Latina authors honor heritage through their work
By Laurie Wolfe (she/her) | shades Contributing Writer
Although the country celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, authors – both women and men – share the heritage, history, traditions and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans long past these 30 days.
This annual observance honors the people whose heritage is rooted in Spain and 19 countries and territories: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
shades Contributor Laurie Wolfe again offers another peek into her extensive and diverse catalog of books she has enjoyed reading over the past several years. These four books by American and Canadian female authors of Hispanic descent span various genres, subjects and reflect different cultural roots and experiences.
Olga Dies Dreaming : A Novel
By Xochitl Gonzalez (Puerto Rican and Mexican American heritage)
Flatiron Books/MacMillan Publishers (2022), 384 pages
Olga Acevedo is a wedding planner for the New York City well-to-do. She and her brother, Prieto, a congressman representing Brooklyn, were raised by their grandmother since their mother, Blanca, left them to work as a political activist in Puerto Rico. She reappears in their lives during the season of the worst hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history.
Gonzalez is a bestselling author, prolific journalist, screenwriter and producer who is a native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning novel Olga Dies Dreaming, the Reese’s Book Club Pick Anita de Monte Laughs Last, and USA Today national bestseller Last Night in Brooklyn. A contributor to The Atlantic, she was recognized as a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Commentary, is a 2026 TED Democracy speaker and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center resident.
Clap When You Land
By Elizabeth Acevedo (Afro-Latina/Dominican American heritage)
Harper Collins Publishers (2022), 448 pages
Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic. She has a half-sister, Yahaira Rios, who lives in New York City. But each doesn’t know the other exists until the father they share dies in a plane crash. Grief, love, family and forgiveness are explored in this young adult novel beautifully told in poetic prose by the author of “The Poet X.”
Acevedo was the 2022 Young People’s Poet Laureate and the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion and resides in Washington, D.C. with her family.
Gods of Jade and Shadow
By Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican Canadian heritage)
Del Rey Books/Penguin Random House (2019), 338 pages
Caseopia Tun accidentally releases the spirit of the Mayan God of Death in a small Mexican town and is subsequently sent on a dangerous cross country trek through cities, jungles and the Mayan underworld to help him recover his throne. Success could mean her dreams come true, but her own life is at risk.
Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination. Cachanilla and Canuck, originally from Baja California, she now resides in Vancouver. She has an MA in Science and Technology Studies from the University of British Columbia. Her fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best American Mystery and Suspense.
In The Dream House : A Memoir
By Carmen Maria Machado (Cuban American heritage)
Gray Wolf Press (US) (2019), 251 pages
Carmen Maria Machado discusses her abusive lesbian relationship of several years in her memoir. It’s frank and raw. She states it was a difficult topic to discuss for myriad reasons: Embarrassment for having stayed in the relationship, concern that admitting abuse or any issues in a lesbian relationship gives ammunition to those who will criticize homosexuality, and of course, causes her to relive painful experiences. Also, as the abuse was emotional rather than physical, she at times questioned whether it was actually abuse. While not pleasant to read about, it’s an important work because it sheds light on an often-taboo topic.
Laurie Wolfe (she/her)is a book lover and social activist who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an occasional guest host on shades Magazine’s #RealTalkPlus podcast show on Clubhouse.