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Book 2, Round 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Bodega Dreams, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Latinx Immigrants and Broken Dreams
Crime, Wealth and Activism
Religion, Sexism, and Poverty
Loyalty, Solidarity, and Community
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Spanish Harlem is crammed with police cars and reporters. Detectives Ortiz and DeJesus pound on Julio’s door. Ortiz swiftly tells Julio that he’s not under arrest, but that Bodega has been shot and killed. Julio’s stomach turns, and he follows the detectives out. There are police with guns on every corner of Spanish Harlem. When they get to the station, Nazario is there; he pulls Julio aside, telling him to say that he wasn’t at the restaurant. Julio follows Nazario’s instructions, and a bored Captain Leary says that Julio is free to go. He and Nazario silently walk outside. Vera is waiting for them, and they all drive off together.
The police presence in Spanish Harlem is suddenly very high: there are more police than people on the streets. Here, Quiñonez highlights another facet of systemic oppression. There’s an intimidating police presence when something violent happens in the neighborhood, but there’s not much interest in facilitating actual justice (or getting to the truth of the matter), as Captain Leary’s bored demeanor indicates.
Themes
Nazario explains that Fischman shot Bodega. Nazario told the police that Bodega shot Salazar and Vidal in order to tie up all the loose ends. Julio knows that he won’t get the full story until he talks to Sapo, so he stays quiet. He knows that Nazario is doing what Bodega would have wanted, because this version of the story protects Julio, Sapo, and Vera.
It seems that Bodega would be happy with Nazario’s story because it looks like a show of solidarity: it protects the other people from the community who are involved with this situation from further harm or suspicion, thus honoring Bodega’s loyalty to them.
Themes
Later that day, Negra knocks on Julio’s door. Julio is too sad to answer between Bodega’s death and Blanca’s absence. A few minutes later, Negra climbs in through the fire escape window, complaining about Victor. Just then, the doorbell rings: it’s Blanca. She asks Julio if he’s alright, knowing that Bodega died. Julio starts to lie but comes clean, saying he’s sad and disappointed—he thought Bodega could really change the neighborhood. Blanca says that she understands. Then, she tells Julio that Vera used to mess around with a lot of the boys in the neighborhood, and the man Vera really loved wasn’t Bodega—it was Nazario. Suddenly, Julio’s blood runs cold.
Julio learns that Vera was actually in love with Nazario all along. They likely orchestrated this plan to get rid of Bodega and claim all the property that Bodega owns for themselves. By setting this plot twist into motion, Meanwhile, Quiñonez provides further insight about the value of Bodega’s attempts to foster solidarity in the community, even though he dies before realizing his plan. Already, as is evident here, both Julio and Blanca acknowledge that Bodega meant to do good things for the people of Spanish Harlem. This shared understanding helps to mollify both their attitudes and make way for a reconciliation.
Themes
