Must-read books this holiday season written by Latinos. (Photo : Pexels) The holiday season is fast approaching and many are planning already how to spend it productively.
With "Traveller of the Century," Neuman taught attendees at his recent appearance in New York City that transacting can be an act of love, and love can be an act of translating. With humor and charm, listeners learned that explanative meaning, exact feeling and precise words are efforts inherent to translation and love, as it was with protagonists Sophie and Hans.
Elvis Valle, author of the historical novella "The Big Cave," looked to personal experiences when composing the fictional work, which gives a face to the terror of civil war and takes readers on a journey of hope, love, tragedy and loss during a time of civil unrest.
Esmeralda Santiago, the acclaimed Puerto Rican author, suffered a stroke in January 2008 while completing her epic novel "Conquistadora." The effect of her stroke was the development of a condition known as aphasia, which devastated her ability to read and hindered her capacity to produce written language.
The blending of dreams, waking thoughts and beloved characters fills the pages of Aleman's books. And the dark humor, eroticism and sense of deep-seated longing are fluent and everflowing in the works.
The Spanish writer Ana María Matute wrote works about misery, alienation, violence, isolation, betrayal and the loss of innocence. Nonetheless, her 88 years of life, which sadly came to an end today due to a fatal heart attack in the northeastern city of Barcelona, was marked with great achievement and success.
Sometimes called "The Latina Terry McMillan" and "The Godmother of Chica Lit," Alisa Valdes published her first novel, "The Dirty Girls Social Club," over a decade ago, and she hasn't stopped since. Eleven years, 11 novels, four novelitas, three anthologies and one memoir later, Valdes has been published in 11 languages and been named one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States by Time Magazine.
Twenty years after the publication of her first memoir, Esmeralda Santiago has become one of the most recognized names and voices in Latino literature, and her works have laid the foundation for Puerto Rican identity in prose, particularly as an immigrant and a woman.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, the international restaurant chain which serves up customized burritos and tacos in an assembly line-fashion, launched an initiative meant to give customers a brief, literary experience by printing short stories on its bags and cups. "Cultivating Thoughts" features writers such as Toni Morrison, Sarah Silverman, Jonathan Safran Foer and George Saunder. But noticeably missing from its lineup are Mexican-American and Latin American writers.
