Caracas, Venezuela — Rómulo Castellanos, manager of La Gran Pulpería del Libro Venezolano, one of Venezuela’s most iconic bookstores, is trying to repair one of the 42 bookshelves that fell to the ground during last month’s devastating earthquake.
More than 100,000 books were knocked off bookshelves when magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck on June 24. Now Castellanos is undertaking the arduous task of putting all those books back together with the help of dedicated volunteers.
Armed with hammers, drills, saws and other tools, the group attempts to rebuild this literary temple in the city.
“We’re taking the shelves apart and putting them together,” Castellanos said inside the store on July 16. His father, Rafael Castellanos, founded La Gran Pulpería del Libro in 1981.
He scoffed at his father’s craftsmanship and said many of the shelves had been put together Frankenstein-style years ago, so they probably wouldn’t have helped during an earthquake.
When the shaking struck, one of the shelves near the wall collapsed, causing a domino effect that caused subsequent shelves to collapse, Castellanos explained.
The hardest hit fields were law, psychology and esotericism, he said. He found it ironic that the collapsed shelves reached the compound of Venezuela’s national hero Simón Bolívar.
Although he’s tired, Castellanos said he keeps trying because he knows the role the bookstore has played for the city’s (and country’s) culture.
“I’m still doing my best. I’ve been here since Thursday, June 25, but I have no other choice,” he said.
He also plans to hand out some of the encyclopedias and books to students who need study materials.
Castellanos was not alone in this effort. He was supported by numerous volunteers who helped sort, inspect, and repair books when disaster struck.
At La Gran Pulpería del Libro, young people stand in front of stacks of books, meticulously sorting them and placing them on restored shelves.
“I worked here about five years ago and it was like my second home,” said Manuel, one of the volunteers. “I decided to help because it’s important to me.”
He explained that young people were organizing themselves through volunteer calls posted on social media. They fill out forms and, once selected, follow a schedule that assigns various tasks to people.
According to organizers, they received hundreds of applications in a short period of time. This is a sign of how many people wanted to participate and support La Gran Pulpería del Libro.
All images courtesy of Julio Blanca of Latin America Report.
