Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is well underway so today I’ve decided to collect a few Hispanic stories together and celebrate why these books are so important to read, and so insightful into another world and culture.

They are all written by Hispanic authors or include Hispanic characters and are set in various countries around the world. Many focus their stories in the USA as this is where there are large Hispanic populations who create communities, stories and cultures within cultures.

It’s a fascinating world out there….

Hispanic Heritage Month

Fruit of the Drunken Tree

During the Escobar war on Colombia during the 1990s, two women forge a potentially dangerous friendship..

This book gives a unique insight into the reality of living during the Escobar reign of terror. When the drug baron meant that life was a  daily struggle to survive and stay alive. For young families who had never touched drugs, they had to stay safe and avoid the guerrillas intent on overthrowing the government – the daily hangings, kidnappings and more meant Colombia was a dangerous place to be. If a privileged girl met one from the other side of the tracks – the poverty side of the city – who knows what could result….it was just too dangerous not to stick with your own…

Hispanic Heritage Month

Harvest of Empire

This book has been updated many times since it was written, and that in itself illustrates just how much the world is changing and how the Hispanic communities are changing with them. The stories of American intervention in Latin and Central American politics, the immigration from those countries to the USA, the assimilation into the new communities and the culture and changing language which results. It’s a fascinating process

Hispanic Heritage Month

Bodega Dreams

Now this is a clever one. The retelling of The Great Gatsby through Hispanic eyes. All set in Spanish Harlem, New York…..

Hispanic Heritage Month

Crux

The story of a woman chasing the demons of her father as he battles all number of substance abuses. The borders in this memoir are both real and within the realms of a man on the edge and a daughter going after him and his demons. The borders here are between truth and fiction, real and imaginary.

Enjoy all that is Hispanic especially this month – food and drink are recommended to go with these books- and find out what a rich world this is!