Step-by-step explanation:
Willie Bodega, after whom the book is named, is the story’s antihero. In his youth, Bodega was an idealistic Young Lord activist who had grand plans for improving Spanish Harlem, a deeply impoverished neighborhood. He spent months unsuccessfully trying to file paperwork with City Hall to secure resources for the neighborhood. Now, he uses drug-dealing and other criminal activity to fund his activism. He pairs up with a savvy lawyer named Nazario, and together, they surreptitiously start buying up property in Spanish Harlem to secure affordable housing for the neighborhood’s Latinx residents. Bodega also helps many disenfranchised residents with rent, education costs, and employment. Bodega famously asks for nothing but people’s loyalty in return, because he believes that fostering loyalty among the community will help to build the solidarity that’s essential to achieve social empowerment. Julio and Sapo get involved with Bodega’s shady dealings early on in the story. Bodega, however, is blinded by his unrequited love for Blanca’s cousin Vera, who married a wealthy Cuban named John Vidal in her youth. Bodega’s attempts to get Vera back ultimately unravel his idealistic plans for the neighborhood. At the end of the story, Nazario—the man whom Vera really loves—betrays and kills Bodega. Despite his tragic demise, Bodega’s ideals and efforts to empower Spanish Harlem’s residents spread through the community. His dreams live on through the characters he helps out, most notably through Julio.