Exclusive Excerpt: Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi by Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal a chapter from Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi by Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.

Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi is the first book to examine the collective history and contemporary experiences of the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi. This study reveals that contrary to popular discourse, Latinx migration to Hawaiʻi is not a recent event. In the national memory of the United States, for example, the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi is often portrayed as recent arrivals and not as long-term historical communities with a presence that precedes the formation of statehood itself. Historically speaking, Latinxs have been voyaging to the Hawaiian Islands for over one hundred and ninety years. From the early 1830s to the present, they continue to help shape Hawaiʻi’s history, yet their contributions are often overlooked. Latinxs have been a part of the cultural landscape of Hawaiʻi prior to annexation, territorial status, and statehood in 1959. Aloha Compadre also explores the expanding boundaries of Latinx migration beyond the western hemisphere and into Oceania.

INTRODUCTION:

The Deportation of
Andres Magaña Ortiz

On July 7, 2017, Andres Magaña Ortiz said goodbye to his wife and three children—all of whom are U.S. citizens—and boarded a flight bound for México, where he will remain separated from his family until he can be petitioned by his daughter Victoria to become a legal permanent resident. It is a process that could take up to ten years.¹ Andres Magaña Ortiz is forty-three years old, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for nearly thirty years. His family, community, and life’s work are all in Hawaiʻi. In 1989, at the age of fifteen, he was smuggled across the Arizona-México border to reunite with his mother, who was working in California at the time. They eventually made their way to Hawaiʻi, where he picked coffee as a migrant laborer in Kona, on Hawaiʻi Island (Big Island).² Within ten years he was able to save enough money to purchase six acres of farmland in Holualoa and begin his journey as a farm owner. He named his farm El Molinito (the mill), which had an old Japanese-style coffee mill that he began renovating in 2008.³ According to the Washington Post, in the years that followed, Magaña Ortiz “rose to prominence in Hawaiʻi’s coffee industry. In 2010, he allowed the US Department of Agriculture to use his farm without charge to conduct a five-year study into a destructive insect species harming Hawaiʻi’s coffee crops.” After that, he was the most sought-after coffee grower for his expertise in ridding coffee farms in Kona and other areas of Hawaiʻi Island of 98 percent of the destructive borer beetles.⁴

In addition, Magaña Ortiz was also responsible for managing over one hundred acres of land among fifteen other small farmers, which included the elderly and those who were inexperienced and could not do the work on their own.⁵ His dream of continuing to live in Hawaiʻi was short lived, however. In 2011, under the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security began removal proceedings against Magaña Ortiz.⁶ He was informed that he would be deported to México, a place he is simply no longer familiar with. In response, Magaña Ortiz petitioned for legal residency and was granted multiple stays, yet his most recent request to gain legal residency was rejected by the Trump administration. Under the guise of cracking down on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security ordered Magaña Ortiz to leave in March 2017.⁷ It did not matter that he already had petitioned for legal residency as the husband of a U.S. citizen—he had to go. As Magaña Ortiz noted, “I never tried to hide it. I always answered my phone when immigration called me and said come see us. . . . I come to each court on time. Everything, I tried to do all my best.”⁸ Given that Magaña Ortiz was a well-known and respected member of the community and a leader of Hawaiʻi’s coffee industry, his case made national headlines.

A team of attorneys assisted Magaña Ortiz by filing last-minute petitions to grant him more time in the United States. Even Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation supported his case, speaking on his behalf to Homeland Security secretary John F. Kelly to halt his removal. As the four-member delegation wrote, “He is trying to do the right thing.”⁹ In addition, representative and onetime presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill to make Magaña Ortiz eligible for legal, permanent residency. Senator Mazie Hirono also spoke on Magaña Ortiz’s behalf, stating, “Andres’ ordeal speaks to the very real fear and anxiety spreading through immigrant communities across the country.”¹⁰

Federal appeals court judges also supported Magaña Ortiz’s case, calling him a “pillar of his community” and criticizing the Trump administration handling of his case. For example, Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit called Magaña Ortiz’s deportation “contrary to the values of the country and its legal system. . . . The government decision to remove Magaña Ortiz diminishes not only our country but our courts, which are supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of justice.”¹¹ Despite having a strong case, the inhospitable climate proved too much. Magaña Ortiz decided to depart voluntarily ahead of the deportation order. When interviewed by Hawaii News Now at Kona International Airport during his departure, he regarded the circumstances of his case: “Very, very sad and very disappointed in many ways, but there’s not much I can do. . . . Just follow what I have to do and hopefully, in a little bit, things can get better.”¹²

His family has fared no better because of this. Magaña Ortiz’s eldest daughter, Victoria, almost had to withdraw from college at the University of Hawaiʻi to help support the family as they struggled to keep their father’s business afloat.¹³ She graduated a little later than expected but was able to finish her education online. As Victoria noted about this sudden responsibility for managing the family business,

I think I would have liked to have my own business when I created it. You slowly go with it, but the thing was running and going full speed, and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. So I think that was the pressure. My dad is now deported. My mom has had back surgery; she’s injured, so she doesn’t work. I have my brother and my sister, so I have all four of them on my plate all of a sudden. And my dad had always been the one to solve problems. My mom was always like, “We have a dentist appointment. Fill out these forms for me.” Normal Hispanic child, right? And my dad was always the one that I used to run to when I had issues. And suddenly my safety net is just gone. So I think it was really hard for me when that happened because suddenly I was the one to make the decisions and have all the responsibilities.¹⁴

