A small wooden shelf, with its glass door, is located on the wall of the Quinta Guatemala in Los Chorros (first cross, Los Castaños, passing the Uruguayan-Venezuelan Center). Inside, more than 30 books wait anxiously for a reader to come along in their search, to take out a title and leave another in its place. It’s about the Small Bookstore Argenis Martínez, where the friends and neighbors of the deceased journalist, editor, reader, friend, mentor and editorial vice president of El Nacional arrive with a smile and a book in their hands. That is all it took to be part of the meeting held this Thursday, March 9, to officially inaugurate the small bookstore in his honor.
The opening words were given by Nicole Hernández, daughter of the friend and collaborator of The National Oscar Hernandez. As a member of the project, the young woman began by thanking the support of those who made the small bookstore possible, neighbors and friends who collaborated such as Nelson Pérez, Andrés Pérez, Óscar Hernández, Víctor Poleo and even Rafael Sifontes, who was in charge of the design of the artisan wooden shelf. Once the corresponding thanks have been given, she takes the floor Óscar Hernández.
“This initiative adds to the search for Have a better quality of life And what better attempt than through reading? The bookstore’s objective is that the neighbors have access to those books that often get dusty on the shelves, under the dynamic of taking a book and leaving another in its place. This is a worldwide trend and there are several bookstores of this nature in the city. A book is an opportunity to change. These days I read a reflection that I would like to share: ‘Books are not sown but some germinate, they are not eaten but some are devoured, they are not alive but they are immortal, they do not have sex but they make you fall in love, they do not have light but they illuminate you. We are made of books.
From works by Kafka, through philosophers such as Plato, including the works of Arthur Conan Doyle to several copies of children’s literature, the bookstore is designed to honor the legacy of Argenis Martínez. Most of the titles that they will be there for the neighbors from the area are part of his personal collection, those books that accompanied him throughout his life for so many years. Died on June 14, 2022 at the age of 78, born in Maracay in 1943, his legacy still prevails among those who, with teary eyes of nostalgia, approach the small but beautiful wooden shelf to perpetuate over time. and, especially in the new generations, the passion that for so many years characterized one of the best journalists in The National: the reading.
A wise man of journalism and nicknames
When Argenis Martínez worked in the newsroom of the newspaper The Nationalhis colleagues and friends at work constantly came to him for advice, a recommendation about a book or a correction. There was no title or text that his expert eyes did not evaluate with the rigor and excellence that characterized him as a journalist. Martinez was charming when he was in a good mood; when not… “things were a bit complicated for us,” says journalist Jhonny Villarroel, who was head of Sports and shared 40 years of journalism with him. «In 40 years covering the news day by day, many things happen. He was always there,” he said.
Graduated from the School of Journalism of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), with postgraduate degrees in Italy, from a young age he was interested in journalism and politics in equal parts. After working in the magazine scenesdedicated to theater and dance, directed by Pablo Antillano, came to The National in 1981. He was part of the third generation of communicators that the newspaper had. Only death could take him away from the environment in which he trained several generations of journalists, he made friends and left a legacy among colleagues who remember him with a smile and admiration.
In that newsroom, Martínez maintained a long friendship years with Miguel Otero Silva, whom he nicknamed “the Captain”. He was also recognized by the nicknames he gave his companions. “Once I gave you a nickname, you stayed like that for the rest of your life,” says Ileana Matos, who brought the Gastronomy fountain The National, whom he called “Locatel” because of how “crazy she was sometimes. I still miss it, there are days when while I work I wonder where Argenis is.
Stand up against censorship
Since before his arrival at the newspaper, even from the classrooms of the university, Martínez pointed towards the critical, questioning, exhaustive journalism and to the search for the truth as the only way for the journalist. The experienced writer thought, says the journalist Patricia Spadaro, that the communicator has the duty to contribute and contribute as a citizen in society. And even he must go further: you have to get involved in the facts.
An avid reader, Martínez practiced with honor and rigor. He served as Editorial Vice President at the newspaper as he used to assume his office: willing to take the risks that were necessary. He, like many journalists, suffered persecution and harassment against the media and freedom of expression. Censorship was not alien to Argenis Martínez. Even so, he kept his pen ready and responded to the facts of the country with the famous mancheta or by writing the newspaper’s editorial.
Since 2015 it was among the 15 people sued in the newspaper by the first vice president of the PSUV, Diosdado Cabello. He stayed in the country, he was the only member of the board of directors to do so. “He said that no regime would take him out of Venezuela,” says Spadaro, who was editorial manager of El Nacional. The process ended with the expropriation, with weapons and military uniforms, of the newspaper’s building located in Los Cortijos, an action that has been internationally condemned by the most respected figures and institutions of journalism.
When he was able to leave the country, he went to Paris, where his wife, Mariana Otero, was. «When he left he did not know that he was not going to return. He left before the government that persecuted him so much », says Spadaro during his speech at the inauguration of the bookstore in his honor.
A book, a friend
After her death from pancreatic cancer, Spadaro said, her granddaughter Grace worried about the future of the books she had left behind. were more than 15 boxes of copies. The young woman needed to find them a new home, she couldn’t leave them at home and she couldn’t take them out of the country either. So she decided to call Patricia Spadaro and Patricia Rodríguez, friends of her grandfather. Both collected the books and took them in the suitcases of their vehicles. For several days, the books were there. Sometimes, Spadaro recalled, they would open the suitcase so that people could take the titles that most interested them. It was a small tribute to Argenis Martínez.
We also did something similar in the Bookstore El Buscón del Late Night Cultural. Argenis liked to read, he was very concerned about the new generation of journalists, he said that they did not like to read. For him that was essential.” Villarroel agrees with Spadaro, who recognizes the passion for reading that Martínez instilled in journalists from The National. Both even remember the monthly visits of the booksellers Esteban Brassesco father and son to the newsroom. “That was like crazy hour of The National”Spadaro recalled.
He added that, during the bookseller’s visits, everyone waited for Martinez’s recommendation to buy a book. Also, on many occasions, he himself lent them to them so that they could train as readers. Many of those titles are now part of the Little Argenis Martínez Bookstore. «Books were his friends. That was what he was trying to convey to his colleagues and to the new generations. Sometimes he suffered to lend the books because he did not know if they would return to him… Whoever has one of his books will have a friend from Argenis in their hands,” concluded Spadaro.
