Special Bookshop

Couceiro’s bookshop was founded in Santiago de Compostela in 1969, and it is nowadays the bookshop with more tradition in the selling of galician and portuguese book in Galicia. During the first times,we were dedicated to Works about general themes. But in 1975,we moved to the local in the “Republica de El Salvador” street, and we started to come near to our present line. In that time we started to work specifically with galician book. Possibly, it was a very dangerous bet in its time, but looking back, it makes that we reassert ourselves in the ideal that led us to follow this way.

In that time, Galicia enjoyed a very different political and socio-cultural situation. We take part actively in this “new revival”; we organized presentations of books, we supported periodical publications…and, above all, Couceiro was the spokesperson of the lastest publishing, through the “Bendado Bulletin”.

Several years later, in 1982, it was inaugurated the Couceiro bookshop in Coruña, the only bookshop dedicated to the Galician-portuguese book exclusively.

Little by little, we were shaping our original project of a bookshop as a living element withim the Galician-cultural limits.

In 1983 we realized a complete reform of the installation and we decided to focus definitively our proposal in Galician and Portuguese works, taking care always that we could have our shelves full of publications related with our own country and with our language. We have to say that a lot of unknown publications or difficult to find come to our hands thanks to the collaboration,disinterested many times,of friends that visited us informing about that.

During this new stage, we made a short incursion in the publishing sphere, with the publication (non-commercial editions)of the facsimiles of two works by Daniel Rodríguez Castelao:”Retrincos” in 1983,that it was presented by the teacher Filgueira Valverde, and, three years later “Sempre en Galiza”. And others, more unknown to the public in general, but they were very expressive to understand a little more our history, as an example: “Os afillados do demo” by Evaristo Martelo Paumán, or recently, and, to commemorate our 30th anniversary, ”Doctrina galicianista” written by Constantino Horta with the pseudonymous of Mariscal Pardo de Cela.

Furthermore, some little work to give to our customers, ”Vigilia reservada”, ”Los mejillones”, ”Son de poesía”…

In 1986 we included a department of ancient book and we gave up selling schoolbooks and articles of stationery.

In 1997 we opened a new bookshop in the “hórreo” street and following the line marked at the beginning with the specialization, making use that one day and in the establishment of thr “República de El Salvador” street, we started to work with the ancient and secondhand book, we specialized this new establishment with this kind of book, to include a sphere that didn’t exist in our city in that time.

In 2001, we opened a new bookshop, www.librariacouceiro.com, because we wanted to expand Galicia and its culture as far as possible. We started a new advance inside of an exciting and still unknown world for us, which is internet and selling of books through the net.

And, finally we hope that about the middle of 2007, we can open our definitive central bookshop; a rehabilitated building situated in the emblematic Cervantes square, in the old area of Santiago de Compostela.

A wide cultural place divided in several floors,where we are going to have a space dedicated to the Galician book,another to the ancient book,a small restoration and binding worshop,latest works,children’s books,a room where we can celebrate cultural acts,as books’s presentations,exhibitions…

Along all these years,we are sure that we made mistakes, some of them recognized and assimilated, and others that we couldn’t locate or visualize to put remedy; we hope that we have success; but we are sure that if we reached much or few is thanks to the people that visited, supported and gratified us with their fidelity and friendship, so we are grateful for your help, and we hope that we can continue with the friendship of this kind people.

We hope to have the opportunity of serving you personally in Santiago. Furthermore, if you want you can make your inquiries through the net.

Look up the items “Bendado” and “How can you buy?”

Thanks for your visit.