Andres Magaña Ortiz’s journey took him to the municipal city of Morelia, México, to a village called El Rincon de Don Pedro, Michoacán, where he had once lived before coming to the United States. Magaña Ortiz will remain in México until he is reunited with his family back in Hawaiʻi, a place they consider home. As Magaña Ortiz shared before he left, “I love this country and I love these islands. If I have to leave, it’s going to be hard on everyone.”¹⁵ The separation of Andres from his wife and children left them with an urgent sense of fear and uncertainty. They said their goodbyes at home so that the younger children did not have to go to the airport and be further subjected to the trauma of seeing their father leave. For Victoria, it was all surreal. She shared, “After so much fight that we went through, for it to just end like this. I mean, it’s not necessarily the ending, but it is hard to see him go.” She added, “We’re still fighting to get him back here.”¹⁶

Political Context in Contemporary Hawaiʻi

Andres Magaña Ortiz’s story and that of his family speak to the current political situation around immigration in Hawaiʻi and across the continental United States. What makes his story both powerful and tragic is that Magaña Ortiz was not the exaggerated racial stereotype of a “criminal” that Trump had suggested was invading the United States. Rather, he was a husband, father, and business owner who contributed to the social and economic prosperity of Hawaiʻi’s Kona coffee industry. Andres’s daughter Victoria was also disheartened at how her father was categorized as a criminal and deported because of a previous charge of driving under the influence (DUI). Under the law, his DUI was enough to start deportation proceedings, despite having an exemplary record as a long-time resident of Hawaiʻi. Victoria remarked, “If my dad, being so loved here and being a workaholic and he’s still justified as a criminal for a mistake that he did, who else are you putting into these things [categories]? Are they getting traffic tickets? They’re not supposed to just take your life away like that.”¹⁷

Despite the outpouring of legal and political support in Hawaiʻi and the aloha (love and inclusion) Magaña Ortiz received from the various communities mentioned, under the Trump administration, he was ordered to leave. There was no consideration of the benefit his contributions were making to the state and his local community. Rather, because he is Mexican and undocumented—not by his choice—and subject to the racism of the justice system, he was forcibly removed from his family, friends, and longtime home to a place he no longer knows.¹⁸ His story reminds us of how poorly the United States has treated its citizens, whether legally documented or not. It is likely there were many conservative settlers in Hawaiʻi who applauded his deportation because they deem Latinx people a threat. However, there was a huge outpouring of support and aloha from the larger community who understood the humanity of his case and sought to support Magaña Ortiz through calls, petitions, and other means. Although he had to leave Hawaiʻi, his story and legacy resonate with me in terms of what it means to be Latinx in Hawaiʻi today in a national climate of increasing xenophobia and racism toward immigrants. I say this as someone who has been privileged to come to Hawaiʻi for more than twenty years, spending that time living, building intimate ties with the Latinx communities, and nurturing my existing networks of hānai and chosen family, friends, and colleagues who identify as Native Hawaiian, local, haole, and/or transplants to the islands. My observations reveal that although Hawaiʻi has long been a place known for its aloha, this seminal Hawaiian concept is being tested by the growing racist, xenophobic tide that is washing upon Hawaiʻi’s shores from outsiders, both haole and non-Native settlers.¹⁹

It is here that I turn to what Magaña Ortiz’s story represents to the larger Latinx community in Hawaiʻi, which has been the growing xenophobia and racism that is being fueled by the larger national climate through popular discourse in the media, writers, pundits, scholars, and politicians. This sentiment reveals the ever-present tension in Hawaiʻi that is now more visible because of the infectious nature of racism and white supremacy. At the same time, I am also mindful of the ways that Kānaka Maoli continue to be dispossessed and displaced from their homeland within a settler colonial system. They must also be included in this conversation, since Latinx migration is made possible through the suppression of Native Hawaiian self-governance. Seen by most residents as recent migrants or newcomers, the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi is increasing in numbers, but that growth is also hidden in plain sight. Due in part to Hawaiʻi’s already historically mixed population that also includes Pacific Islanders and Asians among other racial and ethnic groups, the Latinx population is often mistaken as “local” in Hawaiʻi depending on the context.²⁰

Though increasing with new migrations, the Latinx population is not new to the Hawaiian Islands. On the contrary, Latinxs have been voyaging to the Hawaiian archipelago for 190 years, yet their presence has been rendered invisible by the tourist industry and within the larger local population. Aloha Compadre demonstrates what historian Evelyn Hu-DeHart also notes about Asians in Latin America, that these histories are hidden in plain view. There is no single, monolithic story to explain migration, and Latinx movements to Hawaiʻi and the larger Pacific region are as varied as the cultures that fall under the umbrella term Latinx.²¹ A small but steady flow of migration has occurred since the early 1830s; this has been both interrupted at times and inconsistent. Their roots, however, remain, as they were part of the first groups of foreigners who came during the reign of the Kamehamehas.²²

As the first full-length study of the Latinx population in Hawaiʻi, in Aloha Compadre I offer the following: (1) I reveal how the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi is not a new phenomenon but a 190-plus-year journey of migration and intercultural community and identity building; (2) I expand our notion of how we understand and view la frontera (the borderlands) to include the ocean as a site of movement beyond terrestrial regions, which challenges us to see the continuous diaspora of Latinxs that spans globally across oceanic spaces; and (3) I explore how the Latinx population in Hawaiʻi has experienced both acceptance and aloha in their new home and also racism and “being racialized” in a climate that is increasingly becoming xenophobic. And precisely within this context, I explore how their acceptance or marginalization has occurred from the independent Hawaiian Kingdom to the twenty-first century, which seems to be contingent on their contributions, including but not limited to economic and cultural ones. My project analyzes how these experiences complicate the dominant narrative of Hawaiʻi as a multiracial utopia, an image shaped by early and contemporary writers who visited the islands. Aloha Compadre also documents the changing political climate in Hawaiʻi up to the early twenty-first century and how the Latinx population navigates the current tides of immigration policies, racism and xenophobia, and interracial relationships as they seek to build their communities and find a sense of belonging in the diaspora.

