Solidaridad Bookshop, founded by the late F. Sionil José in 1965, marks its 60th anniversary as it awaits a buyer.
Why it matters: Solidaridad Bookshop is a cultural and historical landmark, serving as a literary saloon where important figures discussed sociopolitical issues. José was a National Artist known for the Rosales novels, a five-volume saga.
What they are saying:
- “Our hope is that it will continue for another 60 years. But you never know,” said Tonet José, the oldest of José’s offsprings.
- “Many years ago, I offered to buy the bookshop, and fulfill a lifelong dream to run a bookshop in retirement … I offered not once but twice, but Frankie said his children would manage. The shop has been on the block for some weeks now, and I hope the person who acquires it will not only maintain it but make it viable for the next 60 years,” historian Ambeth Ocampo wrote on Facebook.
The scoop: The Varsitarian broke the story on June 28 that the iconic bookshop was up for sale.
The price tag: P38 million for the building, the bookstore, the fixtures. Artworks not included.
What’s next: The Josés are waiting for letters of intent from four potential buyers. Proceeds from the sale will go to a college scholarship named after the literary titan, whose works have been translated into 28 languages.
Full story:
FOR SIXTY years, F. Sionil José’s Solidaridad has served not just as a bookshop for the most discriminating readers, but as a haven for writers, readers, and activists.
The store quickly became a literary saloon of sorts when the late National Artist for Literature opened its doors in 1965, with guests engaging in important discussions on social and political issues.
“His hope was for people to read. That was the main purpose. And then, everything adapted to what it became,” Antonio “Tonet” José, eldest son of the late national artist, told the Varsitarian.
Tucked in Manila’s Ermita district, it served as the headquarters of the Philippine Chapter of the International PEN (Poets & Playwrights, Essayists, and Novelists), which José established in 1957.
Tonet fondly looked back on the bookshop’s six decades of history, acknowledging its larger role in Philippine society.
“This round table we are sitting here, [it contains] a lot of stories. You have [stories] from professors, ex-presidents, Nobel Prize winners, activists,” Tonet shared.
“Once people go up here, don’t expect them to be here for [just] an hour. When they start at 5:00 p.m., expect to go home by 10:00 p.m.,” he added.
The bookshop is named after La Solidaridad, the bi-weekly newspaper edited by Graciano López Jaena and Marcelo H. del Pilar. The paper was published in Barcelona by the Propaganda Movement led by Filipino expatriate ilustrados to campaign for reforms during the Spanish colonial era..
Dubbed the “best little bookstore in Asia,” Solidaridad’s biggest accomplishment is not business success but the generations of readers it has raised, Tonet said.
“Solidaridad overall did not make money. Book selling in the Philippines is not a money-making business,” Tonet, who manages the shop’s administrative affairs, said. “What the bookshop accomplished is that the number of readers got bigger.”
The bookshop’s reputation stems from its emphasis on Philippine literature, with more than half of the inventory being Filipino titles, he said.
It is said to have the widest selection of Filipiniana works in the country.
“That’s what we got known for. Filipiniana. We get orders from abroad, universities, [the] Library of Congress, they order from us,” he said.
‘Not a money-making business’
Throughout six decades of operations, Solidaridad struggled from the lack of day-to-day profits, Tonet said.
“If we didn’t own the building, it wouldn’t have lasted 10 years. It’s not a money-making business. If we pay rent, it’s gone. There are days when we cannot even afford to pay the electricity bill for that day,” he said.
On June 28, the Varsitarian broke the story that Solidaridad was up for sale.
Tonet and his six other siblings are selling the bookshop due to their old age and the fact that most of them are living overseas.
“[A]fter me, none of my siblings will be able to manage it. We are all getting old,” Tonet said. “My siblings are all abroad, [and] it was only I who came back to take care of our parents and manage the bookshop. If I were a lot younger, I would not sell [it] at all.”
On July 19, historian Ambeth Ocampo revealed in a Facebook post that he had twice offered to buy Solidaridad years ago, but F. Sionil José declined, saying his children would manage to keep it.
The literary titan and former Varsitarian editor in chief, dubbed as the Philippines’s best bet for the Nobel Prize in literature, died in 2022 at age 97.
A native of Rosales, Pangasinan, he was known for the Rosales novels, the five-volume saga named after his birthplace. His works have been translated to 28 languages.
Solidaridad sale to fund scholarship
According to Tonet José, he and his six siblings were in talks with at least four potential buyers.
“We want to sell it for P38 million, negotiable pa. This includes the building, the bookstore, the fixtures, except for the artworks,” Tonet said.
The José siblings are waiting for the serious parties to send their letters of intent to purchase.
Tonet said sale proceeds would go to a college scholarship named after their late father.
“Us, siblings, we are all comfortable na. I mean, I don’t mind getting rich, a little. Pero, we are all comfortable. So, ‘yong pera to us, none of us will get any money. It’s going to go all to the scholarship,” he said.
Solidaridad Bookshop has served as a cultural and historical landmark for six decades.
“Our hope is that it will continue for another 60 years. But you never know,” Tonet said. With reports from Ma. Irish F. Fery
