La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse & Bookstore, Hartford, CT

La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse & Bookstore invites visitors to sit long, talk much and laugh often. Which is exactly what the owners had intended. Serving the finest fair trade coffees inside a cozy niche in downtown Hartford, CT, the business is realizing its vision of becoming a vital part of the community.

The glass front is often filled with flyers and posters promoting local cultural events. Inside, rich coffee aromas fill the air contained by a preserved tin roof ceiling. At once, the visitor feels the warmth of ideas and energy that makes La Paloma Sabanera unique.

The story begins with a tight-knit family from Cidra, Puerto Rico: Luis Edgardo Cotto, his four sisters Carmen Cotto-Stanford, Leticia Cotto-Hilliman, Melanie Cotto, Cinthia Cotto and honorary family member Brendan Mahoney. Even before this collective family endeavor, Luis Cotto was an asset to the city through his work with the Charter Oak Cultural Center and Sierra Club.

The coffeeshop & bookstore was an opportunity to combine all of the family member's talents, creativity and unique perspectives on community. Inspired by an endangered species only found in Cidra, the name La Paloma Sabanera translates to the dove of the plains. The name is a significant part of the owner's collective identity as well as a symbol of the coffeehouse's role in Hartford.

The idea was to create a "third place," an informal social center. More than just caffeine, La Paloma Sabanera serves the community with a place to form connections, to relax and to enrich the mind. The owner's claim "a combination of national pride and social consciousness guides our coffee selections" and serve only the finest fair trade, organic coffees from Puerto Rico, Central and South America. The rich coffees are complemented by tasty homemade pastries and delicious sandwiches.

Another house specialty is Latino culture. La Paloma Sabanera's bookstore offers a wide selection from local, national and international authors by and about Latino authors and subjects. The shelves carry one of the best collections of Latino literature in the state and invite visitors to delve in. Titles like The Last Tortilla and Other Stories, Abril Rojo and The Humming Bird's Daughter are just a few of the endless tales for sale.

La Paloma Sabanera has also created an extensive library dedicated to Luisa Capetillo, a progressive leader of the labor movement in Puerto Rico. The library serves as a resource center with books by and about Latino authors and themes, progressive ideas and radical literature. Pulling a title from the shelves here complements a perfect cup of coffee or chai with reads like Fire from the Mountain, Don Quijote De la Mancha or La Vida es un Sueño.

The Kid's Corner is just as impressive as the adult's and feature unique tales filled with legends and colorful illustrations like The Road to Santiago, The Great Canoe, a Karina Legend and la Llaman America.

La Paloma Sabanera hosts an impressive array of events and comes alive with events including films, poetry readings, dance performances and music throughout the year. Each event brings its own unique flavor to La Paloma's bubbling cauldron. This year, Chilean writer and human rights activist Marjorie Agosín visits. A spokeswoman for women worldwide, Agosín is the author of numerous books including Scraps of Life: Chilean Arpilleras about Chilean women whose families were "disappeared" during the the military coup and reign of dictator Augusto Pinochet. The film Black Gold will also be featured at La Paloma Sabanera coupled with a discussion about fair trade and socially conscious consumerism.

La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse & bookstore began with a clear vision: to become a vital part of the community of Hartford. Through fair trade coffee, an extensive bookstore and an inviting atmosphere, this unique family endeavor is realizing its goal.