This is the story of the predominantly Spanish-speaking Latinx communities of Hawaiʻi and the social, political, and economic forces that influenced their migration thousands of miles across the Pacific for nearly two centuries. Similar to what anthropologist Sara V. Komarnisky has documented about the historical migrations of Mexicans to Alaska, the same can be said of Latinx migrations to Hawaiʻi in that “in some cases, the process of putting down roots requires mobility.”²³ It is why there is both a large and rising Latinx population in Hawaiʻi. Rather than focus on a continual historic-to-contemporary timeline of migration and community formation, I will focus on four pivotal moments when the Latinx population came to Hawaiʻi, from the era of the independent Hawaiian Kingdom in the 1830s to the early 2000s. These four pivotal moments all center on the labor of specific Latinx communities throughout the islands: (1) Mexicans in the 1830s, (2) Puerto Ricans in the early 1900s, (3) Mexicans and Central Americans in the 1990s, and (4) Mexicans and Central Americans in the early 2000s. I suggest that Latinx migration in these four moments was vital to the continuing legacy of specific industries in Hawaiʻi, including cattle ranching, sugar cane, pineapple, Kona coffee, and macadamia nuts. Indeed, the need for labor was one of the primary reasons Latinxs came to Hawaiʻi, but it did not define them as such. Others came as small business owners, students, or the military.

While labor was the impetus for Latinx migrations in these episodic moments, I look at the lives of my Latinx interviewees using a more complex approach to demonstrate that they are more than just workers.²⁴ I focus on the stories I uncovered while doing archival and ethnographic research and the oral testimonies of individuals who were gracious enough to share their stories with me. Their stories are central to this study and bring to life the human element of these moments. For me, it is important to hear the stories of those who labored in these industries, humanize them, and examine how they adapted to their new home and found ways to develop their identities and communities in the diaspora within a Pacific Island context. Their stories illustrate the hopes, dreams, disappointments, and challenges of the Latinx population by providing insight into what we can learn about migration, adaptation and belonging, and cultural multiplicity in Hawaiʻi. These stories also provide meaningful interpretations of historical events from the perspectives of those who lived through them. They help us understand why those moments mattered to both the interviewees and historical figures who left behind a written record.

Excerpted from "Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi," used with permission from Rutgers University Press., www.rutgersuniversitypress.org. (c) Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.

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RUDY P. GUEVARRA JR. is professor of Asian Pacific American studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. He is the author of Becoming Mexipino: Multiethnic Identities and Communities in San Diego (Rutgers University Press), and coeditor of Beyond Ethnicity: New Politics of Race in Hawaiʻi.

Book Review: Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship by Veronica Chambers

In the Rhode Island coastal town of Westerly, Flora Violeta LeFevre has one true best friend. Clara Ocampo Londra is humble, kind, and makes Flora laugh by pretending to snore during Spanish Saturday school. The fifth grade besties enjoy skateboarding and creating art together. They even have a favorite after-school hangout spot—Bruce Lee Boba.

Best friends make plans for the future. In Flora and Clara’s case, they can’t wait until they’re old enough to take a year off school and get paid to sail boats for rich people.

But one day, Flora’s world is shattered when her best friend tearfully shares some news.

“It’s my mother. . . She got a job in California and we’re moving after New Year’s,” Clara says.

Flora is stunned. She doesn’t know how she will go on without her best friend.

In Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship, New York Times bestselling author Veronica Chambers has penned an endearing middle grade story about a Panamanian American girl who uses humor and creativity to navigate a big life change and tricky sisterly dynamics. Not only is she bracing for her best friend’s move, but Flora is also clashing big-time with her older sister, Maylin, who has become overbearing and obsessive over every detail of her upcoming quinceañera. And Flora’s mother—a cardiothoracic surgeon—has been occupied nearly every Saturday due to the party planning.

Flora tries to focus on her friendship. She and Clara make it their mission to enjoy the time they have left together. They even design a “BFF-ometer”—a computer test to help them find worthy replacement friends after Clara moves away. Some of the friendship questions include whether the person can use Scratch (the simple coding tool they used to create the BFF-ometer), speak Spanish, or skateboard.

The inevitable day comes when Clara leaves for California. As the weeks crawl by, Flora finds herself struggling to fit in with her peers at school, particularly during lunch hour. Sunday evening becomes her new favorite time of the week, because that’s when she and Clara chat on Zoom. One day, Clara misses their call because she made a new friend who scored 3 out of 5 on the BFF-ometer. Flora tries not to be jealous, but it’s hard.

“At the core, this book is about friendship and the commitment that entails. It’s about the highs and lows, the joy and hurt. Flora’s story is perfect for young readers who enjoy art, mischief, and humor.”

Months later, a new girl arrives in Flora’s class. Her name is Zaidee Khal and she had moved to Rhode Island from Paris. Flora is at first unsure about Zaidee, who wears blazers and looks more like a grown-up than a kid. There’s a lot Flora needs to figure out. Does this new girl have the potential to be a new friend for Flora? Does Flora have space in her heart for another friendship? And when it comes to her strained relationship with Maylin, can the sisters find a way to grow closer again?

