Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month—occurring annually from September 15th to October 15th—celebrates the stories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
According to the National Hispanic Heritage Month website, the dates chosen span the anniversaries of independence for many Latin American countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. It also includes October 12th, El Día de la Raza, or, as it’s called here in the United States, Indigenous Peoples Day.
Locally, there is a great 501(c)(3) organization called Latinos En Spokane “that supports citizen participation, integration, community development, and empowerment of the Latino population in Spokane” (from their website).
Join us on October 5 at 6pm at Liberty Park Library for a screening of Critical Thinking – a film based on a true story from 1998, five Latinx and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship.
Library lovers can celebrate the month by checking out these great Latinx titles from our shelves:
Children
Cool Green: Amazing, Remarkable Trees by Lulu Delacre
Plátanos Go With Everything / Los Plátanos Van Con Todo, written by Lissette Norman, illustrated by Sara Palacios, and translated by Kianny N. Antigua
When Julia Danced Bomba / Cuando Julia Bailaba Bomba by Raquel M. Ortiz, illustrations by Flor de Vita, Spanish translation by Gabriela Baeza Venture
My Town / Mi Pueblo by Nicholas Solis, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango, interior illustrations by Alyssa Bermudez
Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova
Young Adult
Abuela, Don’t Forget Me: Poems by Rex Ogle
Burn Down Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
Does My Body Offend You? by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquadt
Adult
Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation On Race And The Meanings And Myths Of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar
The Shamshine Blind: A Novel by Paz Pardo
In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Memoir of Courage by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
Neruda on the Park: A Novel by Cleyvis Natera
High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir by Edgar Gomez
Brown Enough: True Stories about Love, Violence, The Student Loan Crisis, Hollywood, Race, Familia, and Making It in America by Christopher Rivas
Olga Dies Dreaming: A Novel by Xochitl Gonzalez
Illegally Yours: A Memoir by Rafael Augustin
