Botanica Boricua

I went in to pick up a few things. The lady was very helpful. I just handed her the list and she got me what I needed.
She found ⁵⁄₆ things I needed and got me a substitute for the item she didn’t have. I liked that she knew about the products.
Very knowledgeable
Very helpful
Very friendly
highly recommend!

They DO have regular household candles. You have to ask for them as they are behind the counter for safekeeping.

I love taking friends to this store. Having been raised an atheist, I am completely fascinated by the wealth of diverse religious relics found here.
Okay, so because I was raised in total ignorance of religion and am kind of a smart ass, I didn’t know what that giant, life sized statue is that greets you when you first enter. He has a furry purple cape, a cane, and looks sort of like Jesus, so I have been referring to him as Pimp Jesus. There is a little collection plate by his feet where you can give pennies to him, which I always do.
One day, my Jewish friend from out of town came to visit, so naturally I wanted to show her this store. We went in and looked around, and had fun wandering the aisles, checking out the statues and candles and the TERRIFYING live parrot kept in a cage under a painting of a bleeding eye with a knife stuck in it. We took a few photos of some of the weird/​fascinating merchandise in the store. At the end of our trip, I gave Pimp Jesus some pennies and advised her to do the same. She scoffed and said that she wasn’t superstitious and besides, she wasn’t Christian. I was like, «Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…»
We go outside and she stops to check out the pictures she took. She goes, «Um, something is wrong», and seemed legitimately upset so I take a look at her camera. All of the photos she had taken were horribly distorted. It looked like something out of a horror movie. She was so freaked out that she actually went back in the store and gave the statue a few pennies! I still tease her about it to this day.

One of the more interesting looking botanicas in terms of the sheer number of jesus/​religious/​voodoo figurines. What else do they sell in these places, you might ask? Well… magic, basically. Magic potions, magic spells. Great for novelty gifts — I have a candle that says DOMINANTE with a giant voodoo eye peering down at someone, you can buy candles that will supposedly bring you money or cast a hex upon a couple you want to break up. Ha ha.
Next time you need to crush an enemy, this should be your first stop.

Very intriguing looking little shop. Lots of religious icon/​statues in the window for a variety of cultures I think — Latin American, African, Asian. Inside they probably have the largest collection of… um…magical candles in the area. Candles for getting rich, candles for writers block, candles for — dominating you man! Hooray! Everyone needs that one. Definitely a good place to go to get a present for that special person who has everything… but here’s a little caveat — magic candles may cost more than you think– cuz they’re magic And magic ain’t free.