Bodega Stories

Name: Bodega Stories
Author: Amaris Castillo
ISBN: 9780813081595

by Amaris Castillo

Published by: University Press of Florida

In this book, Amaris Castillo takes readers inside her family's bodega to meet the community at its heart, revealing a thriving local hub that bridges generations, languages, and traditions.

256 Pages5.50 × 8.5030 b/w illus.

Paperback
9780813081595
Published: September 8, 2026

$28.00

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EPUB
9780813075464
Published: September 8, 2026

(Ebook delivery via Leaf eReader app.)

$18.99

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Description
Authors
Praise
Table of Contents
Excerpt

“Bodega Stories kisses us awake! Amaris Castillo has written a gorgeous portrait of Dominican bodegas, vignettes fueled with love for her hardworking parents and her community. Much like the robust inventory of neighborhood bodegas, Castillo’s book serves up a chorus of characters that fill in essential gaps to our American story. A joy to read!”—Angie Cruz, author of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water
“Everyone is familiar with the neighborhood bodega, but not everyone gets to know the inner workings of such places. Bodega Stories takes you behind the scenes, into the heart of one family’s business. Its draw is magnetic and only strengthened by the tenderness and charm Castillo infuses into so many of her vignettes.”—Annabelle Tometich, author of The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony
“Bodega Stories gives voice to the working-class immigrants from the Caribbean who often play such important roles in community building, those who create safe spaces for gathering like bodegas, barbershops, salones de belleza, and mom-and-pop restaurants. Castillo’s descriptions are rich and layered, giving a sense of place and situating the reader beautifully inside each nook and cranny of Orlando Latin Market.”—Erika Morillo, author of Mother Archive: A Dominican Family Memoir
“I love this book. Bodega Stories is a joyful portrait not only of Castillo’s family and their bodega but also of the larger community of immigrants hailing from the Caribbean and Latin America that come to Orlando Latin Market in search of home. Castillo gracefully weaves together the memories, interviews, and stories of her family and customers with loving detail and the precision of a poet.”—Claire Jiménez, author of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
“With care, insight and sensitivity, Castillo captures what makes bodegas so important and necessary. In depicting her parents’ experience operating Orlando Latin Market, Castillo introduces us to the community upon which the bodega depends—bringing to life a vibrant multicultural, multilingual, multigenerational community, shining a light on people who are often overlooked, and holding space for those who are often crowded out.”—Amina Gautier, author of The Best That You Can Do
“Bodega Stories is not just a compelling snapshot into one family’s Orlando Latin Market but an endearing love letter to how communities thrive together. Amaris Castillo beautifully captures this world through rich characters and enchanting prose. A standout debut from an exciting new voice!”—Lilliam Rivera, author of Tiny Threads

"Castillo offers a delightful love letter to her Dominican immigrant parents and their bodega in a book as enlivening as a warm ocean breeze."—Booklist, Starred Review
“Amaris Castillo's engaging debut paints a warm, lively portrait of her parents' bodega in Florida and the community that surrounds it.”—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

Excerpt from Bodega Stories by Amaris Castillo

The entrance to Orlando Latin Market is an aluminum frame double door, but only the right one is used. This is where people hold the door open for you, sometimes, but where everyone steps aside for the doña ambling by with her cart. Where people complain about the immigration system, the increasingly heavy traffic, the overall cost of living, government bureaucracy. Where men ogle at women’s bodies or sneak in glances. Where others avert their gaze. Here, víveres—starchy root vegetables like yuca, boniato, yautía—are sold by the pound. Many customers come here seeking traces of the countries they left behind, but never really left behind, because the countries they were born into are always in their hearts. Sometimes, these same countries may cause a phantom artery blockage. Chest pain, tightness, shortness of breath. Homesickness hurts. The bodega is where a man looks for a gasket ring for his mother’s greca because, without it, she can’t make her café. And who are we as a society without our coffee? Where people come in asking if we sell cigarettes. We don’t. Where customers risk damaging the aguacates by squeezing them too hard. Not all press their thumbs into the avocados, but some can’t help it because they’re not trying to pay for something that is rotten inside. Here you’ll find sazón (spice blend seasoning), and verbal seasoning if you don’t come correct. Where some customers smile, amused, at the Cuban and Dominican women behind the register talking loudly. And where others appear uncomfortable, like they’ve walked into a party where they don’t know anyone. Where the owner, Freddy, blows into a paper bag, squeezes it closed, and pops it behind the cashier, Liuba, and his sister-in-law, Margarita, to scare them. This is where people navigate around language barriers. Where some customers point to steaming hot foods from behind the glass covering because they can’t speak Spanish and the workers are still learning English. There is a lot of pointing. Where people sometimes complain about the prices to the owners, employees, anyone who will listen. Unfortunately, if the cost goes up for the bodeguero, it is felt by the customer. Where, at the register, men and women let out audible sighs because they are ground down by work and by life. Like Dominicans say, en la lucha. In the struggle. In the fight.