Hispanic Heritage Month is upon us. Celebrated from September 15th to October 15th, this national observance is commemorated as a time to celebrate the perseverance, resilience, strength, rich culture, and invaluable contributions of the Hispanic community to the United States of America and to the rest of the world. It is a time dedicated to recognizing and honoring the successes and achievements of Hispanic Americans who have inspired others to pursue and achieve success as well.
Since books serve as windows into lives, experiences, and perspectives that we may have no other way of understanding, BABG is taking the opportunity to commemorate this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing some amazing contributions to the literary world by Latinx authors who also double as badass women!
1) For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez (Released September 7, 2021)
Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez is a Nicaraguan writer, based in Nashville, who exercises her voice and employs her platform to educate, empower, and demand Latinx communities to improve both as people and allies, and to continue advancing their fight against racism, sexism, and additional issues that negatively impact them. She is the founder of Latina Rebels and the author of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts—her first book, written as a resource and guide for women of color to equip them with information and tools necessary for addressing and disrupting systems and institutions of oppression. Rodriguez’s aim is to activate sisterhood that will energize a movement.
2) Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora, edited by Saraciea Fennell (Released November 2, 2021)
Saraciea Fennell is the founder of The Bronx Is Reading, which edited Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed—a collection that amplifies voices and experiences within the Latinx diaspora. The collection includes poems and personal essays from award-winning contributors, such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Cristina Arreola, Naima Coster, Janel Martinez and others. This book is an ideal collection for both young adult readers and older generations of readers to explore, question, and dispel the various myths and stereotypes surrounding the Latinx community.
3) What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster (Released March 2, 2021)
Naima Coster is the author of What’s Mine and Yours—a second title added to her roster, joining Halsey Street. Her latest title is a novel that explores a story spanning a couple of decades, with centralized themes on family, race, and identity that offer a compelling and thoughtfully engaging read. It tells the story of two students, Noelle and Gee, impacted by the integration of schools in North Carolina that led to Black stories being introduced to a predominantly white high school. Ultimately, Coster’s tale reveals the microcosm within families: what causes them to shift, drift, and reconnect.
4) Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (Released March 30, 2021)
Gabriela Garcia’s debut title, Of Women and Salt, tells the story of a mother-daughter relationship that involves reconciling their past experiences and decision-making that shaped them into the women they now are. The book explores their unraveling of family legacy with beginnings tied to Cuba, long before they were born.
5) My Broken Language by Quiara Algería Hude (Released April 6, 2021)
Quiara Algería Hude is a well-known playwright and Pulitzer Prize-winner, recognized for authoring the book behind the musical In The Heights. With her memoir, My Broken Language, Hude is opening up to share her personal coming-of-age story where she puts the beauty and complexity of her Puerto Rican family on display against the backdrop of the Philadelphia barrio in which she grew up.
6) One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite (Released January 5, 2021)
In One of the Good Ones, the sister-writer duo, Maika and Maritza Moulite, aim to unpack and answer the rather loaded question of whether being human is enough. Their book explores the long-term effects of prejudice while making room to highlight and display the irrefutable value of sisterhood and allyship to individuals within marginalized groups and communities.
While reading provides windows into the lives others have lived and into worlds unknown, it is the authors that make the point of entry into such spaces possible. This Hispanic Heritage Month, BABG invites you to pick up the gift of time and space travel from one of these badass Latinx authors and learn more about the experiences and narratives of Latinx communities from their perspective.
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Meloni Capria is a Wisconsin native who currently resides in Texas with her wife, 10-year-old son, and their three pet Yorkies. Her professional background is in Secondary Education and English Language Arts and Reading. She currently serves in the role of Editorial Assistant at Mango Publishing Group and is a collaborative partner at DOPE Publishing. She enjoys writing, watching movies, and all things related to marriage, parenting, and family.