The Wild Detectives, surrounded by homes in the Bishop Arts District, is located in a converted house on Eighth Street where an undeniable vibrancy can be felt walking up the wooden steps and into the orange building. Inside are whirring steam-powered espresso machines, the rhythmic shaking of drinks behind the bar, silent conversations between books and readers, and others typing away on laptops or chatting with friends.
“In the suburbs you have a ‘community center,’ but this feels like the city version of the one that you dream about or always wanted it to be,” said general manager Diana “D” Martocchio, who links The Wild Detectives’ success to owner Javier García del Moral’s willingness to try new things, giving an organic nature to the life of the space.
When The Wild Detectives’ founder and owner, whom everyone knows as Javi, migrated to Dallas from Spain in 2012, he and fellow Spanish civil engineer Paco Vique hoped to start a business that combined books and booze, and the Bishop Arts District called to them.
“Where I was born and raised in Spain, there is a mix-use of urban areas. Where you live is where you do groceries, entertain yourself, work and go to school,” Javi said. Since the residential part of Oak Cliff had been growing faster than the business district, he felt there was room for a shop that would directly serve the people who lived there and where nearby residents could keep the spirit of the neighborhood alive.
“Texas Theatre was a big inspiration for us. They were doing something way beyond screening movies,” Javi said of the theater established in 1931 in the heart of Oak Cliff on Davis Street. He noted the way the theater ran many events at once and allowed people to host and share ideas through events and series, including a movie night Javi curated before The Wild Detectives opened. A new film may be playing in the main theater with an independent or foreign film upstairs, bands performing “Behind the Screen” after hours, and the bar selling craft cocktails as a niche DJ set the vibe of the lounge.
It was this varying use of the space and mingling of people from many walks of life, including local residents and people from all over the world, that won Javi’s heart. He believed that the bookstore-bar he envisioned could complement the artistic endeavors of places like Texas Theatre, The Kessler and other creative spaces in the area.
Over the last decade, many new people have come to Dallas, changing the identity of the city, making it richer and more complex. But this growth also caused a rise in prices, a major stress on the housing market and desperate attempts to preserve the cultural spaces that provide a necessary reprieve from city life. Bishop Arts has transformed as well.
“Revelers Hall changed the entire vibe of the street,” Javi said of the New Orleans-style jazz club that always has its doors and windows open, filling the street with live music seven days a week. It's one of many of the places that have helped hold the neighborhood together, he said, along with Tacos y Vino, Odd Fellows, Lady Love (the newest disco in town), Spinster Records and a variety of restaurants and shops that attract both locals and tourists.
The Oak Cliff neighborhood where Bishop Arts is located has not always been the bustling place it is now. In the '90s, the area was mostly rundown warehouses until investors got involved. In came new restaurants, many of which had long runs but have since closed: Hatties, Tillman’s and the most recent loss, Boulevardier, which closed March 31.
“Changes are always complex, especially drastic and rapid changes like the ones we have experienced here. It's not like a change that is gradually happening that you can adapt to. … They happen so quickly it's hard to come up with a single conclusion,” Javi said of the complexity of change in the city.
Having a space that allows nearby residents and creatives to experiment, converse and collaborate seems to be something the public has needed, judging by how The Wild Detectives has thrived.
“All of the things seem to be in constant movement," Javi said. "The reality is that Dallas is growing at a rate that is absolutely unthinkable. At the end of the day, we are experiencing so much change so quickly.”
Colorful books line the walls of The Wild Detectives, all selected by the shop's staff with input from customers, online databases and what's coming hot off the presses — often from Deep Vellum Publishing. Vicky Sans, book buyer at The Wild Detectives, sources the roughly 1,200 rotating titles displayed each month. She has been affiliated with the shop since the beginning as a collaborator for Spanish events.
If any younger people wonder why the olds miss bookstores so much ... this is why. The Wild Detectives redefines "cozy."
Bruce Gregory
In 2014, Deep Vellum Publishing also opened its doors. The kismet of the nonprofit publishing house and the bookseller opening the same year was a match that would change Dallas and make the city a landmark for the international literature community.
“If you go to a literary festival in Peru, people know Deep Vellum because it is one of the most [famed] translating publishers in the country.… They perceive the city in a different way,” said Javier. Dallas has prestige that it doesn’t even know about. The Wild Detectives also hosts the Dallas location of the Hay Festival, an international literary and arts event popular in Europe and South America, further expanding Dallas’ international reach.
Local literary events have played a massive role in attracting all kinds of folks to the bookstore. The back patio of The Wild Detectives, strung with lights, is often the space where productions take place, from book talks with international authors to the series Talking Dirty After Dark, an intimate storytelling collective. Inner Moonlight, the monthly poetry series hosted at The Wild Detectives, and Shakespeare Everywhere, a collective that brings Shakespeare’s plays to life with actors, costumes and music, have been long-running events at the space. These types of productions have played a major role in cross-pollinating and connecting different people, turning customers and curious creatives into respected devotees and collaborators.
But it isn’t just literature that has put the bookstore on the local and international radar. Ernesto Montiel, the shop's talent buyer and a board member, discovered artistic spaces in Dallas through Dallas Observer articles while he was still living in Venezuela. Upon arriving, he became one of the niche DJ’s setting the vibe at Texas Theatre and eventually began proposing events for The Wild Detectives. Montiel attributes a big part of his integration into the Dallas music scene to “Outward Bound Mixtape Sessions,” an experimental live music series curated by siblings Stefan and Aaron González, which offered everything from Japanese punk bands to Pacific Northwest modular noise artists, with local musicians of all types.
The late Dennis González, a longtime Oak Cliff resident who was widely respected in the global experimental music and jazz community, also had a big impact on Montiel.
“Talking with Dennis, I learned a lot about how to make things happen. I realized people would go play Austin and Houston but would never come to Dallas. I asked Dennis about that, and he told me things that gave me courage to reach out and ask artists to play TWD, and it happened,” Montiel said. Molten Plains and other live music series created by Montiel have made Dallas a destination for international and experimental music.
It is this symbiotic relationship between many streams of creativity, collaboration and revenue that have kept The Wild Detectives flourishing, making it a cornerstone of Oak Cliff. This is what will be celebrated at the 10-year reunion: music, literature, books, and booze and the people who have made it happen through the years.
The TWD website has a full description of events, but here are some highlights:
Friday night will feature DJ Christy Ray, DJ Aniya Henre and a vinyl-swap listening party with Velado Vinilo.
Saturday will be a full day of music with local acts, DJ Muttarancho from Venezuela, DJ Tempranillo from Spain, Baba Kuboye, grandnephew of Fela Kuti, sharing West African Beats and Afro Perreo bringing “From Mother Africa to America Latina.”
Sunday, Ukrainian poet Oksana Lutsyshyna will share her writing, and special editions of cherished monthly events Inner Moonlight and Talking Dirty will take place. Finally, Loose Sounds, another series, will provide an acoustic jam session open to all. You won’t want to miss the amazing food, drink and tattoo collaborations.
Everything works together, another sign of an ecosystem that sustains life. “When we first opened we didn’t even have enough sugar, and in 10 minutes we had to go around for sugar,” Javi said. Ten years later, there’s no shortage of sugar, friends, family, arts and culture.
The 10-year anniversary event is free, but an RSVP is requested here.
