Amaris Castillo

A window into a Dominican family’s bodega and the community at its heart

A bodega is much more than a neighborhood grocery store—it’s a lifeline to community and culture. In Bodega Stories, Amaris Castillo takes readers inside Orlando Latin Market, a bodega owned and operated by her parents in St. Petersburg, Florida, to reveal a thriving local hub that bridges generations, languages, and traditions.

Meet the regulars: Castillo’s glamorous Tía Margarita, who has worked part-time at the bodega for years; longtime cook Alberto, who arrives early to prepare the store’s rice, beans, empanadas, and croquetas; Chico, the owner of the barbershop next door; and Esther, who visits after church every Sunday for her crispy chicharrones. Through captivating and charming true stories of visitors who come looking for products from Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Cuba, and many other countries, readers get a glimpse into the lives of employees and customers as they navigate matters of immigration, love, history, food, and identity.

Interwoven are snapshots of daily life, like a bulletin board outside the store where local residents post apartments for rent, messages through the bodega’s Facebook page asking for hard-to-find items, and photos from the past and present. Including Castillo’s own family’s story from the Dominican Republic to New York to Florida, Bodega Stories is a portrait of finding home—between the cultures we inherit and the ones we embrace.

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Advance Praise for Bodega Stories

“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

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