Staff Favorites to Read for Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
Join the Library in celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month. Discover free events for all ages, multilingual reading recommendations, research resources, and more this month and beyond!
Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month is observed from September 15 through October 15. This is a time to recognize the contributions of Americans of Hispanic and Latinx ancestry and celebrate the diverse histories and cultures that make up these communities. With that intention, we present recommended titles by authors who, through their storytelling, connect us to experiences and perspectives that can be as personally unique as they are culturally unifying. These titles have been chosen by NYPL staff who have significant ties to one of the countries celebrated this month.
Vampires of El Norte
by Isabel Cañas
Equal parts historical romance, western, and horror, this author draws from her storytelling practice from her first book, The Hacienda, to craft a unique addition to these genres. Fast paced and beautifully written. —Jenny Baum, Ecuador
The Latin Deli: Telling the Lives of Barrio Women
by Judith Ortiz Cofer
A mix of poetry, short stories, and essays, The Latin Deli showcases the enmeshed lives of Puerto Rican women, their passions, losses, and what it means to embody womanhood in the archipelago and diaspora. —Lily Alvarado, Puerto Rico
The Discovery of America by The Turks
by Jorge Amado
I read this short novella last year and it made me reflect on the diversity of Latin America. We usually perceive Latin America as a mix of Black, white, and Indigenous people, but there has been Arab presence in Latin America since the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th Century. This book is a brilliant example of the Brazilian Picaresque. The novella has a humoristic tone which makes it enjoyable. This book explores the Arab roots in Latin America left by Middle Eastern immigrants who came to the Americas carrying papers issued by the Ottoman Empire. This is the main reason why Arabs were mistakenly called "Turks" in Latin America within the last century. As a fun fact, Jorge Amado wrote this novella to be published for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas in 1992. —Carlana Perla-Romualdo, El Salvador
Until August
by Gabriel García Márquez
García Márquez’s melodrama and intrigue are reflected in both his poetic prose and in the controversy surrounding the posthumous publishing of this work despite the blessing of the author’s sons. —Kirsten Grünberg, Costa Rica
My Beloved World
by Sonia Sotomayor
As if it were a fictional story in which the protagonist defies challenges and experiences life with no hero but herself, this biography is a gratifying read. The details about growing up Hispanic in the Bronx add another layer of magnitude to the extraordinary achievements of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The most fascinating thing about this story is the inspiration obtained from reading about someone starting a life in New York City who dealt with many obstacles to achieve her goals. This is the perfect example of being the protagonist of your own story. —Luz Valdez, Mexico
Uncolonized Latinas: Transforming Our Mindsets and Rising Together
by Valeria Aloe
This is a great book about leaving the "colonized" mindset of inferiority that causes burnout, and coming together as Latinas instead of competing. —Emely Hernandez, Dominican Republic
Mothballs
by Sole Otero
A story that explores the history of Argentina through the intergenerational story of one family. When Rocio stays at the house she inherited from her grandmother, its ghosts have her moving through the trauma that has been passed down for generations since their family’s emigration from Italy. Most impressively, it investigates narcissism and whether it can be inherited. While this story is simultaneously unique to Rocio, it is also a very popular one given the mass relocation of Italians to Argentina at the turn of the century. —Izzy Pilares, Mexico, Spain
When I Was Puerto Rican
by Esmeralda Santiago
This book is significant to me because my "Mami" and "Papi" came from Puerto Rico, and I remember how my older sister would help my "Mami" with her English and in filling out applications. The story is so true to how people from other countries come here and adapt. —Jeanette Madera, Puerto Rico
In the Time of Butterflies
by Julia Alvarez
Great reading of the history of Trujillo and the Dominican Republic, through the fictional Maribal family. We also have the movie, with Marc Anthony and Salma Hayek, Hispanic actors. —Jeanette Madera, Puerto Rico
Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity
by Paola Ramos
Beyond being a search for Latinx voices, this book is an exposition of the vast diversity that exists in a community despite being categorized under one identity. Each voice in this narrative presents different perspectives, experiences, beliefs, and mentalities which remind us that Latinx is a word that can unite a population but should not compartmentalize or minimize the great individuality of each being. —Luz Valdez, Mexico
The House of Spirits
by Isabel Allende
I lost count of how many times I have read this book, my daughter’s name is even inspired by it! A multi-generational story of the women in the Trueba family living through a tumultuous time in the history of Chile, it weaves the political, personal, and spiritual together in the way only Isabel Allende knows how to do. —Roberta Pereira, Brazil