Aside from the humor and the charming and blossoming friendships that form the center of this story, a delightful aspect of Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship are the many nods to Panamanian culture throughout. For example, Flora likens her house to a sort of “Panamanian embassy in New England.” Home is where Sunday family dinners are held with her sister, parents and extended family including an aunt, uncles, abuela, and her abuela’s gentleman friend. Then there are the foods Maylin’s mom makes at home—albóndigas, arroz negro with seafood and more. It was a joy to read about a Panamanian family who spends a lot of time together.

Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship was inspired by Chambers’ daughter, Flora, and Flora’s best friend, Clara. Their friendship began in Palo Alto when the girls were nine. “Then we moved back home to New York and now we live in London, but Flora and Clara’s friendship is still going strong,” Chambers writes in the book’s acknowledgements. “There are always tears when they part but so much laughter whenever they get together.”

Out now by Dial Books, Flora La Fresca & the Art of Friendship is the first in a series with illustrations by author and illustrator Sujean Rim. The second is slated for publication in the Fall of 2024.

At the core, this book is about friendship and the commitment that entails. It’s about the highs and lows, the joy and hurt. Flora’s story is perfect for young readers who enjoy art, mischief, and humor.

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Veronica Chambers is the editor for Narrative Projects at The New York Times. She is a prolific author, best known for the New York Times best seller Finish the Fight!, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl and picture book biographies Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb! and Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, she writes often about her Afro-Latina heritage. She speaks, reads, and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family and dog, Brooklyn.

Exclusive Excerpt: Our Otherness is Our Strength: Wisdom from the Boogie Down Bronx by Andrea Navedo

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal a chapter from Our Otherness is Our Strength: Wisdom from the Boogie Down Bronx by Andrea Navedo, best known as Xiomara from The CW's Jane the Virgin.

Andrea Navedo didn't get to see many positive portrayals of Latinas in the media growing up. So when she had the chance to play a starring role on Jane the Virgin, a role that cast her as a complex, flawed, and genuine Latina single mother, she jumped all over the opportunity.

Now, she shares bits of her story of growing up in "da South Bronx—boogie down, burning"—to inspire young people who grew up like she did and who, after being counted out, still strive to succeed.

Expanding on her beloved commencement address to DeWitt Clinton High School and other speeches, Navedo offers the pithy, ghetto-honest, and at times laugh-out-loud funny lessons she learned from surviving abusive relationships, dealing with repeated rejection, and eventually triumphing in the entertainment industry. From how to listen compassionately to your own internal dialogue, to why fame and validation may not make you feel better about yourself, to how to never play the victim, she provides notes from life's trenches, the trenches of the South Bronx. She shows how the outer and inner challenges of what popular culture deems the horrors of places like the Bronx can instead be the very factors that bring out our superpowers.

Discover Your Roots

. . . when I was eleven my parents sent me to Puerto Rico to spend the summer with my other grandma, Grandma Benny. I went all by myself on a plane and I got to sit by the window! It was incredible to be in the air looking down at NYC, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the towers of the World Trade Center. The city looked like a miniature toy set and everyone looked like ants. As we ascended, we eventually flew past a layer of white fluffy clouds and spent most of the flight above them. It was weird; it made the world feel upside down. I had never had this point of view before. As we flew, I gazed out of the window and imagined myself outside, jumping on top of those clouds, like on a trampoline, bouncing from one cloud to another or lazily lounging on top of one and ripping off a piece of fluffy cloud to eat like cotton candy. The stewardesses (that’s what we called them back then) were super sweet. They would check on me from time to time to see if I wanted or needed anything. They asked if I wanted to eat breakfast and one of the options was pancakes. Woohoo, had I died and gone to heaven? Of course, I wanted breakfast and yes, “I’ll have the pancakes please!” I was so excited. This trip to Puerto Rico was turning out to be great! Then—record scratch—the pancakes arrived and I disappointedly discovered what the term “airplane food” meant.

Three hours later, we approached the beautiful island of Borinquen. (I learned that Borinquen was what the original native inhabitants, the Taínos, called the island, before it was invaded by Spain. Hence why people from the island refer to themselves as Boricua.) Soaring above the lush tropical landscape, I caught my first glimpse of the calm turquoise waters of Puerto Rico. Wow! I had never seen water that color. Hugging along the coastline and cruising above the palm trees I could see why its other name was La Isla del Encanto (The Isle of Enchantment), because it was so beautiful.

Once off the plane I was escorted to the terminal to meet my grandmother. I had no idea how we were going to find her because I didn’t know what she looked like. The last time I had seen her was probably when I was a baby when she was still living in NYC. Eventually we found her, along with my step-grandfather and my teenage aunt Patti. It was weird meeting them. They were complete strangers to me. Grandma Benny was blonde and had blue eyes and looked like my father. I knew my father was Puerto Rican, with white skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes, but I thought he was an anomaly—adopted or something. All the other Hispanic people I knew were dark. But there she was, this white woman who spoke Spanish and who hugged me like I was her long-lost child. As she bear-hugged me, I flinched in pain because in between us, digging into my belly, was a gift for grandma that I held in my arms. It was from my dad, an old-fashioned wooden coffee grinder, the kind that has an ornately designed cast-iron wheel that needs to be manually operated to grind the coffee. Her eyes lit up. She seemed very pleased.

