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National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year between September 15th  and October 15th.  It celebrates the histories,  cultures and influences of past generations who came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The library has books, movies and other resources for looking to learn more about the Hispanic community.

Movies available for streaming via Kanopy

Hispanic Collection via Kanopy

Spanish Language Collection via Kanopy

Latin American Studies Collection via Kanopy

Por mis hijos (For my Kids): A Woman Separated From Her Family Working to Make a Better Life for Her Children

“Like thousands of other Latin American women, Norma arrives in Barcelona hoping to find work to help support her family in Honduras. Day after day, Norma walks through the streets of Barcelona trying to fight the loneliness. Every walk she takes has an uncertain destination, but her perseverance keeps her standing upright.”

Gabo & Cinema: An Acclaimed Colombian Author and his Relationship to the Cinema

“It is said that Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez never allowed for a film adaptation of his singular masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, arguably the most influential novel in any language of the second half of the twentieth century, to be produced. However, the prolific Colombian writer had strong ties to the movies. GABO & CINEMA is a commendable and well documented contribution to the general study of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s cultural production. In the voice of his friends and accomplices, the documentary takes us beyond his literary figure and immerses us in his cinematic one. Official Selection at the Havana Film Festival.”

My Best Friend

“Lorenzo is a quiet teenager who lives with his parents and his younger brother in small city in the Argentinean Patagonia. One day, a family friend’s son named Caito moves south and settles in at Lorenzo’s home. His family is going through difficult times and can’t give much care to him.They become friends. Official Selection at the Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival.”

The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo: Oscar Zeta Acosta: From Latino Activist to Dr. Gonzo

“This genre-defying film introduces the radical Chicano lawyer, author and counter-cultural icon, Oscar Zeta Acosta. Acosta was the basis for Dr. Gonzo in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” written by his friend, the Hunter S. Thompson. Channeling the psychedelic 60’s and the irreverence of “Gonzo” journalism, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BROWN BUFFALO shows Acosta’s evolution playing out against the backdrop of a society in turmoil. the film offers a complex vision of a Chicano icon who was emblematic of a generation, and yet totally unique in so many ways. Executive Produced by Benicio Del Toro.”

The Immigration Paradox: Diverse Stories Reveal Root Causes of Mass Migration

“The Immigration Paradox is a feature length documentary that exposes the missing information to the immigration issue by interviewing an array of people from various backgrounds, which include economics, sociology, philosophy, history, policy, and activism. This documentary will move you beyond the villain or victim scenario, the heated rhetoric and sensationalism to reveal the bigger picture. No matter what your viewpoints or beliefs are regarding this deeply emotional issue; the information exposed in The Immigration Paradox will surely leave you shocked.”

Books Available our OverDrive Collection

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

“The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.”

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

“Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy’s pregnancy, Sebastian’s coming out, the cute boys, her father’s meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.”

Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt De La Peña

“Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña’s Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions.

Danny’s tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it.
But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’ s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico.
That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see—the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming.”

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli

“Structured around the forty questions volunteer worker Valeria Luiselli translates from a court system form and asks undocumented Latin American children facing deportation, Tell Me How It Ends humanizes these young migrants and highlights the contradiction between the idea of America as a fiction for immigrants and the reality of racism and fear—here and back home.”

 

Books Available our Print Catalog

 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

“Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people… In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance — and Papi’s secrets — the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.”

Little eyes by Samantha Schweblin

“A visionary novel about the collision of technology and play, horror and humanity, from a master of the spine-tingling tale. They’ve infiltrated homes in Hong Kong, shops in Vancouver, the streets of Senegal, town squares of Oaxaca, schools in Tel Aviv, bedrooms in Ohio. They’re following you. They’re everywhere now. They’re us. In Samanta Schweblin’s wildly imaginative new novel, Little Eyes, “kentukis” have gone viral across the globe. They’re little mechanical stuffed animals that have cameras for eyes, wheels for feet, and are connected to an anonymous global server. Owners of kentukis have the eyes of a stranger in their home and a cute squeaking pet following them; or you can be the kentuki and voyeuristically spend time in someone else’s life, controlling the creature with a few keystrokes. Through kentukis, a jaded Croatian hustler stumbles into a massive criminal enterprise and saves a life in Brazil, a lonely old woman in Peru becomes fascinated with a young woman and her louche lover in Germany, and a kid with no mother in Antigua finds a new virtual family and experiences snow for the first time in Norway. These creatures can reveal the beauty of connection between farflung souls – but they also expose the ugly humanity of our increasingly linked world. Trusting strangers can lead to unexpected love and marvelous adventure, but what happens when the kentukis pave the way for unimaginable terror?”

City of clowns by Daniel Alarcón

“A gorgeously rendered graphic novel of Daniel Alarcon’s story City of Clowns. Oscar “Chino” Uribe is a young Peruvian journalist for a local tabloid paper. After the recent death of his philandering father, he must confront the idea of his father’s other family, and how much of his own identity has been shaped by his father’s murky morals. At the same time, he begins to chronicle the life of street clowns, sad characters who populate the violent and corrupt city streets of Lima, and is drawn into their haunting, fantastical world. This remarkably affecting story by Daniel Alarcon was included in his acclaimed first book, War by Candlelight, and now, in collaboration with artist Sheila Alvarado, it takes on a new, thrilling form. This graphic novel, with its short punches of action and images, its stark contrasts between light and dark, truth and fiction, perfectly corresponds to the tone of Chino’s story. With the city of Lima as a character, and the bold visual language from the story, City of Clowns is moving, menacing, and brilliantly vivid”

Sabrina & Corina : stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine 

“Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado–a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite–these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force.”

Neighborhood odes by Gary Soto

“Twenty-one poems about growing up in an Hispanic neighborhood, highlighting the delights in such everyday items as sprinklers, the park, the library, and pomegranates.”

Carmela full of wishes by Matt de la Peña

“When Carmela wakes up on her birthday, she’s excited to finally be old enough to run the family errands with her big brother. And when she finds a dandelion right outside the laundromat, her brother reminds her she’ll have to make a wish before blowing it out. But how will she decide what to wish for? This poignant picture book takes a look at life in a young girl’s Hispanic community.”

Online Resources:

National Hispanic Heritage Month- Library of Congress

Hispanic Heritage and History in the United States- National Endowment for the Humanities

National Hispanic Heritage Month- PBS

 

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