Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated every fall from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. This observance was established as a week-long event in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson and was later expanded to a month-long celebration in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The dates were selected because this 30-day period contains the independence days of seven Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile.
This month is an opportunity to explore and embrace Hispanic and Latin culture by trying our foods, enjoying our music, supporting our businesses, and learning our stories. For anyone wishing to enjoy this holiday to the fullest, I have compiled a list of books from authors of Hispanic and Latin descent that range decades, transcend languages and borders, and honestly depict our people.
1. Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez
Cien Años de Soledad, or One Hundred Years of Solitude, is the oldest novel on my list and arguably the most important. Colombian author and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez published this book in 1967, gaining fame and literary success. He found inspiration in his grandparents’ home and history, shaping a multi-generational tale about the Buendía family. This novel, and Gabo’s other works, formed part of the Latin American Boom, a literary movement that exposed the world to stories from the South American continent.
2. La Casa de Los Espíritus by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is one of the most popular Latin American authors actively writing today. She has been publishing consistently for the past four decades; her body of work includes nearly 30 books of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. I suggest starting with her first novel, The House of the Spirits, a book that she began as a letter to her ailing grandfather. The novel has elements of magical realism, drawing inspiration from García Márquez and the canon of Latin literature.
3. The Forever Colony by Victor Villanueva
This book cannot be reduced to the term “novel.” It is 100 pages of genre-bending storytelling. Victor Villanueva uses creative nonfiction to tell the history of Puerto Rico, from the Taíno to the mass migration to the mainland in the 1950s. He personifies the community through the character of an indigenous spirit who frames the narrative and witnesses the changes in her people. Villanueva also weaves elements of memoir into The Forever Colony, as he shares the story of how his parents met and bits of his father’s poetry. He merges history and personal accounts of what it means to be Puerto Rican.
4. Real Women Have Curves by Josefina López
Another quick read that I recommend is Josefina López’s 1990 play, Real Women Have Curves, which was later adapted and expanded into a movie that starred America Ferrera. The play and movie vary, though both are great. The story centers around Ana, a feminist who wishes to attend New York University, but she must work at her sister’s factory. Ana confronts the antiquated views of her mother and the other employees, sparking the women in the factory to discuss their love lives, insecurities, and fears of ICE.
5. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican New Yorker, a slam poet, and a former educator. Despite having performed poetry since her teenage years, Acevedo did not begin to publish her writing until she realized the lack of diverse and relatable stories for her students. The Poet X is her first novel, and it received the Pura Belpré Award in 2019 for excellence in its portrayal of Latin culture and experiences. This acknowledgement suggests that The Poet X is for younger audiences as it is a young adult novel, but its themes of religion and identity are universal.
6. Lobizona by Romina Garber
Written by Romina Garber, pseudonym Romina Russell, Lobizona is a fantasy novel for fans of young adult literature. The protagonist Manu is Argentine, but she resides in the United States. Her mother is taken by ICE, prompting her to investigate the situation, leading her to discover a secret folkloric world of witches and werewolves. As Manu delves into this society, she finds out more about her heritage — and how she shouldn’t exist.
7. Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquivel
This 1989 novel is a very popular Mexican Spanish-language work, having been adapted into a movie and an HBO series. Structured around 12 recipes, Like Water for Chocolate follows Tita, who is forbidden to marry as she is expected to care for her mother as she ages. As such, her forbidden emotions can only be released as she cooks. The novel, set during the Mexican Revolution, explores family tensions as Tita’s sisters pursue romance while she grapples with her traditional mother.
8. The house on mango street by sandra cisneros
A list of Latin or Hispanic book recommendations is not complete without one of the most pivotal portrayals of Chicana identity: The House on Mango Street. Unlike traditional novels, Cisneros’s work uses a series of vignettes to depict growing up in the Mexican neighborhood of Chicago. This coming-of-age story features themes of race, class, and sexuality, making it an important story for all young adults.
9. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
In the Dream House is a memoir that details Machado’s experience in a domestically abusive relationship as she pursues her master’s degree. The story is told in the second person as Machado refers to herself as “you” within the narrative. Machado utilizes an unconventional structure in autobiographical writing, including reflection and essays, to share her fragmented traumas.
10. A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya
It would be remiss not to include a romantasy book on my recommendation list. Angela Montoya’s second young adult novel, A Cruel Thirst, is perfect for October, as it is a vampire story! The protagonists, Carolina and Lalo, are a vampire hunter and a vampire, respectively, who come together despite their differences to take on the monsters plaguing their community.
The books on this list are a combination of those I have personally read and loved, must-reads of Hispanic literature, and titles that my Latinx Literature professor has suggested (much thanks to Dr. Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés for her amazing syllabus). I hope these recommendations have inspired you to pick up a book and explore the breadth of Hispanic and Latin storytelling!