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GENERAL NEWS<br />
THE PROLONGED<br />
AGONY OF AMÉRICA<br />
BOOKSHOP ENDED<br />
Ricardo grabs an<br />
edition of La vida<br />
breve, by Juan Carlos<br />
Onetti, while he tells<br />
that the Librería<br />
América will close its<br />
doors after 74 years of<br />
service.<br />
The bookshop was<br />
founded by Jaime<br />
Navarro, Ricardo's<br />
grandfather, in 1944.<br />
Fernando Navarro,<br />
Jaime's son and father<br />
of Ricardo, has been in<br />
charge of the business<br />
since the 80s. "I had<br />
three bookstores: two<br />
Americas and one that<br />
was called Don<br />
Quixote, but I closed<br />
them because the<br />
business was not<br />
working, "says<br />
Fernando.<br />
The America that is<br />
still standing, nestled in<br />
the disorder of the<br />
Boyacá Passage,<br />
remained tenacious<br />
during difficult years.<br />
Outside, in the passage,<br />
the sale of pirate books<br />
makes him a voracious,<br />
disloyal competition.<br />
But the bookstore<br />
missed the fight last<br />
October, when<br />
Fernando decided it<br />
was time to close the<br />
doors: "We are doing<br />
the liquidation,<br />
returning books. The<br />
idea is to close as soon<br />
as possible, between<br />
April and May, "he<br />
says, with a curt voice.<br />
Fernando hesitates<br />
when asked why the<br />
closure.<br />
To this he responds<br />
with several<br />
hypotheses: the price of<br />
books, the deterioration<br />
of the city center,<br />
piracy, lack of reading.<br />
In Medellín, according<br />
to the Citizen<br />
Perception survey of<br />
'Medellín Cómo<br />
Vamos', only 15<br />
percent of those over<br />
18 years of age read at<br />
least one book in 2015.<br />
The Center, moreover,<br />
ceased to be a<br />
gathering place and<br />
recreation, as it<br />
happened many years<br />
ago. Darío Úsuga, an<br />
old-fashioned<br />
bookseller who worked<br />
at the Continental<br />
bookshop and who<br />
now has his bookstore<br />
Mall of the Book and<br />
Culture (Pasaje La<br />
Bastilla), believes that<br />
reading has fallen.<br />
"Here, some time ago,<br />
professors came and<br />
they were anxious to<br />
see what was new.<br />
They still come, but it's<br />
not the same anymore.<br />
" Úsuga, like Fernando,<br />
believes that piracy has<br />
hit head-on traditional<br />
bookstores.In the<br />
passage La Bastille, a<br />
few blocks from the<br />
America, met<br />
intellectuals of the city<br />
at the beginning of the<br />
last century. It was<br />
common to see there,<br />
among animated talks,<br />
characters like Tomás<br />
Carrasquilla and<br />
Porfirio Barba Jacob.<br />
Picture taken from:http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/claudia-lopez-por-la-presidencia-2018/510853By Juan Jose Giraldo Lopez,<br />
Senior 2<br />
People Who Make<br />
a Difference?<br />
Have you ever made a<br />
difference? If you have,<br />
how did you feel? If you<br />
have not done it, you will<br />
want to read these tips to<br />
start making the<br />
difference:<br />
Picture taken<br />
from:<br />
http://www.a<br />
mandagwhit<br />
aker.com/20<br />
15/05/wecan-makedifference.ht<br />
1. Be a hard and<br />
smart worker.<br />
2. Have consistency<br />
and perseverance.<br />
3. Be a peopleperson.<br />
4. Be a truth teller.<br />
5. Be a problem<br />
solver.<br />
6. Be a lifelong<br />
learner.<br />
7. Deliver the<br />
Goods.<br />
Being a hard and smart<br />
worker creates an impact<br />
in other people. Success<br />
does not come easy to<br />
anybody but to people<br />
who are constant and<br />
determined.<br />
Consistency and<br />
perseverance help you<br />
keep the plan going.<br />
By: Caroline<br />
Molina.<br />
3