We finally arrived at her house. My grandmother proudly told me that she and her husband had built the house themselves. They had immigrated to New York years back and busted their asses working, with the plan to save enough money to move back to Puerto Rico and build a home. And that’s exactly what they did. It was a humble home but it was nice. The neighborhood smelled like fresh-baked bread and, in the distance, roosters crowed almost constantly. Hold up! Shut the front door! Roosters crowing? At this hour? It was the afternoon! What were they doing crowing during the day? Everyone knows that roosters crow at the crack of dawn to wake everyone up. Nature’s alarm clock. That’s what I learned watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on TV. TV was the original homeschooling if you were from the hood. We didn’t have roosters back in The Bronx. Mister Rogers said they crow at dawn. Head scratch. It got me thinking— Mister Rogers, a white man, could be wrong?

The house was situated in a suburb of San Juan with a weird-sounding name, Bayamòn. I learned that was another Indigenous name. I had only just arrived and was already learning so much. I learned that “airplane food” means “bad food,” that Puerto Rico was originally inhabited by an Indigenous people called Taínos who called the island Boriquen, that roosters crow any time of day, basically whenever they feel like it, that white people can speak Spanish, and white people don’t know everything or white people can be wrong. Interesting.

That evening Grandma Benny served the most amazing meal. One I will never forget. She made sancocho. She said it was my father’s favorite dish. Sancocho is a hearty stew made of tender chunks of beef, chicken, and/or pork, with root vegetables like yucca, sweet potato, plantains, and more. She served it along with white fluffy rice and slices of aguacate (avocado). It was the most flavorful, satisfying, and comforting meal I had ever had in my life. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Especially after that “airplane food” experience. I ate that sancocho like there was no tomorrow. I could see the pride and pleasure in my grandmother’s eyes as I devoured that stew. She loved watching me eat with such gusto. She didn’t take her eyes off of me. Finally, I came up for air. I was pretty full. I leaned back, put my spoon down, and opened the top button of my shorts. Well, the look that came over Grandma Benny’s face. Pleasure turned to a look of dismay in two seconds flat. Grandma Benny immediately picked up that spoon and started to feed me like a baby. She said kids were starving in China, and that I had to finish everything on my plate. She kept scooping and shoveling it into my mouth until that huge bowl was empty. I could barely move. I could literally feel the food at the top of my throat. I was afraid to move for fear of it coming out. I carefully, ever so carefully, got up, sat down on the couch, opened my shorts completely, and didn’t move for hours.

Grandma Benny had served me a man-size bowl of sancocho, probably the same amount she would’ve served my dad. I was very skinny, didn’t weigh more than seventy pounds, and I’m sure she was determined to get some fat on my bones before she sent me back home to NYC.

Like I mentioned, the neighborhood smelled like bread because a few blocks away was a panaderia—a bakery. The bakery made bread all day long and the smell in the area was intoxicating. My first morning, at 7 a.m., Grandma and I went to the bakery to buy a loaf of pan de agua or “water bread.” Pan de agua is a long loaf of white bread. It has a hard and crispy crust with a fluffy airy center. When we got home Grandma asked if I wanted breakfast. I enthusiastically said yes, having discovered this woman was a queen in the kitchen. Ten minutes later she called me to breakfast and placed in front of me a cup of café con leche (coffee with milk) and a slice of pan de agua with a slathering of butter in the center. I was amazed that she was serving me coffee. I thought only adults could have it. It made me feel grown up. I took a sip of the coffee and it was delicious, better than hot cocoa. I then excitedly took my first bite of pan de agua and nearly fell out of my chair in ecstasy. It was warm, crispy, tender, and literally melted in my mouth. I was enraptured. I basically inhaled it and immediately asked for seconds. Grandma Benny smiled, then served me another slice. I inhaled that one too and quickly asked for thirds. But this time she said no, a surprise since she seemed to derive such joy from shoveling food into my mouth. She said the rest of the bread was for Grandpa and Patti but, if I wanted, I could have a whole loaf to myself next time if I went by myself in the mornings to pick up the bread. Bet grandma, I’m down with that!

One day grandma’s brother stopped by the house in his pickup truck. He looked like the male version of Grandma Benny, but he had a somewhat weathered look. He looked strong, with broad shoulders and big calloused hands. He lived and worked on the family farm. I had no idea my family had a farm!

In the back of the truck were big burlap sacks filled to the top with beans. All kinds of beans—black, red, kidney, and coffee beans. He had come by to bring her some of the beans he had harvested. He proceeded to unload the sacks and put them on the patio. After some chitchat in Spanish he left and grandma turned to me and asked if I wanted a cup of coffee. Since arriving to Puerto Rico I had become a real coffee addict. The coffee grandma made was so so good! It was like dessert, so of course I said yes!

“Okay, entonces ayudame,” Grandma said. “Help me carry the coffee beans to the back patio.” She took an empty burlap sack, laid it out on the patio floor in the sun, and then proceeded to show me how to spread the beans out on top of it. “Okay, we need to let it bake in the sun. Go and play.” About a half hour went by and Grandma yelled for me to come back. I thought she was calling me for my café con leche, but no. Instead she showed me how to rake the coffee beans and then sent me away again. This went on for hours. Every thirty minutes or so we raked the beans. Every so often she would bite into one of them to see if they were ready and every time she would say, “No, not ready.” Finally, after what seemed like forever, she took one last bite and announced, “Ya, they are ready. Búscame el coffee grinder that your Papi bought for me.” I ran to fetch it and she told me to sit down, hold it in my lap, place coffee beans inside the cast iron bowl, and crank the handle. Within a few minutes we had freshly ground coffee inside of the wooden drawer at the bottom of the grinder. It was so cool! She then said, “Okay, now I will make your café con leche,” and went inside the house.

