Rican poet and a lot of her poetry included themes about anti-colonialism and blackness and feminism. That's why our store also has the focus on BIPOC and women and queer authors, kind of in honor of Julia Burgos and kind of the values that she wrote about.
Speaker 1:One of the wonderful things that I've discovered about doing the Bookshop podcast is all of the people I meet from all over the world. Plus, I'm introduced to writers and authors who I may not have read before, and one of them was Julio de Burgos, for which I am eternally grateful, thank you. Let's talk about books. What are you currently reading?
Speaker 2:I'm reading a couple of things right now, but I'm reading a book called this is the Only Kingdom by Jaquira Diaz. It comes out in November or in October, but it's a Puerto Rican author. I actually got to meet her a couple months ago at like an author's reception that I went to, but it's a fiction novel that's inspired by the place where she grew up, in Puerto Rico, and it's like a multi-generational story. It's inspired by salsa music, which I love, like each chapter title is the name of a salsa song, which I think is pretty cool, is the name of a salsa song, which I think is pretty cool, and actually the protagonist, one of the protagonists, is a salsa artist. So I've been enjoying that one. I've been trying to balance more fiction and nonfiction recently.
Speaker 1:Do you read much poetry?
Speaker 2:I actually don't, which is funny because Juli de Borgo's bookstore named after a poet. But no, I don't really read poetry.
Speaker 1:I honestly think that poetry weaves itself in and out of our lives. In different decades we just discover certain lines of poetry or a complete piece of poetry that we can relate to at that time in our lives.
Speaker 2:Yes, I've heard people say that too.
Speaker 1:Is there a book you always recommend to visitors of the bookshop?
Speaker 2:There's a lot that I recommend. Probably my go-to fiction novel would be Cantoras by Caro de Robertis. They actually have a new book that just came out. It's called so Many Stars but it's an oral history of basically trans people of color. So that just came out this past year. But they have some fiction novels and their book, cantoras, was actually one of the first books I read when I started working here and it's just, it's beautifully written. It's still one of my favorites.
Speaker 2:But I'd say I don't really have a go-to because one of my favorite things about this job is finding like, the perfect book for every customer. So you know I said I love connecting with people and hearing their stories. I love that. You know it's a smaller shop. We usually don't have more than, like, one group of you know, one person or a group of friends at a time, and so I really get to talk to people and a lot of times people you know share their stories, share a piece of their identity, and I'm like oh, I have the perfect book for you. And that's one of my favorite things to do is to make very personalized recommendations and I do try to have something for everyone. And sometimes people ask like, oh, do you have a book about this topic? And if I don't, I'll research it and I'll order, like whatever books I can find about that topic or about that intersection of identities.
Speaker 1:I've heard from different bookshop owners and booksellers that it does take at least a year to figure out the books that your community needs and wants to read, right, so it sounds like it's that kind of thing where you're always learning about a new book that you want to bring in. I wanted to ask you do you prefer to read in Spanish or English, or do you read whatever's available?
Speaker 2:I usually read in English. I prefer to read the book in whatever language it's written in which I know. Also, I know translation is like its own art and you know I have heard of like certain books that it's like wow, the translation is like really stunning. And so I think some books that are worth reading in you know the original and the translation. But, yeah, most of the books that I've been reading recently have been in English, but if I'm going to read, like a novel from Latin America, I'd rather read it in Spanish.
Speaker 1:There's a wonderful press in Canterbury I think it is in England, and they are called Heloise Press. The founder and owner, ina Marti, just has a knack for choosing books from all over the world and has them translated into English. I've loved the books from Helise Press that I've read and I highly recommend looking into that press. I was often reluctant to read books that had been translated up until about eight years ago and once I discovered them I was hooked. I love the cadence of the writing. I love learning about the countries where the author is from and, of course, the language where the book has been translated from. I found that reading books that have been translated into English almost give you a twofer. You get the story that you're reading about in the book, but you also get the story of the author and the language.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that's why that's another reason I love studying languages is I feel like the language tells you so much about the culture and about like the. You know just a different way of thinking, a different perspective on life, even just from like what words they use or the way that the sentences are constructed.
Speaker 1:And that brings up another question Do you carry many local Puerto Rican authors books in the store?
Speaker 2:We do. Yes, there's one author, a children's book author. Her name is Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and she has been just the most phenomenal partner and supporter of our store and it's great. You know, we support her books and promote them and always host her for events when she has a new book come out, and she also has been like a huge supporter of us and telling people about our store and has found us grants in the past and it's just a very beautiful partnership. Yeah, so there are. We do have a fair number of local authors.
Speaker 1:Now for anybody who would like to order books from the store, just as I did with Neorecan and Diasporican Visual Art, a critical anthology. How do they go about doing so?
Speaker 2:Yes, so yes, we have an online store. It doesn't have all of our books online, but we're in the process of getting them all listed and it has a good number.
Speaker 1:And what is your store address and also the website information.
Speaker 2:Yes, so our address is 2600 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA. And then our website is it's shoptayirprorg, and so the organization's main website is called tayirprorg. The store's website is shoptayirpr. And then we're also very active on Instagram. That's actually where we post like the most, you know, new arrivals and book recommendations and things like that.
Speaker 1:And I will make sure to put links to everything you've just talked about in the show notes. Awesome, thank you, lisa. I feel that the bookstore and the local community is so lucky to have you and, my goodness, you have landed on your feet in a wonderful place.
Speaker 2:I love it here. I feel so lucky.
Speaker 1:Lisa, thank you for being on the show and I wish you continued success. Yeah, thank you so much. It was lovely talking to you. You've been listening to my conversation with Lisa Moser, manager of the Julio de Burgos bookstore in Philadelphia. To help the show reach more people, please share episodes with friends and family and on social media, and remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. To find out more about the Bookshop Podcast, go to thebookshoppodcastcom and make sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to the show. You can also follow me at Mandy Jackson Beverly on Instagram and Facebook and on YouTube at the Bookshop Podcast. If you have a favorite indie bookshop that you'd like to suggest we have on the podcast, I'd love to hear from you via the contact form at thebookshoppodcastcom. The Bookshop Podcast is written and produced by me, mandy Jackson Beverly, theme music provided by Brian Beverly, and my executive assistant and graphic designer is Adrian Otterhan. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next time.