There’s a poem by Federico García Lorca that goes: “Cheerful children leaving / school, / fill April’s warm air / with youthful songs, / What a joy there is / in the alley’s deep silence / Silence shattered by / fresh silver laughter.” This is “Spring Song” by the wonderful Spanish poet, after whom a special place in Mérida is named: a venue for the arts and humanities, perfect for the young and the young at heart.
Centro Cultural Lorca, by the Fundación Cultural Fernández Trava A.C., is a little infinite poem. Its walls are home to a library specializing in humanities (although there is a little bit of everything) with more than four thousand volumes. Equally rich is its discography, which you can play on their turntable, or its video material, which can be projected in the cozy movie theater. Everywhere, you can feel the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the colorful call of books: you’ll find adventure and horror; books for philosophers and poets of all ages; some others written by knights-errant.
“Physical books are something very special,” Luz María Huchim Ascencio, co-founder and administrator of the Centro Cultural Lorca, tells me. “With the pandemic, we recovered that need to think and get into something else: literature takes you wherever you want to go. That’s what’s important. We offer the opportunity to have a book in your hand so you can go anywhere you want, contemplate other realities, far from confinement and things you can’t control.” This is also why they’ve started giving away books to children who visit the place (visit before they run out!).
Throughout its 8 years, Centro Cultural Lorca has organized multiple children’s activities, from printing press workshops and musical story time to Morbito: Cine Fantástico para las Infancias (Fantasy Cinema for Children) series. This is a priceless venue for entertaining and educating children and youth, with several activities coming up later this year. A quick visit to their website or social media will be enough to plan an afternoon of fun and culture for the whole family.
Visual arts also have a place here: a gallery and an engraving press await visitors. Meanwhile, Alebrijes – these unmistakable creatures of Mexican folklore – serve as friendly guardians for the center, which will soon also be a bookstore.
“More than businesspeople, we are readers selling books.” This is how Víctor Fernández, a member of the family that sustains the cultural center, defines the hallmark of the new proposal. This gives us a clear idea of the care with which the materials are chosen: with the readers in mind, from beginners to the most experienced.
There is no charge for admission and consultation of books on site. If you’d like to take them home you do have to register: $50 pesos per semester for a personal card. Entry to Centro Cultural Lorca is free, although some talks and workshops require a fee, specified in each case.
Centro Cultural Lorca
Calle 39-A #192 x 16-B y 16-E, Fracc. Gran San Pedro Cholul
Tel. 999 316 5045
[email protected]
www.lorcacentrocultural.com
IG: centrocultural.lorca.mx
Fb: Centro Cultural Lorca
Mon. – Fri. 5 – 8 pm
Entry: Free
By Dave S. Mayoral
Dave Mayoral (1998) thinks it’s difficult to write in the third person without laughing in the attempt, but his background in Modern Language and Literature, Contemporary Art History, and Cultural Management tends to help him a lot…
Photography by Dave S. Mayoral for its use in Yucatán Today.
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