I patiently sat waiting on the patio until she finally came out with the most amazing cup of coffee. It was hot, but not too hot. It was the perfect color of light caramel with a sweet, creamy, deep, smooth, almost chocolaty taste. Again I was in taste-bud heaven. To this day I still haven’t been able to duplicate that cup of coffee. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable experience.

That month in Puerto Rico was one of the highlights of my childhood. I learned so much about my identity as a Puertoriqueña. My parents had originally offered the trip as an incentive for me to do well in school. However, my grades still sucked by the end of the school year. I thought for sure I wasn’t going get to go to Puerto Rico for the summer. Thankfully my parents sent me anyway. They most likely figured it would be good for me. They were right because eleven-year-old me got to go to the island of Puerto Rico! Borinquen! La Isla del Encanto! And finally feel some sense of belonging.

Excerpted from "Our Otherness is Our Strength: Wisdom from the Boogie Down Bronx," used with permission from Broadleaf Books., www.broadleafbooks.com. (c) Andrea Navedo

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Andrea Navedo is a Bronx-born-and-raised Puerto Rican American actress best known for her role as Xiomara, a complex and genuine Latina, on The CW’s series Jane the Virgin, for which she received critical acclaim. She is dedicated to various charities, including A Place Called Home in South Central Los Angeles, and the Fresh Air Fund in New York City. Navedo has a passion for self-improvement, growth, and healing, and through her experiences seeks to help those who see themselves on the outside looking in. She and her family divide their time between their homes in Toronto and Connecticut. 

Website: AndreaNavedo.com
Instagram: @andreanavedo
Facebook: /AndreaNavedoOfficial
Twitter: @andreanavedo

#SalaSundays with Lauren T. Davila

Lauren T. Davila hosted our Instagram, on July 9, 2023 for our weekly #SalaSundays series. Below are a few questions that we asked Lauren.

Latinx In Publishing (LxP): What do you do?

Lauren Davila (LTD): I am currently an author, Acquisitions Editor, and anthologist focusing on representative genre work across multiple age groups.

LxP: How did you get started?

(LTD): I have always been a huge reader but didn't start to dive into writing myself until enrolled in my undergraduate college. There, I took a few creative writing classes in association with my English Literature and Journalism tracks. I dove headfirst into poetry and fiction, eventually enrolling in a fantastic MFA program and then moving into the publishing world.

LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?

(LTD): I think one thing I wish I knew was how much gusto you have to have for the work you are producing. It's difficult to be working and creating in an industry where so much (honestly almost everything) is totally out of your control. From querying to editing to going on sub, so much of your own personal success becomes wrapped up in others and outside affirmation. My main advice to writers starting out is to work on yourself and your self-care as much as you possibly can.

LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?

(LTD): I'm currently on deadline working on a revision for my agent for what will hopefully be my debut novel AT THE STILL POINTE. It features some powerful ballet dancers trying to solve a string of murders before one of them is next. Oh, and they may just so happen to be possessed by the Greek Furies. Just another day in the life of a ballerina, you know?

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Lauren T. Davila (she/her/ella) is a Pushcart-nominated author and anthologist represented by Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary Agency. Besides short fiction and poetry, she has edited multiple fiction anthologies including PLACES WE BUILD IN THE UNIVERSE (Flowersong Press 2023) and TO ROOT SOMEWHERE BEAUTIFUL (Outland Entertainment 2024). She holds an MA in English from Claremont Graduate University and an MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University. She is also the Acquisitions Editor for Inked In Gray Press and is actively acquiring genre fiction from historically marginalized authors. Lauren lives in the greater Los Angeles area where you can find her swimming, walking her golden retriever, and drinking one too many decaf lattes.

July 2023 Latinx Releases

ON SALE JULY 11

Paula's Patches by Gabriella Aldeman | Illustrated by Rocío Arreola Mendoza | PICTURE BOOK

Oh, no! While at school, Paula's pants catch on a bush that rips a large hole in her pants. She tries everything to hide the hole from her classmates, only to find out that they, too, have leaky lunchboxes, spaghetti stains, and hand-me-down backpacks. Nothing some colorful patches can't fix! Children will follow Paula as she feels embarrassed about her torn pants, curious about patches, and excited for a possible solution that helps both her and her classmates.

Shadow Drive by Nolan Cubero | ADULT FICTION

Landlord Gabriel Angueira is trying to put his life back together. His teenage daughter, Megan, was seriously injured in a car accident caused by her own drunk driving, though Gabe blames himself. Since the accident he has spent every day taking care of her, reflecting on his failures as a father, and trying to rebuild his relationship with his ex-wife, Anya.

So, when a woman wants to rent the house on Shadow Drive, Gabe hands her the keys without a second thought--or doing a background check. Once she moves in, he discovers everything she told him was a lie: her name, her story, her previous address. Gabe knows nothing about this mysterious woman, but she knows a lot about him--and quickly begins destroying the house from the inside out. Gabe soon realizes she's specifically targeted him and the house on Shadow Drive but has no idea why.

Now Gabe must figure out who this woman is before she unearths his family's secrets and takes down the house--along with his entire life as he knows it.

Thief Liar Lady by D. L. Soria | ADULT FICTION

I’m not who you think I am.

My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen—as the rumors insisted—in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn’t meekly help my “evil” stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the palace. I had other preparations to make.

