Rosaura "Chawa" Magaña founded Palabras Bilingual Bookstore as a community space in 2015, eager to give readers the chance to spend time together in an environment where cultural representation was a high priority. Today, the bookstore hosts a wide variety of events that includes women's reading groups, spoken-word nights, and writers' workshops. Cozy seating areas allow visitors to linger over conversations, and there's a back patio where people sometimes gather to share food and drink. The walls are filled with works by local artists — many of which, by design, inspire meaningful dialogue among browsing book-buyers. Most of all, though, Palabras is exactly what Magaña aimed for it to be five years ago: a place where people who've traditionally been marginalized can come and find a safe space to gather and grow together.