Juanita Stein

AFTER OPENING HER BOOKSTORE, THE FORMER MAGAZINE EDITOR IS ON A MISSION TO BUILD COMMUNITY

When Juanita Stein talks about Between the Lines, it is clear that her bookstore has been a labor of love many years in the making.

“The idea originally popped into my head about 12 years ago. From the beginning I have wanted my store to be a space where people could disconnect from digital life and find community,” she says. Architects Salvador Reyes Ríos and Josefina Larraín Lagos had told Juanita of their plans to restore their building on Calle 62 and convert it into Plaza Carmesí.

“I made my business plan back in 2012 and we knew we wanted to work together, but the timing wasn’t quite right. When I bumped into them again in 2019, they were just completing the renovation and the financial gods were smiling on me,” she says.

This allowed Juanita to continue as editorial director at the venerable Yucatán Today.

“I am glad the bookstore evolved later because I still hadn’t fulfilled all my goals at the magazine. I’m happy I had 11 years there. It was where I was meant to be.”

Between the Lines opened March 4, 2020. And we all know what followed shortly after. In response, Juanita sold online and offered home deliveries. “My first year wasn’t what I expected it to be, but I powered through it and discovered that bookselling is actually a relatively good business to be in during a pandemic,” she says.

Now, Between the Lines is thriving and living its original vision. Part of her community outreach is a wish-list tab on its website that allows customers to purchase books for the Merida English Library, with which she collaborates often.

Juanita has advice for women who want to turn their passion into business.

“First, think what it is that you see for yourself in your wildest dreams. Put it on paper without thinking about finances. Next, make a mission statement of what you want to achieve. Only after all that should you think about the logistics. Make a business plan and get the expertise of those who have gone before you. At every stage ask yourself if this fulfills your vision and mission. Every decision must be aligned with those two intangibles. And lastly, I would say, it’s never too late to start, and I am proof of that.” 

BY

Inside a Centro bar, Anakaren Rodríguez takes a sip of her drink and tells us that music was never really a choice for her because it runs through her veins.

A daughter and granddaughter of musicians, Anakaren was 4 when she took an interest in music. It happened when her family was at a Buddhist temple, where she was quickly drawn to the triangle. During her teenage years, she began studying music while concentrating on the guitar and bass.

“In the beginning, I was quite shy, but I really looked up to a local musician, Ligia Cámara, who was not only amazing at her craft but, like me, did not really fit the mold of what most people figured a female musician should look or act like,” Anakaren says.

Anakaren started out playing the guitar for local audiences with her first band, Fresas Descompuestas, which stayed together for four years. During this time, she also took an interest in the instrument she is now best known for, the bass. Anakaren continued to make a name for herself with several local bands and, before she knew it, found herself in high demand.

“It is then that I realized, wow I could actually make a living doing this,” Anakaren says with a wide grin.

When the pandemic hit, Anakaren suddenly found herself out of work, but instead of sitting idly by, she decided to take a cellphone repair course, which has been her side hustle ever since.

Now that bars and other venues have opened up again, Anakaren can be seen and heard jamming with several bands, including local favorites like Swinga tu