A few months ago, I came across a book called Soy Tarapoto by an author named Alberto Azáldegui Cruz. It’s a good little Spanish-language guide to Tarapoto, about 180 pages long and covering the town’s history, its economy, culture, attractions and more. Sadly, it appears to be something of a rarity…
Trawling Tarapoto’s Bookshops
Stupidly, I didn’t take note of the publication date or the publisher, but the book looked quite new and the information inside was reasonably up-to-date. With this in mind, I thought at least one bookshop in Tarapoto might actually sell it (it seemed like a logical assumption at the time).
After I returned the book to its owner (a friend of a friend who I don’t see too often), I trawled the streets of Tarapoto from one shop to the next in search of this little gem. My search, however, was in vain. The book was nowhere to be found and not one storeowner had ever even heard of it. Blank looks all round…
The Elusive Tarapoto Travel Guide
Anyway, I thought I’d write a brief post about Soy Tarapoto for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a good little book if you can find a copy. Secondly, I want a copy of my own, and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find one (it’s a long shot, but you never know…). The author did have a Windows Live Space page at one point (albertoazaldegui.spaces.live.com) but it seems to be dead. I’ll try to find out the publisher details – in the meantime, if anyone does have any info, please let me know!
For what it’s worth, I googled the title and name and found a thesis that had the book in its bibliography:
¿Me Conoces?, Soy Tarapoto. Lima. Edit. Relaciones Públicas y Publicidad Pedro Farfán Torres.
I tried googling “Pedro Farfán Torres” to no avail… somebody might know him around Tarapoto? might be worth asking around 🙂
just posted on my Facebook page and will see if any of my relatives or friends in Tarapoto have heard about it or know where to get a copy 🙂
Thanks a lot Elsa, really helpful info! I’ll try to find out more about Pedro Farfán Torres – I don’t know of any book publishers here in Tarapoto (if there are any), but I guess that would be a good place to start.
Thanks again, much appreciated!
Cuan grato resulta observar el valor que le otorgan a una publicación que con mucho amor escribi sobre la tierra que me cobija y de la cual me siento hijo adoptivo. Gracias por ello, soy Alberto Azáldegui Cruz, periodista, autor del libro: ¿me conoces?… SOY TARAPOTO. Lo que habeis visto es la seguna edición de la obra que con un tiraje de 2,000 ejemplares en la actualidad se encuentra agotada. Estoy preparando la tercera edición en nuevo formato y a todo color, que espero poder publicar en agosto del presente año con ocasión del aniversario de la fundación española de la ciudad de Tarapoto. Tienen mi dirección electrónica y quedo a vuestra disposición. Un abrazo calido y fraterno desde Tarapoto, Perú.
Gracias por tu comentario, me siento feliz de recibirlo! Qué buena noticia que la tercera edición se publicará en agosto. Tu libro es excelente y muy informativo. Me comunicaré con usted de nuevo por correo electrónico.
Muchas gracias!
Tony Dunnell.
Clearly, you hadn’t been living there for very long! The one thing that makes Tarapoto feel like a million miles from anywhere is the lack of decent books!
I lived there for two years and plan to return someday (next year perhaps). Anyway, greetings from blighty.
Robert
Hi Robert,
I was well aware of the lack of decent books (at the time, I think I’d found two worthy tomes in an actual shop) – it just seemed like I might have more success finding a Tarapoto guidebook rather than, say, Crime and Punishment. That said, I have seen a copy of Crime and Punishment for sale in Tarapoto, but it was about 30 pages long and full of pictures!
Cheers!
SOY TARAPOTO
Hi Tony, has mr. Alberto Azáldegui Cruz published his new version of his book.
I interested to buy a copy.
Long time no see….
Ruud
Hi Ruud! Definitely long time no see, we should go for a drink sometime.
I emailed the author shortly after he left the comment (above), but — if I remember correctly — I never heard back. Maybe his email address was wrong. I’ll try to get in touch again.
Have you checked in any of the local bookshops?
No, I haven’t even tried. My experiences in bookstores are the same as you decribed in your article.
Google gives some info about Mr. Azáldegui.
He seems to be the Jefe de Imagen Institucional en EMAPA SAN MARTÍN S.A.
Maybe you can visit Emapa and meet him in person.
Ruud