Baja Review A community newspaper serving Ensenada, Valle de Guadalupe, and Rosarito in Northern Baja California
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Libraries have been around for centuries, probably since the beginning of the printed word on scrolls. As children, if we’re fortunate, we grow up with libraries in our communities and in our schools. Rosarito and the surrounding area have five libraries. In addition to IMac (Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura in Rosarito) there are four other libraries in our area: Primo Tapia (located to the west of the free road), Morelos (east of Rosarito and up in the hills), Plan Liratador (north end of town and also up in the hills) and Sharp (north of Rosarito off the free road).The Friends of the Library, or Amigos de la Biblioteca, is an organization of dedicated men and women living in the Rosarito area who work to support and promote reading and literacy in Rosarito, especially for the children. It was started about nine years ago by three women whose first project was renovating the Primo Tapia Library. Last year Friends of the Library raised $2,200 to repair leaky roofs in two libraries.
A special project of Friends of the Library is called Rosarito Lee. What is it? A name? A place? No. Lee is Spanish for read. You might see it on a bumper or window sticker. Rosarito Lee is a special city-wide reading program sponsored by Friends of the Library. This project has the support of local and state politicians and they are even pursuing federal support. Who knows? Eventually, maybe Baja Lee.
One project of Rosarito Lee is to encourage people to read the same book. The book selected is Cajas de Carton (Cardboard Boxes) called The Circuit in English. The world-wide acclaimed author is Francisco Jimenez who also wrote Senderos Fronterizos (Border Hiking) called Breaking Through. These are available on Amazon or at Rosarito’s International Mail located in the parking area to the east of Oceana. These are wonderful, heart-warming books composed of essays. Each book recounts the author’s early life, growing up as a Mexican living and working as a migrant worker in the United States.
An upcoming exciting event called Flamenco Night is currently being planned by Friends of the Library for September: an evening with tapas, wine, flamenco music and dancers. It will be held in the courtyard of the Government Center.
Two other on-going fundraisers sponsored by Friends of the Library are the annual December Holiday Home Tour and a poker tournament of Texas Hold’em held every other even month at Club Marena.
Friends of the Library is looking for new members. Information is available at International Mail or you can also join online here.
