By Catherine Marenghi
San Miguel de Allende is a literary mecca. The San Miguel Literary Sala, the renowned annual Writers’ Conference, and a vibrant community of local authors have made the city a destination for readers and writers alike. Any day of the week, you can attend author readings, join a writers’ workshop, or browse the stacks at the iconic Biblioteca Pública. Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Walker, and Luis Alberto Urrea have spoken here, among many others.
In spite of San Miguel’s literary standing, however, the city has been conspicuously lacking a place to buy popular new books in English – until now.
Two local book lovers have formed an unlikely partnership. Camila Sanchez and Kim Malcolm are working together to create a place to buy current titles, some in English, some in Spanish. The bookstore is Camila: Una Boutique de Libros, situated across from the El Nigromante Cultural Center, also known as Bellas Artes, on Hernandez Macias 48.
Camila’s is packed with bestsellers and award winners by authors like Hillary Mantel, Anthony Doerr, and James McBride, as well as authors who have spoken at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference.
The partners? Camila, a native of Mexico City, opened the store last year and stocked it with her favorite Spanish-language books. For her, opening a bookstore was a very personal business decision.
“I had some rough times in my childhood, and books got me through them,” she says. “Opening a bookstore was a dream come true.”
Kim is an author and recent transplant from California who believed San Miguel’s English-speaking residents and visitors should have a place to buy new books.
“During one of my first visits to San Miguel, I wanted to buy a book called The Overstory as a gift, and I learned you couldn’t buy a new bestseller in this city that’s famous for its relationship with books.” So Kim became a self-styled book buyer and, after a year of looking for a venue, offered to stock English language books at Camila’s.
“I was thrilled,” Camila says.
In addition to owning and operating her bookstore, Camila is the editor of Newsweek‘s Latin American operation, and mother to a lively toddler – who, in fact, took her first steps at the bookstore recently. Camila is busy! So Kim occasionally sits behind the desk at the bookstore.
“Like all bookstores, Camila’s is a place of refuge and inspiration,” Kim says.Camila: Una Boutique de Libros is located on Hernandez Macias 48, San Miguel de Allende, and is open every day, except Wednesdays, from noon to 6pm. It’s also open in the evenings for special events.
