Below are staff picks for National Hispanic Heritage Month. Each title and image links to our catalog where you can place item on hold and pick up at one of our 10 library locations. Are there any titles you love? Share in the comments!
Teen Pick:
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
When seventeen-year-old Star Fuentez reaches social media stardom, her polar-opposite twin, Moon, becomes “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and the grumpy but attractive Santiago Philips. When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. Then Moon takes a summer job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible. Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen. As chance, destiny, and proximity bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.
Young Reader:
Paletero Man by Latin Grammy Winner Lucky Diaz; Illustrated by Micah Player
Follow along with our narrator as he passes through his busy neighborhood in search of the Paletero Man. But when he finally catches up with him, our narrator’s pockets are empty. Oh no! What happened to his dinero? It will take the help of the entire community to get the tasty treat now.
Adult Readers- Art, Nonfiction:
Latinx Photography in the United States : a Visual History by Elizabeth Ferrer
Whether at UFW picket lines in California’s Central Valley or capturing summertime street life in East Harlem Latinx photographers have documented fights for dignity and justice as well as the daily lives of ordinary people. Their powerful, innovative photographic art touches on family, identity, protest, borders, and other themes, including the experiences of immigration and marginalization common to many of their communities. Yet the work of these artists has largely been excluded from the documented history of photography in the United States. Through individual profiles of more than eighty photographers from the early history of the photographic medium to the present, Elizabeth Ferrer introduces readers to Latinx portraitists, photojournalists, and documentarians and their legacies. She traces the rise of a Latinx consciousness in photography in the 1960s and ’70s and the growth of identity-based approaches in the 1980s and ’90s. Ferrer argues that in many cases a shared sense of struggle has motivated photographers to work purposefully, driven by a deep sense of resistance, social and political commitments, and cultural affirmation, and she highlights the significance of family photos to their approaches and outlooks. Works range from documentary and street photography to narrative series to conceptual projects. Latinx Photography in the United States is the first book to offer a parallel history of photography, one that no longer lies at the margins but rather plays a crucial role in imagining and creating a broader, more inclusive American visual history.
Adult Readers- Biography
Trejo : My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo with Donal Logue
For the first time, the full, fascinating, and inspirational true story of Danny Trejo’s journey from crime, prison, addiction, and loss to unexpected fame as Hollywood’s favorite bad guy with a heart of gold.
Raised in an abusive home, Trejo struggled with heroin addiction and did stints in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons. Here he takes us through the ups and downs of his life. He reveals how he managed the horrors of prison, rebuilt himself after finding sobriety and spirituality in solitary confinement, and draws inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that made him a household name. Although he has inspired countless others on their own road to recovery and redemption, he struggles to help his children with their personal battles with addiction, and to build relationships that last.
