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Key Reads to Learn About the Hispanic Experience
Dive into cross-cultural reads to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Published on April 17, 2023
In the Dream House: A Memoir
Carmen Maria MachadoMachado (“Her Body and Other Parties”), whose grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, doesn’t just break all the rules with her marvelous memoir — she transcends them. Masterfully weaving together dozens of genres, from gothic and folktales, to lesbian pulp and road trips, Machado tells the frightening story of a past relationship with an abusive girlfriend. “In the Dream House” breaks the destructive silence surrounding abusive queer relationships — and breaks open a new form of nonfiction storytelling. Winner of the 2020 Lambda Award for best LGBTQ Nonfiction.
The Book of Rosy: A Mother’s Story of Separation at the Border
Rosayra Pablo CruzA gut-wrenching, timely story that digs deeper than the headlines. Rosayra “Rosy” Cruz shares her deeply personal story of fleeing a gang-ridden part of Guatemala with the goal of reaching the United States to provide a better life for her family. Arriving at the Arizona border is anything but a happy ending when Rosy is separated from her children, detained, and faced with the daunting task of navigating the Kafkaesque immigration system.
Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism
Laura E. GómezScholar Laura Gómez’s deeply researched survey of Latinx history helps readers better understand race in America today. “Inventing Latinos” promises to elucidate “the fascinating race-making, unmaking, and re-making of Latino identity that has spanned centuries.” An urgent read for this moment of national reckoning with racial injustice and controversy surrounding the 2020 census.
Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas
Roberto LovatoIn his timely and honest memoir, Lovato recounts his incredible life story — including his experience in San Francisco with a drug deal that got his friend shot in the face. After that devastating ordeal, Lovato moved to his parents’ native El Salvador and joined a guerilla movement against the U.S.-backed fascist military government. Later, he returned home to the States and focused his energies on activism, journalism, and the immigration crisis. Lovato’s moving, interlaced stories, combined with his quest to piece together his family’s complicated journey, make this an indispensable read.
Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration
Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration
Alfredo CorchadoA thought-provoking look at Mexican migration to the U.S. from Corchado, an immigration journalist and Mexican American author. Tracing the personal experiences of four friends, “Homelands” provides much needed personal and historical context to the current political debate.