Getting physical
with content
GRAA! I don't want another bookmark, link, or to subscribe to individual Substack accounts for 7GBP a month anymore! Give me books! Magazines! Mom-and-pop shops!
And that I did exactly.
Over the last two weeks I fond myself in oddly specific stores like this small newspaper/magazine store, booming with energy from the three Spaniards already inside, catching up, talking loudly over an already loud radio; God knows what any of the retirees inside will do with an Otaku magazine, but it's there. And its the February edition. So are some copies of French newspapers, English magazines, and translated YA books. Or La Tarta de Ana, a baking-goods store that's only open from 10am-2pm. Who knew that you could find those teeny little carrots on top of carrot cakes, three blocks away from me? In the Central Market, that is only open until 2pm (which is why I never go…) you'll find not one but TWO stalls, exclusively selling olives. Olives that range from size and colour, and vinegar marinade. I have new-found appreciation for the oldies but goodies keeping most of Elche's local industry alive and find it oddly fascinating that such… niche stores even exist. Maybe I lived through too much rapid development in Metro Manila, where shopping-malls loom over neighbourhoods and the promise of free wifi, a Starbucks, and aircon entices you to spend your time there. I mean, we even have Chapels in malls.
Which makes me wonder if this whole globalization/modernization thing is actually killing locals (the answer is probably a resounding YES). When was the last time you found something you wanted in-store, and not through Amazon/Shoppee? When was the last time you supported a local business? And I don't mean buying Sunnies Face and going to the Sunnies Cafe, but like… a goddamn sari-sari store?
It comes as no surprise that Binondo Food Trips have grown increasingly popular. You can just walk around and eat. You're not going to find yourself in a mall in a city that's preserved maybe for hundreds of years. Walking tours are increasing by the number. More events and more artists are convening in the First United Building, and has anyone seen the huge esplanade by Pasig River?? There's still definitely a lot of issues with heritage preservation in Manila but you admit that the pEoPlE want to return back to the “past”.
I bought an English magazine called Monocle from the little store, purely because I was genuinely interested. The cover mentions a report on Parisian booksellers’ problems with the 2024 Olympics. You've probably seen those before at sme point in your life, the little green boxes that line up the Seine river. Booksellers that sell art, souvenirs, prints, antiques, and of course— books. Yeah, the government wants to remove them. A very iconic sense of Paris is also under threat of being washed away in lieu of the Olympics. What is the worst thing an athlete can do… buy a book? They pose no threat.
And so I deeply apologize for ever complaining about the lack of Asian food in Elche. As much as I am happy to satisfy my cravings, I find it quite jarring that my student's favourite foods are: ramen, sushi, hamburgers, and pasta. Whereas five years ago it would have been: Arroz, Arroz con Costra, Lentejas and Grandma's no se que.
I hope that the rapidly changing Spanish landscapes never sacrifice there niche and oddly specific stores that give me wonder! and delight! in favour of gLobAliZatiOn.
Recent buys:
A bread mould, to add to my ever expanding collection of baking tools. Thanks to Lee for my new mixer!
The Paris Review Interviews Volume 1, which makes me realize that if not all, most writers are bitter and are motivated by money.
Bunny by Mona Awad, I bought the book and couldn't wait for it so I pirated and finished it in three days. I'm not very patient!
Floor-length-ish wide dark denim vaqueros from Massimo Dutti.
Definitely-floor-bottom-of-my-shoes-length black wavy pants with pockets from Natura.
Egg-silkened Chinese Tofu (take-out)
Tarta Templada con Chocolate y Avellana from Mestizaje (twice this month…)
A hand-painted palmeral magnet
A rose for Oscar hehe
Maleta from Misako (to manifest moving)
Read:
Watching:
The Kardashians (the new one)
Drag Race UK vs The World
never thought i'd be one to mistake there for their lmao