I am obsessed with bodegas, or pulperías as they call them in Honduras. They are stores where you can find almost anything – sodas, snacks, bread, school supplies, toiletries. Often, they are small and compact – with merchandise lining its walls and every corner available. It’s become a joke among the IWMF staff, other Fellows and fixers.

As the daughter of a bodeguero, these spaces to me are more than stores. They’re where people go for the latest neighborhood news (or chisme) and where they look for jobs.

So, imagine how I felt finding a wealth of pulperías in Tegucigalpa and surrounding towns. Aside from the story ideas I arrived with, I made it a personal mission to visit as many pulperías as I could. I learned something from each story – about people’s dreams both for themselves and for their beloved Honduras. It was an honor to collect Bodega Stories here and I am grateful to every person that spoke to me and shared what role pulperías play in their life. (Photo by IWMF Fellow Shalini Umachandran)

#IWMFfellows #Honduras

-Amaris Castillo