Per an executive order, many federal agencies have now barred the mention of various heritage months, including Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place yearly from September 15th-October 15th.
We continue at Spokane Public Library to celebrate the stories, cultures, and contributions of citizens whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
According to the National Hispanic Heritage Month website, the month spans 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.
Major cultural events for Latine communities have been shuttered for safety reasons, such as the popular Tacos y Tequila Festival, which is usually celebrated at the end of August at the Central Library, organized in partnership with Nuestras Raíces Centro Comunitario (Our Roots Community Center). “We just don’t feel like it’s safe right now to hold a Latino festival because we are being targeted right now,” Fernanda Mazcot, Nuestras Raíces’s Executive Director, said in a recent interview.
It calls to mind the lines of this beautiful poem by Richard Blanco, “Como tú / Like You / Like Me,” published recently in the book Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology by Rigoberto González, “Like thirst, like hunger, we ache with the need / to save ourselves, and our country from itself.”
To support our local Latine communities, visit the websites of Nuestras Raíces Centro Comunitario and of Latinos En Spokane, an organization “that supports citizen participation, integration, community development, and empowerment of the Latino population in Spokane” (from their website). Another wonderful resource is Manzanita House.
And library lovers can also celebrate the month by checking out these great Latine titles from our shelves:
Tío & Tío: The Ring Bearers, based on a true story by Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews & Ross Mathews
From Ross Mathews (The Drew Barrymore Show and RuPaul’s Drag Race) and his husband, Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews, comes a heartwarming and humorous tale of love and family as two young boys travel to Mexico to be ring bearers in their uncles’ wedding.
La Guitarrista, The Rock Star by Lucky Diaz, illustrated by Micah Player, translated by Dra Carmen Tafolla.
With the English and Spanish text side by side on the page, this bilingual edition of the rockin’ picture book about a tenacious girl who achieves her wildest dreams with a little help from her community and a broken guitar is ideal for bilingual readers as well as Spanish speakers learning English and vice versa.
Nuestra América: 30 Inspiring Latinas/Latinos Who Have Shaped the United States by Sabrina Vourvoulias ; illustrated by Gloria Félix; introduction by Eduardo Diaz; reading guide by Emily Key.
Profiles thirty Latinas and Latinos in American history who have greatly contributed to the political, social, and cultural character of the United States–including Sylvia Acevedo, Pura Belpré, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Each profile includes a colorful portrait of the Latino or Latina in profile.
Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, edited by Rigoberto González
This anthology brings together more than 180 poets whose poems bear witness to the beauty and power of this vital and expanding tradition: its profound engagement with pasts both mythical and historical, its reckoning with the complexities of language, land, and identity, and its vision of a nation enriched by the stories of immigrants, exiles, refugees, and their descendants.
Tías And Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us, by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrations by Josie Del Castillo.
From the author of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, a celebration of the women at the heart of Latine families.
The Bewitching: A Novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
Dreaming Of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change, by Cristina Jiménez
A MacArthur “Genius” shares her inspiring story, from undocumented newcomer to leader in a powerful immigrant youth movement.
I’m That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, by Jordan Chiles with Felice Laverne, with a foreword by Simone Biles
This memoir from the two-time Olympian gymnast chronicles her journey to the awards podium while overcoming racism, childhood trauma and devastating setbacks, highlighting the importance of family support and the resilience of the human spirit.
From Cocinas To Lucha Libre Ringsides: A Latinx Comics Anthology, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama
In this comics anthology full of humor and heart, writers and artists from across the US pay tribute to the ways food and sports endure as touchstones in the Latin American diaspora.
America, Let Me In: A Choose Your Immigration Story by Felipe Torres Medina
A hilarious and satirically accurate introduction to the United States immigration system from comedian and writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Felipe Torres Medina.
