Latinos are the largest minority in the United States. Their savory food and upbeat music is unavoidable wherever you go; but despite their visibility, Latinos don’t tend to make the Book section of The New York Times. Regardless of the media attention Latinos receive, there is a distinct Hispanic-American literary movement, and –I think it is safe to say—female authors are at its forefront.
So tune into your local Latin radio station to get in the mood and read on. Here are three Latinas and six recommendations to get you started:
Cristina García
Picture from CristinaGarciaNovelist.com
Cristina García is a Cuban-born writer; she moved to the United States when she was two years old and grew up in New York City. She began her writing career as a journalist, working for The Boston Globe, the Knoxville Journal, and Time Magazine as a reporter, researcher and correspondent. In 1990 García left Time and began writing fiction. Two years later Dreaming in Cuban, her first novel, was published. It was a finalist for the National Book Award.
She has written three novels since then: The Agüero Sisters, Monkey Hunting and A Handbook to Luck. This year she will be releasing her fifth novel, The Lady Matador’s Hotel.
García’s writing is beautiful; sentences flow easily one to the next, making her novels painless and enjoyable to read. She is known for the way she approaches the Cuban-American experience, exploring the Cuban exile from different perspectives–not just the anti-Communist Revolution angle many expect her to take. Her novels are filled with universal motifs that can be understood by readers of all ethnicities.
Add to your to-read List: Dreaming in Cuban or The Agüero Sisters
Click here for her website.
Sandra Cisneros
Picture from Flickr user Gwinnett County Public Library used under Creative Commons License
Sandra Cisneros is the author of The House on Mango Street, a novel many schools include in their Middle and High School curriculum. She was born in Chicago and holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. She has written one other novel, Caramelo, published in 2002. Caramelo was named “notable book of the year” by several newspapers like The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times among others.
She has also written short stories, poetry and a children’s book.
Cisneros is the queen of the Chicano Literary Movement, being the first woman in the movement to get her work published by giants like Vintage and Random House. She skillfully exposes gender and race inequality with an accessible yet substantial writing style; her work is easy to read, but she tackles subjects that allow for insightful analysis of universal themes.
Add to your To-Read List: Caramelo or Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (short story collection)
Click here for her website.
Julia Alvarez
photo copyright © by Bill Eichner. All rights reserved.
Julia Alvarez was born in New York City but shortly thereafter moved to the Dominican Republic. Her stay in the Dominican Republic didn’t last very long due to her father’s involvement in the underground opposition to dictator Rafael Trujillo. She returned to the United States when she was ten years old. Alvarez earned a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Syracuse University and published her first novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, in 1991.
She has written five other novels (In The Time of the Butterflies, ¡Yo!, In the Name of Salomé, Saving the World and Return to Sender) as well as poetry, non-fiction, children and young adult books.
Alvarez is one of the most prominent Latina writers. Latinos living in the United States like the way her writing deals with issues they face; and Latinos living in Latin America like the way she describes significant historical and political events in the Caribbean. Her exceptionally well-developed characters have allowed women of all races to see their experiences reflected in her work.
Add to your To-Read List: In the Time of the Butterflies or In the Name of Salomé
Click here for her website.
-Silvia Viñas