As a person who was raised in Coyoacán, I believe that the capital’s soul is fragmented. Mexico City purposefully scattered the pieces of her essence across her vintage bookstores and stitched them into secondhand books, nestled within their shelves. Locally known as librerías de viejo, or librerías de ocasión, these endemic creatures are in danger of extinction these days.
Heirs of Parisian bouquinistes, but with an undeniable Mexican bohemian feel, vintage bookstores in Mexico City sell used books, magazines and — if the seeker searches well — even coveted first editions of literary classics. Most of these bookstores offer titles in their original languages. You just have to head, for example, to the English Classics section.
Some of them, due to cold public disinterest and the advent of digital formats, tragically disappeared. For those of us rebels — or possibly hopeless romantics — who actually enjoy reading the old-fashioned way, these are some of the most iconic vintage bookstores in Mexico City.
Librería Las Tres Cruces
Librería Tres Cruces, part of the Museo Salon Posada, which holds one of the largest collections of the work of Mexico’s most celebrated cartoonosts, is one of Coyoacán’s secret treasures. There is even a local tradition of bringing someone to pick a book, with the promise that that person will bring someone else eventually. I like to believe that this chain of people bringing their acquaintances to the bookstore has kept it alive for decades.
The building — which looks more like an old warehouse than a library — consists of two floors filled with shelves of books. They are strategically divided by genre, as is the case in traditional secondhand bookstores. Librería Tres Cruces is so famous and has such cultural significance that it was recently added to Mexico’s Cultural Information System (SIC).
Tres Cruces 99, Coyoacán, Coyoacán
La Fiera
Indomitable: that is how true literature is. Wild, unapologetic, rebellious. And that is exactly what La Fiera, a small bookstore in Coyoacán’s Del Carmen neighborhood is. “Built on friendship and the intention of sharing independently created books,” as stated on their official website, the team crafts “unique objects,” and offers workshops and publishing services.
La Fiera also has an adorable mascot of the same name, which could well be a possum, a raccoon or a rat, or the mélange of these three. I came across a viral Instagram Reel of theirs, where La Fiera (the Beast) guides the viewer straight to the bookstore. I just fell in love with it — as should any bookstore aficionado in Mexico City.
París 101, Del Carmen, Coyoacán
Librería El Gran Remate
Donceles Street is easily one of the oldest streets in Mexico City. It dates back to 1524, when it is believed to have been laid out. Ever since then, merchants of every specialty have established their businesses there and made it thrive.
Today, Donceles is well known for the dozen secondhand bookstores that line both sides of the street. “Some of the most important, out-of-print and hard-to-find books can still be found here,” assays the government of Mexico City by the Mexico City Government. El Gran Remate is among the most iconic of the city’s bookstores. This century-old business survives in the interior of a colonial building, whose quarry walls still let out dusty sighs.
Donceles 81 A, Centro, Cuauhtémoc
Niña Oscura
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I found out about Niña Oscura while dating a guy who thought of himself as a poet. And honestly, I wouldn’t have known about this place otherwise: only pseudo-badboys know about vintage bookstores like these in Mexico City. Hidden in a worn-down Porifiriato-era manor, this “librería de paso” — as they describe themselves — hosts poetry readings, creative writing workshops and book presentations by emerging authors. It is said that the original owner’s daughter died here, and the current directors used the legend to imbue the space with an ominous halo — one that invites you to stay and read.
Salvador Díaz Mirón 142, Santa María la Ribera, Cuauhtémoc
El Desastre
“Etymologically,” El Desastre’s owner, Alonso Salmerón, told Mexico News Daily, “a ‘disaster’ happens when a star falls [from the heavens] in a place. It’s similar to when you open a bookshop.” Originally a law school graduate, he decided to open a cultural venue while studying a degree in Literature. Located in the residential Colonia Del Valle, Salmerón took a risk and opened during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I had no doubts about opening a bookstore,” he recalls.
Ever since he found the commercial premises for the first store, Salmerón knew that his project “would find a dimension of its own.” Almost half a decade later, El Desastre is situated in a typical Del Valle house, featuring a beautiful garden where readers can enjoy a flat white or a heat-warming matcha latte.
San Francisco 233, Del Valle Centro, Benito Juárez.
Under the Volcano
Just around the corner from the famous Citlaltépetl roundabout, Under the Volcano Books exhales its vapors in the form of English books. In this place, I wouldn’t be surprised to find the ghost of Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley in this book-packed room. It’s the kind of place Established on the second floor of the American Legion, this is one of the very few exclusively English-language bookstores in Mexico City.
Celaya 25, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc
Andrea Fischer contributes to the features desk at Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.
