In recent years, Mexico City has become a cultural epicenter for bookstores, where small, independent, and carefully curated spaces continue to emerge from the urban landscape. Following the opening of our own bookstore, Zamme Roma at Puebla 86, we invited Daniel Mosqueda and Alfonso Santiago, founders of Lolo Miscelánea Editorial and Glaciar: Libros Helados, to our space to discuss the creation of a bookstore and the craft of bookselling. However, the focus of the conversation was not romanticization, but honesty. With tequila flowing and a room full of attentive listeners, we spoke about challenges, sustainability, and future projections.

Lolo Miscelánea Editorial began in 2024 as a magazine stand in the Condesa neighborhood, where reading serves as the foundation for building community through design and visual communication. Over time, Lolo has evolved into a cohesive, participatory, and community-driven project, bringing together publications from different parts of the world while placing particular emphasis on supporting Mexican publishing. Its aim is to inspire the local community and contribute to the creative boom that is currently shaping Mexico City. Since January 2026, Lolo has operated from a new space in the San Rafael neighborhood, where magazines are accompanied by glasses of wine.

Over time, Lolo has evolved into a cohesive, participatory, and community-driven project, bringing together publications from different parts of the world while placing particular emphasis on supporting Mexican publishing.

Glaciar: Libros Helados began as an independent publishing house, Piedra Ediciones, where collaboration with artists has always been central to its practice. In 2024, they opened their own space in San Rafael, where book curation and reading are paired with ice cream. The space brings together publications and desserts and creates intersections between literature and the edible: experimenting with novels transformed into wafers or comics illustrated on ice cream cups.

After a round of introductions, we opened the conversation to the audience, guided by a series of questions we had prepared in advance. In contrast to the idyllic image often associated with a life devoted to bookselling, we wanted to address more complex issues, questions that are not always discussed openly. What does it take to open a bookstore? Is it possible to make a living from it? Can a bookstore be financially sustainable? What unexpected challenges do booksellers face? How can we envision the future of these spaces?

Glaciar: Libros Helados brings together publications and desserts and creates intersections between literature and the edible: experimenting with novels transformed into wafers or comics illustrated on ice cream cups.

For Lolo, one of the main challenges following the opening of their new space in San Rafael has been bringing their audience from Condesa into a new neighborhood. The economic side has also been demanding. Daniel explained that what keeps the bookstore afloat are collaborations with brands, remaining faithful to the vision of the space and its products, and, above all, recording every expense, no matter how small, in an Excel spreadsheet. Initially, Daniel worked an office job during the week and dedicated his weekends to Lolo. A month ago, he left that job to devote himself fully to bookselling. For him, it was a leap into the unknown: taking the risk of leaving behind a steady salary in order to allow the project to grow and trusting that it would succeed. It was a transition from passion to full-time work. Although Lolo is slowly becoming his entire life, he envisions a future in which work and personal life can once again be separated.

Glaciar, which began without formal administrative training, developed a kind of master's degree in management through the experience of running Piedra Ediciones: publications that finance future publications. As practical financial advice, Alfonso also shared that he keeps an Excel spreadsheet where every single expense is documented and that collaboration with friends has been essential. He also noted that creative initiatives often go hand in hand with self-exploitation, especially when they are driven by passion. Yet his vision for the future runs counter to conventional ideas of growth: his greatest aspiration is simply to be able to take a vacation without checking his computer.

At Zamme, Sonia and Karen sustain the bookstore while continuing their work as graphic designers. Collaboration with friends and non-monetary exchanges have allowed them to move forward in ways that would otherwise have been much more difficult. Their collaboration with 2x1 Studio, an architectural practice led by Lambert Moiroux and Raphael Fenoglio, was built on a reciprocal exchange of services—developing the visual identity for their new studio in return for architectural and furniture design of Zamme's new space. They envision a future in which the bookstore becomes financially self-sufficient, allowing them to hire staff, delegate responsibilities, and continue growing both the space and its community. Above all, they imagine a future in which they can get a little more sleep. 

Above all, they imagine a future in which they can get a little more sleep.

In the end, we collectively concluded that although starting a bookstore may seem like difficult work, marked by constant effort and very few certainties, Mexico City is witnessing a growing ecosystem of independent bookstores, and the demand is clearly there. Little by little, these projects become more established, and the people behind them are increasingly able to dedicate themselves to bookselling full-time. Moreover, while it may require more work than a conventional office job, there is also a privilege in devoting one's life to something meaningful: curating books, facilitating conversations, and sustaining a space that remains open to a diverse public.