Marina Cruz and Rodel Tapaya Open A Bookshop for Their Community
It's an invitation to pause and smell the pages.
(SPOT.ph) After venturing into book publishing, Rodel Tapaya and Marina Cruz just opened their Istorya Studios Bookshop, another arm of the startup the artist-couple founded during the pandemic. “The bookshop is located inside a village in Guiguinto, full of plant growers and ornamental gardens. We don’t know what to expect; if people will really come, if people will find us, if people will stop and take time to go visit a bookstore… “ writes Marina in Facebook post announcing the opening.
The bookshop is a converted garage that’s within a walking distance from Rodel and Marina’s family home. Their kids Yohan, Keon and Lara helped put it together. It has a beautiful Archie Oclos mural on its facade—depicting a grandmother reading to her apos —plus a big window that allows in a lot of light inside. “We’ve been preparing for this since middle of this year,” writes Marina. “We don’t know if we are going to be successful, but we keep telling ourselves that we will be the first ones who will be nourished by having lots of books around.”
What books can visitors expect at Istorya Studios Bookshop
The books on offer are mostly Filipiniana titles, from publishing houses such as Adarna House, Anino Comics, 19th Avenida Publishing House, Everything's Fine PH, UP Press, Ateneo de Manila University Press, Grana Books, and Komiket. There’s also a section for books not for sale, which includes foreign titles and mostly from the owners’ personal collection; they're free for browsing inside the store.
“Of course, visitors will also find our own publications and our card games here,” Marina tells SPOT. We caught sight of Archie Oclos’ Mga Walang Pangalan Pero Andyan, in which readers get to see the streets from the POV of six cats; Grade 3, an illustrated collection of the grade school nightmares of the artist Doktor Karayom; and Patandaan, the card game on Philippine history that Marina and Rodel developed together.
The couple says they’re elated the bookshop is finally here. It’s been on their minds for quite some time but things only started picking up in July and August this year. “Besides the opportunity to house and showcase our publications, we truly wanted to provide a space for celebrating literature, especially our local titles,” says Marina when asked why they wanted to open a store. “People can simply come to our little book nest at Guiguinto, Bulacan—the garden capital of the country—to read, experience the local community, and hopefully find some respite.”
First day scene
In her Facebook post, Marina describes the first day they opened: the entire morning being spent completing the category signs on the shelves, fixing the display for their recommended reads—and then they opened at 2 p.m.
“We had free fishballs outside. People who were supposed to just buy merienda were pleasantly surprised that it is free for the day, sponsored by Istorya Studios since we are celebrating our Day 1 of officially opening the bookshop to the public, to the community.” The free food helped people notice the shop. Teenagers browsed thru the graphic novels and photo books, and mothers browsed children’s books with their kids. “There is a reason for elders to meet and talk about life and what books to gift their grand children…It was a treat to see kids browsing titles, playing card games, typing on typewriters… I guess we can say that it was worth the preparation and we now have new acquaintances in the village.”
Marina and Rodel are two of the most accomplished painters in the country: he is famous for his depictions of Filipino folklore characters whilst touching on the environment; she is most known for her images of beautiful vintage dresses and the stories behind them. They gave birth to Istorya Studios Inc. during the pandemic, inspired by the time they were spending with their children. They have since published a few titles and released two board games, and now they've opened a bookshop.
Rodel and Marina envision holding activities here like workshops, classes, and reading events. “The ISTORYA STUDIOS space is literally made up of several studios that we wish to treat as ‘incubators’ that foster the creativity and interests of our local community,” says Marina. But the bookshop is really an invitation to chill: “Just stop and smell the flowers (or the gorgeous scent of new books) for a while,” Marina adds. Her wish for it: “May this be a platform of new collaborations and enrichment of lives in the neighborhood.”
The ISTORYA STUDIOS Bookshop is located at 168 San Vicente Ferrer St., Rosaryville Subdivision, Brgy Santa Cruz, Guiguinto, Bulacan. It is open from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays to Fridays. On Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.