Bodega Dreams

Now that Chino has all the pieces of the puzzle, he realizes that Nazario and Vera had planned it all along. Vera no longer wanted to be married to Vidal, and Nazario was in a position to make this happen. Vera used Bodega to teach her to fire a gun, then killed her husband with Bodega’s gun, knowing that Bodega would willingly accept the blame. He also realizes that it was Nazario who set fire to the apartment building in order to frame Fischman, and that the trip to visit Cavarelli was designed to fool both Chino and Bodega.

Chino expects more of a public outcry over Bodega’s death, but life in Spanish Harlem goes on. On the day of Bodega’s funeral, Chino finds Sapo flying a kite on the roof of a building. Although Sapo knows the truth, he has chosen to keep a low profile. He tells Chino that “‘Bodega might be dead but his empire is out there for the taking’” (204). Sapo reminds Chino of when they used to play Kid Comets, a game that involved setting a pigeon on fire and sending it to the ground below like a fireball. Sapo observes that pigeons are nothing but “rats with wings” (205) and that there are plenty of them around.

To protect himself, Chino goes to the precinct and tells the police what he knows. He hates that he has to tell the police, but knows that eventually, Nazario will come for him.

The entire barrio shows up at Bodega’s funeral to pay their respects, and afterwards, Bodega’s body is displayed for public viewing at a minimarket in Spanish Harlem. Chino observes that “The entire Latin content was represented, including the thin waist of Central America and all the islands that decorated it like a string of pearls. Everyone was there like in some pageant for a dying monarch” (207). After three days, a funeral procession snakes through el barrio to the cemetery in Queens. This is somewhat satisfying for Chino, who realizes, “the people had taken to the streets, but in honor, not anger” (208).

After the burial, Chino confronts Nazario with his new knowledge. Nazario justifies it as a cleansing—through Bodega’s death, everyone else comes out clean. When he begins to threaten Chino, the detectives step in to arrest Nazario, Vera and Nene. Chino only feels bad for Nene, who had just been following orders.

When he returns to his apartment, Chino finds a recently arrived Puerto Rican asking for Willie Bodega, who had promised him a place to stay. In the spirit of Bodega’s generosity, Chino offers the man his extra room.

That night, he dreams of Bodega as a Young Lord, come to tell him about a “beautiful new language… born out of the ashes of two cultures clashing with each other” (212). The people of Spanish Harlem, dream-Bodega says, are evolving into something new. Waking from the dream, Chino goes onto the fire escape and looks down on the neighborhood, which is humming with life. Murals have been painted in honor of Bodega. Far from defeated, the people “had been bounced all over the place but they were still jamming” (213).

The book ends with the words, “It seemed like a good place to start” (213).