As we creep our way through October, the magazine is delighted in highlighting another month of celebration. One where people honor countries such as Cuba, Mexico, and many other states found under the Latine umbrella. To many, it is called Hispanic Heritage Month.
Hispanic Heritage Month goes from September 15 to October 15. It celebrates the lives, cultures, and history of Latine identities. From the complex insurrections, to the lives of intersecting identities, it’s a time of solidarity and education for everyone inside and outside these communities.
In Iceblink Literary, the magazine celebrates the month's final day by recommending five books. Each recommendation focuses on diverse subject matter. Each state has their own ethnic groups, customs, and complex issues. As a magazine, we want to bring stories that don't hesitate in confronting these discussions of immigration and racial violence, or dabbling into fictional worlds infused with each countries' culture and mythos.
1. The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
There are plenty of mainstream stories reporting on issues of immigration and undocumented travel. This subject—while a major button for presidential debates—has grown so politicized that it’s disconnected from the people centered in these discussions. Usually described by anti-immigration speakers as freeloaders or parasites, it's hard to sift through and find the truth regarding the struggles undocumented Americans face. Especially ones focusing on the complexities for people living within the US.
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio brings back the reality of undocumented life through her nonfiction. She details her experiences helping undocumented families. There are anecdotes of her bringing food, interviewing different families, and recording stressful moments during times of need; this is especially prevalent due to lack of government assistance, where the grim reality of the US system takes form with each personal story Vilavicencio tells. From discussing the labor exploitation present in post-9/11, to the destructive hazards in finding healthcare and sanctuary.
It's nonfiction that stays with you, and argues against the isolating views towards undocumented Americans by showing their stories.
2. Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora
While Undocumented Americans follows the daily lives of immigrants within the United States, Javier Zamora’s Solito describes the grueling journey to make it there in the first place.
As a memoir, Javier Zamora focuses on the harsh conditions that follow migrants as they escape their unstable or war-torn countries to find better living conditions. For Javier, his story is difficult due to him being a kid when he traversed the jungles—hoping to reunite with his mother when he gets to the North. Along the way, he documents the anxiety and hardships that follow him, and what it takes to survive. This book gives insights towards the harshness of navigation, and how undocumented immigrants have sacrificed their livelihoods to get to where they are.
It's a powerful book, with a narrator gripping the memoir with each story of hope and fear. It leaves the reader with critical questions towards matters of border patrol, racism, violence, and what it means to take care of one's community.
3. Hades, Argentina by Daniel Loedel
Hades, Argentina is a fictional novel about the titular country's Dirty War, a series of state terrorism against left-wing or dissenting activists. The book dives into these discussions through the main character, Tomás Oriilla, who looks through his past choices in interacting with insurrectionist movements against the state. All while focusing on his personal relationships!
This novel has doses of magical realism and introspection. With each past recollection, readers get entranced within the main character's past regrets while navigating as a new man in the present day. The ensemble characters too face dire decisions in a time of turmoil, leaving readers wondering how they themselves would act in the face of adversity.
This book is a recommendation for anyone curious about Argentinian history, and the ongoing struggles in violence, oppression, and freedom.
4. The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varelo
For discussions towards Hispanic and Latine queer identities, look no further than The Town of Babylon.
Written by Alejandro Varelo, this story revolves around Andrés, a gay Latinx professor returning to his heavily conservative town to confront his past. The story highlights his younger choices and moments regarding Andrés's sexuality, race, and the violence that occurs in everyday life.
It showcases the trauma and issues occurring from interacting with the world, and how to become your own person when messy emotions get into the mix.
For anyone trying to find themselves, this is a melancholic book, but one that navigates a turbulence that can be familiar to many.
5. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Cemetery Boys is all about being transgender. It is also about being gay and Latinx, while learning of the Hispanic cultures we meet along the way.
Written by Aiden Thomas, the book may not be as melancholic as Town of Babylon, but it does traverse into important themes of tradition, gender norms, poverty, and the wanting for acceptance within community-based cultures.
In this story, we find the main character battling between his own identity and the culture he lives in. As a brujo—also known as a witch—Yadriel has struggled to get his own coming-of-age ritual fitting his gender presentation, and in his attempts to carve out his destiny, falls into a mystery that includes missing family members, surprising deaths, and a ghost that follows him around.
As a story of perseverance against strict tradition and masking your true self, Cemetery Boys is a great addition for anyone interested in understanding transgender identity and brujx culture.
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