Celebrate Latine Literature This Month

By Hugo Gerbich-Pais     9/17/24 11:20pm

The ubiquity of English translations, coupled with the innumerable Latine writers who create works in English, means that you don’t have an excuse — this Latine Heritage Month, read Hispanic authors. To get you started, here are just a few incredible novels and non-fiction works by Latine authors that have challenged, inspired and brought me joy.  

“Let Me Count The Ways” by Tomás Morín

It feels fitting to begin with a memoir written by Rice assistant professor and critically acclaimed poet Tomás Morín. In “Let Me Count The Ways”, Morin recounts his childhood and adolescence growing up in South Texas. I appreciated the memoir’s vulnerable exploration of mental illness, and the strong sense of place that Morín creates in the memoir as he paints a vivid and tender picture of the patriarchal, impoverished and drug-stricken community he grew up in. 

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“In The Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado

Another exquisite memoir is “In The Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado, an author of Cuban descent. The memoir highlights a heavy and often ignored subject matter: domestic violence in queer, specifically lesbian, relationships. Born out of her time at the Iowa Writing Workshop, the memoir’s structure can only be described as innovative — each chapter is written using a different narrative style or trope, such as one chapter titled “Epiphany” that is only one line long, or “Self-help best seller,” satirically written in the style of an airport self-help book. This unique structure keeps the reader engaged and stops the memoir from feeling too burdened down by its sorrowful topic.

“Como Agua Para Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel

“Como Agua Para Chocolate”, or “Like Water for Chocolate” is a novel written by Mexican author Laura Esquivel in the late 20th century. The novel was my introduction to magical realism — a hallmark of Latin-American literature — and truly felt like a fever dream to read. “Como Agua Para Chocolate” traces the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman, as she wrestles with forbidden love and the magical powers she acquires in the kitchen. This romantic-tragedy will break your heart and make you hungry, leaving you wanting seconds.  

“Love in the Times of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez

If the pandemic hasn’t left you too scarred, I recommend “Love in the Times of Cholera”, by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Set against the backdrop of a cholera epidemic in an unspecified Latin American city, García Márquez’s novel explores class, patriarchy and the remnants of Spanish colonialism, all while telling a powerful love story. The novel invites us to consider whether deeply flawed characters deserve happy endings, and if we should be rooting for them.

“A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness — Writings 2000-2010” by Cherríe Moraga

My last recommendation is a collection written by an author who is visiting Rice on Wednesday, Sept. 18, to deliver a Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality Gray/Wawro Lecture on gender, health and well-being. Cherríe Moraga is a Chicana feminist activist and creative, who has authored several books and dramas. “A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness — Writings 2000-2010” is a great introduction to her groundbreaking work. The anthology contains essays and poems musing on serious cultural issues, such as the impact of 9/11, the election of Barack Obama and immigration policy but also warm-hearted stories reflecting on loss, friendship and her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

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