The Thursday May 8 at 10:30 am, The French Institute of Madrid will host a ceremony with a symbolic high value: the signing of the twinning between the Paris Bookmakers and Libraires de la Cuesta de Moyano. This act, organized by the Citizen Association I’m from the slope With the support of the town hall of Madrid, is part of the centenary of this emblematic fair of the outdoor book, nicknamed “The most read street in Madrid”.
Cuesta de Moyano and Bouquinists from Paris sign an alliance in the name of reading
This twinning unites the only two permanent fairs of open-air books still active in Europe, in a context marked by the rise of digital trade, urban gentrification and the disappearance of small cultural shops in the city center. At a time when large metropolises are rethinking their urban uses, these two institutions embody cultural resistance and direct, popular and universal access to literature.
The president of the booksellers of the Cuesta de Moyano, Carolina Méndezet Jérôme Callaispresident of the cultural association of Bouquinists in Paris, will sign the act of twinning together. After the signing, a conversation led by the journalist Guillermo Altareshonor partner of I’m from the slopewill bring together Jérôme Callais and the bookseller Guillermo Blázquez. They will share anecdotes, history and reflections around the profession of bookseller and the life of these fairs.
Places of memory and resistance to Madrid
The Cuesta de Moyanofounded in 1925, is installed on the street in slope dedicated to Claudio Moyano, promoter of the most sustainable educational law in Spanish history. Frequented by figures like Ortega y Gasset, Hemingway, Lorca or Rosa Monteroit was also, during the dictatorship, a place of freedom where prohibited books circulated.
Even during the civil war or the 2004 attacks, the fair remained open. Only the 2020 pandemic interrupted its activity. The wooden boxes, almost unchanged for a century, still offer visitors today to come across an old tram ticket, a forgotten love letter, or a coveted first edition.
Mutual and European recognition
This twinning is part of a desire to Mutual recognition between Madrid and Parisbut also Book enhancement in public space at European level. In symbol of this alliance, 250 booksellers on the two banks will receive a bilingual commemorative poster to exhibit in their stands.
More than just a ceremony, this event marks the Willingness to preserve a culture of the living booke, embodied by passionate booksellers and loyal readers. At the heart of two capitals, the booksellers and the Casetas de la Cuesta de Moyano recall that the book remains an essential link between generations, cultures … and cities.
