The fluorescent lights of Villa Morra Shopping Centre in Asunción cast their usual sterile glow, but step through the glass doors of La Última Disco, and something shifts. The air itself seems to hum with possibility as rows of vinyl records catch the warm spotlight, their covers telling stories of decades past.
A teenage boy runs his fingers along the spines of metal albums, whilst his father gravitates towards the classic rock section. In the corner, an elderly woman clutches a cassette tape to her chest, eyes glistening.
“This is the most beautiful part of what we do,” says Guadalupe Quiroga, watching the scene unfold from behind the counter. “Whether they buy something or not, people leave happy because of what they found.”
When crisis sparked creativity
When the pandemic struck in 2020, Guadalupe, her mother María, and her mother’s partner Gabriel Outeyral watched their events business grind to a halt. The Argentine family had built their lives in Paraguay over nearly fifteen years, but suddenly found themselves without work. “It happened without us really planning it,” Guadalupe recalls. “We said we are going to have a record shop.”
Lockdown in Paraguay stirred something unexpected. People began rediscovering forgotten treasures in their homes, dusting off vinyl collections that had been ignored for years. The collectors’ world began to move. The Quirogas started by trading from their personal collection, then leveraged their vast network of DJs, musicians, and venue owners spanning Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.
Former radio stations, old bars, and nightclub owners had boxes of vinyl stored in warehouses, records that the Quirogas could now commercialise. When events returned, they continued both businesses, but their accidental venture had already taken root.
More than just music
What began as desperate vinyl trading has evolved into something approaching a cultural institution. Today, La Última Disco pulses with eclectic energy: vintage Luis Alberto del Paraná records sit alongside contemporary metal releases, whilst cassette tapes share shelf space with band T-shirts, concert posters, and gleaming turntables.
“We wanted to create a welcoming space,” Guadalupe explains, gesturing towards the deliberately intimate lighting. “We do not want people to only come and buy, but for them to come in.” Customers regularly spend up to three hours browsing without purchasing anything, treating the shop like a library of musical memory.
The ritual returns
“Listening to vinyl is a ritual. You do not put on a vinyl record for background music like you do with Spotify. When you decide to listen to vinyl, you go to your space, you sit down, you take the record out of its sleeve, read the lyrics. You immerse yourself more in what it is telling you.”
This reverence for the physical experience permeates every corner of the shop. Young people who have never owned vinyl find themselves asking their parents for turntables. Elderly customers recapture lost youth through rediscovered soundtracks.
The shop’s origin story reads like modern folklore. In 2023, Villa Morra Shopping Centre announced a retro-themed anniversary celebration. When they asked vinyl collectors who wished to occupy weekend market space, only the Quirogas responded. “They gave us a table in the corridor,” Guadalupe remembers with a laugh. “We went with a couple of baskets.” The three-day event stretched into a month as crowds flocked to their makeshift stall.
Cultural currency
From those humble baskets, La Última Disco opened its permanent sho in May 2023. Today, it ships nationwide. The shop supports local metal bands whilst introducing international sounds to curious ears. Most importantly, it serves as a guardian of musical memory for future generations.
Stories emerge daily that illuminate music’s power to heal and connect: collectors rebuilding precious collections one record at a time, teenagers discovering that their parents’ old music is not so terrible after all. “You hear them saying, ‘Look at this!’ or ‘I used to have this record!'”
As La Última Disco continues to grow, the Quirogas remain focused on their customers’ evolving needs. The name that once carried pandemic uncertainty, The Last Record Shop, now carries a different meaning. In an age of algorithms and streaming, La Última Disco proves that the most profound connections still happen when one can hold music in their hands.
VIP Card Benefits
As a VIP member of The Asunción Times, you get a 10% discount at La Última Disco on all CDs, vinyls and Unity T-shirts just by showing your VIP Member card, – one of many VIP Member Benefits. Located in the Villa Morra Shopping, the establishment is open everyday.
La Última Disco opening hours
Monday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Tuesday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Wednesday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Thursday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Friday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Saturday: 9 AM – 9 PM.
Sunday: 11 AM – 9 PM.
For more information check La Última Disco on Instagram.
