Latino Books Month | VivirLatino

Posts Tagged ‘Latino Books Month’

Latino Books Month, Viernes May 16th Pick : Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo

12:36 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism|Books|language|literature|Women · Comments Off

16 May 2008

Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo is one of the most worn books in my personal library. This fictional narrative of Chicana love, disability, and the struggle to fit in through those lenses is one of the most beautifully written books I have read, that I often return to it, not just because of it’s very real portrayal of modern love and lust but because of the way the words read off the paper, as if your amiga were relating what has happened to her. The her in this case is Carmen “la Coja” Santos, a Chicana flamenco dancer.

Buy Peel My Love Like an Onion Here.

Latino Book Month, Jueves May 15 Pick : Sinasco

9:17 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Books|literature · Comments Off

15 May 2008

SINASCO stands for Sindicato de Astronautas Colombianos or the the Syndicate of Colombian Astronauts. Three Colombian poets in New York City gave themselves this name to describe their daring approach to Spanish language poetry but I also suspect that it has to do with a sense of “spacelessness” as immigrant voices on a crazy planet. This independently published book with poems from Nicolas Linares, Ricardo Leon Pena-Villa, and Diego “Liriko” Vargas, is a bilingual look through the eyes of word artists who feel that poetry is a way of life and a means of change.

What makes this collection unique is that while the three poets are linked, their voices are all so different.

Full disclosure : I am friends with the authors of the book and the book was dedicated to my younger daughter, but as a poet, I know good poetry when I see it and this new wave of poetry should be read, embraced, and allowed to fly as astronauts do.

If you would like to purchase the book contact Diego Vargas at llgante77@yahoo.com.

Latino Book Month, Martes May 13 Pick : Me llamo Gabriela by Monica Brown. Illustrated by John Parra

13 May 2008

I haven’t included any children’s books in my Latino book suggestions until today. Me Llamo Gabriela: My Name is Gabriela by Monica Brown and illustrated by John Parra, is a beautiful book about the Chilean Nobel Prize winning poeta Gabriela Mistral. Winner of the 2006 International Latino Book Award, the bilingual English and Spanish book is a mini biography of Mistral. It tells, through lyrical writing and bright illustrations, the story of Mistral’s childhood in Chile, her becoming a teacher,a poet, and a traveler. It is a story about dreams coming true and recognizing the beauty of things all around us. The pictures are interesting enough to capture the interest of a toddler and the story is interesting enough for older school children as well and is a great way to introduce them to Latin American writers.

You can purchase Me Llamo Gabriela here.

Latino Book Month, May 9th, Mother’s Day Weekend Pick : Paula by Isabel Allende

11:35 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Books|Chile|history|literature|Women · Comments Off

9 May 2008

I know, this is the second Isabel Allende book I picked this week, but as I was scanning my bookshelves this morning, I was searching for a book on motherhood and mother daughter relationships. Since my book isn’t done yet, I turned to Isabel Allende and Paula. This non-fiction book is a love letter to Allende’s daughter who passed away at a tragically young age. It is a telling of Chilean history and one Latin American woman’s struggle before, during, and after the Pinochet dictatorship in that country. It is an autobiography but also a confessional in a way that asks, “What would you tell your daughter if she were on her deathbed?”

Isabel Allende answers this question be connecting generations through stories and history.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I first read this book the summer before I moved to Chile, in 1996. And the book still makes me cry today.

Purchase Isabel Allende’s Paula here.

Latino Book Month Miercoles May 7th Pick :Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

11:44 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Books|Chile|literature|Women · 2 Comments

7 May 2008

I fell in love with Isabel Allende the summer before I went to Chile and I still lover her (although I enjoy her earlier works more than her later books). In Eva Luna, Allende weaved her story magic through the character of Eve, who is a storyteller herself. The storytelling is an act of escape, self-protection, and even revolution against the struggles Eva finds herself in, in an unnamed South American nation.

Just a beautiful book.

Buy it here

May is Latino Books Month

7:00 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Books · Comments Off

2 May 2008

The Association of American Publishers has named May as Latino Books Month. According to an interview with Marcela Landres on Latinidad:

Latino Books Month was created via the AAP’s Publishing Latino Voices of America subcommittee in its efforts to heighten the richness of works both in English and Spanish written by those of Hispanic descent. The breadth and depth of works in fiction and nonfiction, English and Spanish for adults and children for the Latino community is endless, and we wanted to ensure that all citizens have access to learn about such fabulous titles that are available to them, stories with which they can relate, and stories which inspire.

For the rest of the month VivirLatino will highlight a Latino book a day including my favorites and books that are on my reading list.
Also send us your favorite Latino books. Maybe we’ll post your book and reason for choosing it!

Maegan La Mala: Thank you Julio! To be honest I was a little nervous. [...]

Ana L. Flores: I was very excited when you decided to join us. I really wanted your voice there as it would add dep [...]

Maegan La Mala: Hola Juliana and thanks for commenting. There is a dearth in activist/critical thinking Latino blogg [...]

Julio Ricardo Varela: Good for you for asking. I got goose bumps just reading this and yes, yes, yes, to it all. Thank you [...]

julianabritto: The sense that I get is that you might feel a little frustrated at the dearth in activist bloggers? [...]

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