Loyalty, Solidarity, and Community Theme Analysis

Author Ernesto Quiñonez foregrounds the importance of loyalty among the Latinx community throughout Bodega Dreams. A strong sense of community exists among the churchgoing characters in the story, who chip in to help one another with tasks like moving apartments. Moreover, an ex-activist named Bodega and his business partner Nazario—who both dabble in crime to protect the community from a fast-approaching wave of gentrification—emphasize that earning people’s loyalty is of utmost importance to them. They take pains to support the local community in times of financial strain, asking for nothing but loyalty in return. They know that if the tides turn against them and they’re targeted for their illegal activities, the community will rally around them. More importantly, Bodega wants to foster loyalty within the community to motivate people to band together and fight for social change. Even though Nazario turns out to be a fraud who murders Bodega, Bodega’s message survives his death, showing that his plan doesn’t completely fail. In his efforts to build a sense of loyalty within the community, Bodega leaves behind a lasting sense of solidarity—which empowers the community to keep fighting for social change after he dies. The book thus argues that such a sense of loyalty is vital to keeping a community strong and resilient amid trying circumstances.

Although Julio, the story’s narrator, finds religious devotion highly problematic, he nonetheless applauds the sense of solidarity among the neighborhood’s church community. Julio is skeptical of his young pregnant wife, Blanca’s, devotion to her church community, but he admits that the congregation’s loyalty to each other proves helpful in times of need. After a fire in Julio and Blanca’s apartment building, Julio reflects that “I always knock the people in Blanca’s church, but a lot of them were right there that night helping us move our things, everyone splashing around ankle-deep water.” It’s clear that the churchgoing community’s loyalty and sense of solidarity are noteworthy to Julio despite his general hesitance to endorse them.

A strong sense of loyalty also binds Julio to his childhood best friend, Sapo: even though they’ve chosen very different lives and their friendship disrupts Julio’s marriage (Blanca disapproves of Sapo’s life of crime), their solidarity provides each man with a strong sense of empowerment that neither is willing to give up. Both Julio and Julio’s father stress how important Sapo’s loyalty is for Julio’s welfare as he navigates growing up Spanish Harlem. Julio says his father “knew the importance of having someone to watch your back,” suggesting that the loyalty between Julio and Sapo provides them with a sense of safety in the rough streets of their childhood. Quiñonez also suggests that loyalty among friends helps people develop a sense of self-worth, which he expresses through Julio’s reflection that “Sapo had arrived at a time when I needed someone there, next to me, so I could feel valuable.” As an adult, Julio’s loyalty to Sapo is unbreakable—despite the strain it causes in his marriage—meaning that people in this community take their loyalty to each other very seriously, even if it comes at a substantive personal cost. Julio argues that maintaining loyalty to his childhood friend Sapo is essential, even after he takes on other commitments like marriage. Julio holds on to mysterious packages (presumably containing drugs) for Sapo, even though this triggers tension with Blanca and compromises his sexual relationship with her. Although Blanca threatens to leave Julio for not confiding in her, Julio feels compelled to hide information from Blanca when it implicates Sapo in criminal activity.

The story’s antihero, Bodega, also emphasizes that above all else, he wants to earn the community’s loyalty, stressing that it’s a valuable commodity and essential to his overall goal of achieving social change in Spanish Harlem. When Julio meets Bodega, Bodega says that he helps people out—by helping them financially with housing, schooling, and business ventures—in order to gain their loyalty. Julio stresses that “All Bodega asked in return was their loyalty” to underscore how much Bodega’s grand plan to empower the community hinges on fostering solidarity among the neighborhood’s residents through their sense of loyalty to each other. After a fire breaks out in Julio’s apartment building, Bodega also reflects that in Spanish Harlem’s times of crisis, “the most important form of help you got was from your neighbor, not the government,” implying that a sense of solidarity is essential for the disenfranchised community’s survival. Even though Bodega is murdered before he can realize his dream, Julio nonetheless frames Bodega’s legacy in terms of the community solidarity he inspires, showing how valuable it remains even after Bodega’s plans implode. At the end of the story, Julio has a dream in which the Latinx community honors Bodega and feels a strong sense of solidarity and empowerment in the thought that “Tomorrow Spanish Harlem would run faster, fly higher, stretch out its arms further, and one day those dreams would carry its people to new beginnings.” Julio’s dream emphasizes that despite Bodega’s demise, his real triumph is the loyalty and solidarity he fosters in the community, which has a powerful impact on their hopes for the future. Quiñonez thus argues—through Bodega’s voice—that loyalty is of central importance to disenfranchised communities like Spanish Harlem. Loyalty grows into solidarity, which provides communities with the strength and resilience needed to pursue social change and better their lives.