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, Blanca and Julio move into their new apartment, two buildings down from their old one. Blanca is too stressed and tired to ask questions, which relieves Julio. As Julio is hauling a rug into the building, he hears Sapo’s voice cracking a joke about Julio being homeless. Julio is happy to see Sapo. Julio doesn’t want to leave while he’s in the middle of moving, but Sapo insists. Julio leaves with Sapo to meet Nazario, feeling guilty about leaving the church community hauling his stuff up to the apartment without him.
Once again, Quiñonez highlights the deep sense of solidarity among the church community, who help Blanca and Julio move even when Julio disappears with Sapo. Julio’s loyalty to Sapo persists despite his guilty feelings, showing that, as always, he’ll prioritize people to whom he owes a bond of loyalty—even if it makes him look bad to others.
Themes
In the car, Julio asks Sapo if he killed Salazar. Sapo denies it but finally admits that he did bite Salazar—he just didn’t kill him. Julio needles Sapo for information but stops when Sapo shoots him a warning look. They arrive at an abandoned building fronted by a fake candy store. The men inside greet Sapo warmly, and Julio watches some men joke about the difference between sleeping with white girls and Latin girls as Sapo exchanges some packages. Sapo thinks that Julio likes Blanca because she’s a “white Spanish.” Julio and Sapo bicker about this on the drive to meet Nazario.
The boys’ familiarity with spaces that are fronts for illegal activity highlights that there’s a lot of crime in disenfranchised areas of New York. Meanwhile, the sexist jokes among Sapo’s crew imply once more that sexism is a widespread issue in this community. Sapo’s claim that Julio likes Blanca for embodying characteristics of a “white Spanish” person exposes how Latinx people can internalize negative beliefs about their own ethnicity under conditions of oppression.
Themes
Nazario and Julio drive to Queens and meet a man named Mr. Cavalleri. Nazario tells Mr. Cavalleri that Bodega’s beef is with Aaron Fischman, and that Bodega will compensate Mr. Cavalleri for any fallout that might affect him—especially since Mr. Cavalleri runs the Italian section of East Harlem. Mr. Cavalleri thinks that Bodega is a strange man—he sells drugs yet runs community rehab centers from the same buildings. The atmosphere is a little tense, but in the end, Mr. Cavalleri says that he has no business with Fischman. He tells the men that it was wise for them to visit him, and that if Bodega wins the turf war, Mr. Cavalleri will remember Bodega’s name.
The meeting with Mr. Cavalleri implies that a lot of New York’s property market is likely run by the criminal underground. There’s a subtle implication here that perhaps even the city’s officials get their hands dirty and engage with people like Mr. Cavalleri when securing their own wealth, especially if it involves New York’s property market. This reinforces Nazario’s belief that everybody who acquires wealth dabbles in questionable activity, which he’ll articulate next.
Themes
