THE WORD : L.A. <i> Literatos</i>

Goateed and exuding woozy charisma, Marco Garcia tunes his electric guitar on the tiny stage at Arroyo Books in Highland Park. It’s a Wednesday night and Garcia will be putting on his “spontaneous and transforming music event” as part of an expanded series of performance offerings at Arroyo Books, an increasingly popular center of things literary and Latino.

Since Philip Gillette and wife, Florencia Teran, opened the bookstore five years ago at its original Figueroa Street site, it’s become a neighborhood--and city--institution, patronized by Latino politicians, including Rep. Xavier Becerra, L.A. City Councilman Mike Hernandez and County Supervisor Gloria Molina. It also has “probably the best selection of Chicano literature in the country,” Gillette says.

The 12,000-title collection was a tight fit in the Figueroa storefront, and as readings and book signings became more popular, a move was inevitable. When the former Hunchback Cafe became available last September, customers pitched in to help shift stock and renovate the space. Now, they browse easily through the extensive Latin American travel section and children’s books and can rent videos from among 400 Spanish-language films and documentaries.

Arroyo’s readings, art exhibits and performances continue to draw a broad and growing audience. A recent fund-raiser, a performance of “The Last Angry Brown Hat” by playwright Alfredo Ramos, sold out a 225-seat club next door. For its fifth anniversary on Aug. 26, they promise “special guests, writers, poets, musicians and artists.” Among those scheduled is Lalo Guerrero, a pioneering Mexican American folk singer and activist.

For people like Marco Garcia, Arroyo Books is like music, “something that transforms itself and is vibrating endlessly out into the community.”