Celebrated bookstore owner and jazz enthusiast Miguel Márquez San Juan He leaves behind a 16-year legacy that gave the Tijuana community far more than used books, coffee and jazz.

Originally published in 2024, the story below revisits a conversation with Márquez about music, literature and a simple dream.

More than a bookstore in Tijuana

Miguel Márquez San Juan walks down Avenida Calle Niños Héroes, just two blocks off of Avenida Revolución. Señor Márquez moved to Tijuana in 1984.

As he walks down a narrow alley, sandwiched between an office supply store and an optometrist’s office, the noise of Tijuana fades, replaced by the sounds of jazz.

/ KPBS

/ KPBS

Taking out his keys, he opens the door to his dream business, a bookstore called , his keychain bell tinkling in the quiet.

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