My stepsisters and I had been trained for this—to be the cleverest in the room, to be quick with our hands and quicker with our lies. We were taught how to get everything we wanted in this world, everything men always kept for themselves: power, wealth, and prestige. And with a touchingly tragic past and the help of some highly illegal spells, I would become a princess, secure our fortunes, and we would all live happily ever after.

But there’s always more to the story. With my magic running out, war looming, and a handsome hostage prince—the wrong prince—distracting me from my true purpose with his magnetic charm and forbidden flirtations, I’m in danger of losing control of the delicate balance I’ve created . . . and that could prove fatal.

There’s so much more riding on this than a crown.

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo | ADULT FICTION

On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?

The more Kate gets to know his devastated family and the people—both English and Amish—who loved him, the more determined she becomes to solve the case. Aden Karn was funny and hardworking and looking forward to marrying his sweet fiancé, Emily. All the while, Kate’s own wedding day to Tomasetti draws near...

But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side. What if Aden Karn wasn’t the wholesome young man everyone admired? Is it possible the rumors are a cruel campaign to blame the victim? Kate pursues every lead with a vengeance, sensing an unspeakable secret no one will broach.

The case spirals out of control when a young Amish woman comes forward with a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous and unexpected opponent. When the awful truth is finally uncovered, Kate comes face to face with the terrible consequences of a life lived in all the dark places.

Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice by David Luis Glisch-Sánchez, Nic Rodriguez-Villafañe | ADULT NONFICTION

Sana, Sana is a witness to the multiple wounds etched into the landscape of Latinx experience and a testimonial to community efforts to heal them. A multi-genre anthology rooted in the deep desire to not only acknowledge and name the various forms of pain and trauma Latinx people experience regularly, but to do so in the service of imagining new futures and ways of being that prioritize healing and justice not just for Latinx people, but for Queer BIPOC communities and, ultimately, for all people.

The Worry Balloon by Mónica Mancillas | Illustrated by Betty C. Tang | PICTURE BOOK

On the first day of school, Isla's mind plays the what if game. Scary thoughts come, the world goes dark, and everything feels stormy. With Mami at her side, Isla takes a deep breath and blows her worries away in a big balloon. But as school gets closer, Isla's worries come back like a tornado. Mami encourages her to imagine something happy, and Isla remembers there's nothing she can't handle.

The storm might come again, but for now, her mind is quiet.

A Warning about Swans by R. M. Romero | YOUNG ADULT

Bavaria. 1880. Hilde was dreamed into existence by the god Odin and, along with her five sisters, granted cloaks that transform them into swans. Each sister's cloak is imbued with a unique gift, but Hilde rejects her gift which allows her to lead the souls of dying creatures to the afterlife.

While guiding the soul of a hawk, Hilde meets the handsome Baron Maximilian von Richter, whose father left him no inheritance. Hilde is intrigued by Richter's longing for a greater life and strikes a deal with him: She will manifest his dreams of riches, and in return, he will take her to the human world, where the song of souls can't reach her.

But at the court of King Ludwig II in Munich, Hilde struggles to fit in. After learning that fashionable ladies are sitting for portraits, she hires non-binary Jewish artist Franz Mendelson, and is stunned when Franz renders her with swan wings. The more time she spends with Franz, the more she feels drawn to the artist's warm, understanding nature, and the more controlling Richter becomes. When Hilde's swan cloak suddenly goes missing, only Franz's ability to paint the true nature of souls can help Hilde escape her newfound prison.

ON SALE JULY 15

Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawai'i by Rudy P. Guevarra | ADULT NONFICTION

Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi is the first book to examine the collective history and contemporary experiences of the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi. This study reveals that contrary to popular discourse, Latinx migration to Hawaiʻi is not a recent event. In the national memory of the United States, for example, the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi is often portrayed as recent arrivals and not as long-term historical communities with a presence that precedes the formation of statehood itself. Historically speaking, Latinxs have been voyaging to the Hawaiian Islands for over one hundred and ninety years. From the early 1830s to the present, they continue to help shape Hawaiʻi’s history, yet their contributions are often overlooked. Latinxs have been a part of the cultural landscape of Hawaiʻi prior to annexation, territorial status, and statehood in 1959. Aloha Compadre also explores the expanding boundaries of Latinx migration beyond the western hemisphere and into Oceania.

ON SALE JULY 18

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | ADULT FICTION

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

Twins vs. Triplets #2: Prank-Or-Treat by Jennifer Torres | Illustrated by Vanessa Flores |

The Montecito Monster Mash is only three days away--and the Romero Twins AND Benitez Triplets are testing out their scariest Halloween tricks on David! They both want to win the prize for the spookiest, scariest, most BOO-tiful haunted house in the neighborhood.

David won't let Halloween night turn into another all-out prank showdown. But what if he accidentally starts the scare-a-thon himself?

Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero | YOUNG ADULT

Sixteen-year-old Rumi Sabzwari has spent his entire life behind the armored walls of St. Iago, which protect citizens of the Union of Upper Cities from the outside world’s environmental devastation. But when rebels infect his father with a fatal virus, Rumi escapes St. Iago, desperate to find a cure.

In the ruined city of Paraíso, Rumi meets fifteen-year-old Paz, who agrees to guide him on his journey. As they travel together, Rumi finds himself drawn to Paz--and behind her tough exterior, she begins to feel the same way. But Paz knows more about Rumi's father's illness than she's saying and has her own agenda. With the powerful forces at play in their cities putting them at odds, can the two learn to trust in each other--enough to imagine a different world?

