Thirty-five years ago, Norma Zevallos and Eduardo Durán made a bold decision and took a step toward a dream that would not come easily, but would put their will and passion to good use. The result is Revistas y Periódicos, a bookstore that stocks the finest Spanish newspapers, magazines, and books from across Latin America and Spain. They built it themselves, carving it out of long days, navigating market changes, and above all, refusing to quit.
Revistas y Periódicos is part of El Camino of the Fighters, a series that highlights Latine-owned, family-founded and operated small businesses, street vendors, and entrepreneurs. By highlighting these unsung heroes, Modelo underlines its commitment to honoring everyday fighters who have contributed to their city’s legacy and economic landscape.
Norma contemplated a future in the United States when circumstances in her native Colombia became difficult. Thanks to her sister, she moved to Orlando with her young son and some savings; meanwhile, Eduardo remained behind to settle his agricultural stockbroker business before joining her. Her new life in the “land of opportunities”—as they call the U.S.—was far from glamorous. Norma cleaned rooms at night and worked at El Espectador by day. She persevered through this challenging phase, doing what needed to be done.
Then, one day, an unexpected opportunity arose to change everything for her: her boss at El Espectador offered her a failing newsstand in Miami. He had tried to make the stand work but failed. Norma immediately recognized this as the answer to her prayers and put her vision to work.
Norma honored the space she was given and respected its loyal customers by keeping the name Revistas y Periódicos, confident that its reputation for quality literature would spread by word of mouth. When Eduardo finally joined her, he threw himself into the venture, working alongside her from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. They embraced it as both a labor of love and a means of survival. After 16 years, their efforts culminated in a new, larger location, with the original site entrusted to their son.
However, success brought new challenges. When e-books and next-day delivery online retailers emerged in the 2000s, small bookstores struggled to compete. Revistas y Periódicos was no exception. They had to close their larger store, and their son offered to return the original site to them, saying they had “inherited it in reverse.”
Quitting was never an option. “The bookstores went away,” Eduardo says, “but books and readers didn’t. These people were orphaned, and we gave them a home.” “Home” is a word that surfaces often when discussing the bookstore, as Norma considers it an extension of their house—which also boasts an impressive literary collection—that she opens for customers to share her favorite thing: reading material in her native language.
After weathering the storm, they began to thrive again, creating a cultural refuge for readers and intellectuals. A journalist once described Revistas y Periódicos as “a bastion of an extinguishing world in Miami,” a description that remains apt today. The couple has built a community that feels more like family. They cater to a diverse range of readers, including women who enjoy gossip magazines and arrive at the stand when deliveries arrive at 5 p.m.
By recommending books and building rapport, Eduardo and Norma have cultivated trusting relationships with customers who chat with them as if they were old friends. Those who’ve walked through their doors have been so impressed by their catalog of hard-to-find titles that their praise has drawn others to visit Revistas y Periódicos.
Today, prospects look bright for Revistas y Periódicos, though their journey has been marked by economic turmoil and health scares—something neither Eduardo nor Norma takes for granted. Eduardo sums up their blessing beautifully: “We rest by working, because we love what we do.” Through their devotion to work—a quality shared with Modelo—they transformed a small newsstand opportunity into a lasting legacy for themselves, Miami, and Latine culture.
