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Bodega Dreams

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Submitted By rody
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New York Times:
Willie Bodega was once told by the love of his life that he had no vision for the future. This may have been the event in his life that was revolutionary. To many people looking from the outside in Willie Bodega may have been seen as a drug lord, but he was much more than that. Willie developed a vision for the community, he was going to turn it around. He took beat up buildings renovated them and rented them out to people who would support him. He helped many young men and women go to college.
I too was skeptical of Willie Bodega as he just seemed like a dreamer. But upon digging further and getting to know the man I started to realize that maybe he does know what he’s doing. He even moved me and my wife to a bigger and better place for half the rent. But what does Bodega want in return? Just your support. He wants the community to prosper and for people to get what they were promised when they first moved here from their island.
Bodega was just a man trying to win over his true love, and he was willing to do whatever it takes to get that. He had been told by his former girl friend that he had the vision for things politics related, but he had no vision for how to get money and that he was going to be poor the rest of his life. She ended up marrying someone else who was a rich Cuban. This was a life changing event for Willie as he set out to prove her wrong and to one day hopefully win her back. He built up his empire and turned to legitimate practices with his lawyer friend Nazario. They had a vision for the future and at the same time they were bringing in money.
Bodega and Nazario started to build the community up block by block until Bodega’s death. Let me tell you this; Willie was loyal to the streets and his community right up until his death. It was him who was betrayed by his so called “friend” Nazario, Bodega was never disloyal. His

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