Vanishing Maps by Cristina García | ADULT FICTION

Celia del Pino, the matriarch of a far-flung Cuban family, has watched her descendants spread out across the globe, struggling to make sense of their transnational identities and strained relationships with one another. In Berlin, the charismatic yet troubled Ivanito performs on stage as his drag queen persona, while being haunted by the ghost of his mother. Pilar Puente, adrift in Los Angeles, is a struggling sculptor and the single mother of a young son. In Moscow, Ivanito's cousin Irina has become the wealthy owner of a lingerie company, but she remains deeply lonely in the wake of her parents' deaths and her estrangement from her Cuban heritage. Meanwhile, in Havana, Celia prepares to reunite with her lost lover, Gustavo, and wonders whether age and the decades spent apart have altered their bond.Cut off from their Cuban roots, yet still feeling the island's ineluctable pull, Ivanito and his extended family try to reimagine where--and with whom--they belong. Over the course of a momentous year, each will grapple with their histories as they are pulled to Berlin for a final, explosive reunion.

I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork | YOUNG ADULT

Alberto's life isn't easy: He's an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who lives with his sister's abusive boyfriend-but he'd always accepted his place in the world. Until he starts hearing the voice of a man called Captain America, a voice that wants him to achieve more, no matter the cost.

Grace has it all: She has a supportive boyfriend, she's on track to be valedictorian, and she's sure to go to the college of her dreams. Still, nothing feels right to her any more after the divorce of her parents, and feels she needs something more.

When Alberto and Grace meet, they have an immediate and electric connection. But when Alberto is present at the scene of a terrible crime, he becomes a suspect. And with his developing schizophrenia, he's not even sure he believes in his own innocence.

Can Grace find a way to prove Alberto's innocence to himself and the world?

One Tough Cookie: A Novel by Delise Torres | ADULT FICTION

All cookies are made with love—even if twenty-seven-year-old Karina Cortés doesn’t believe in the concept. For her, a simple life with no attachments is a good life. And her life is indeed good—even with her biggest accomplishment being passing the GED exam. Karina is able to secure an incredible and well-paying job at Singular Cookies, Inc., a small family-owned cookie manufacturing plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. And although the founders of the company treat her like family, Karina insists she doesn’t need or want one. Not after her mother chose a man over her own daughter, pushing the young Karina to move out and make it on her own.

And she couldn’t be happier with her single life, unlike her friends, whose lives revolve around men.

Work and play collide when she meets the company’s hot new mechanic, Ian Feliciano, who stirs up feelings she tends to avoid. Karina knows she shouldn’t date him, but she’s strong; she’ll never turn pathetic like her friends or, especially, her mom. And with a looming plant inspection and trying to break up the CEO's new romance, Karina has enough to distract herself.

As the inspection draws near and Karina battles her heart, she’ll have to decide whether to continue holding on to deeply ingrained beliefs that keep everyone at bay, or learn that love is not as dangerous as she fears and in the end, it is our history—our singular recipe—that shapes how we live.

ON SALE JULY 25

The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz | ADULT FICTION

Reina is desperate.

Stuck on the edges of society, Reina's only hope lies in an invitation from a grandmother she's never met. But the journey to her is dangerous, and prayer can't always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the mountains, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña's magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn--and keep--her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesaré is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family's shame. She tries to be the perfect daughter, but Eva is hiding a secret: Magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet it's hard to ignore power when it has always been denied you. Eva is walking a dangerous path. And in the end, she'll become something she never imagined.

Fresh Juice by Robert Liu-Trujillo | PICTURE BOOK

When Art's father can't get over a cold, Art knows exactly what his daddy needs: some delicious sick-fighting juice! After looking through the fridge and cupboards, they discover they're missing a key ingredient--ginger. But finding some ginger will take them downtown, to the farmers' market, to the food co-op, to the West African grocery ... to an unexpected encounter that brings everyone together, and results in a tasty celebration.

Infested: An MTV Fear Novel by Angel Luis Colón | YOUNG ADULT

It's the summer before senior year, and Manny has just moved from Texas to the Bronx in New York. So, instead of hanging with his friends and making some spending money, Manny is forced to do menial tasks in his new home, a luxury condo his stepdad is managing, while stressing about starting over.

Thankfully, he meets Sasha, who is protesting the building but turns out to be really cool. And he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mr. Mueller, the building's exterminator. Maybe life in the Bronx won't be so bad.

Then the nightmares begin. And Manny swears he has roaches crawling under his skin. When building contractors start to go missing, Manny and Sasha come to the terrifying realization that Mr. Mueller is not who he says he is. Or rather, he is, but he died decades ago in a fire exactly where Manny's new building is located. A fire that Mueller set.

Now, in a race against time, Manny must rescue his family from a deranged specter determined to set the Bronx ablaze once again.

#SalaSundays with Sandra Proudman

Sandra Proudman hosted our Instagram, on July 15, 2023 for our weekly #SalaSundays series. Below are a few questions that we asked Sandra.

Latinx In Publishing (LxP): What do you do?

Sandra Proudman (SP): I am a literary associate at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency, assisting the incomparable, Marietta Zacker. I also have a small list of wonderful author and illustrator clients. In my writing life, I am debuting in 2024 with young adult projects.

LxP: How did you get started?

(SP): I started writing at a young age and minored in creative writing in college. I didn’t write my first full manuscript until I was in my twenties, though. After that, I couldn’t stop writing and doing everything I could to become a published author. Getting started in agenting was an entire leap of faith. I was already in a career path that paid well and offered the stability I wanted to give my family. But with my husband’s full support and some enormous luck at landing an internship at my dream agency, I was able to transition into working in publishing full-time.

LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?

(SP): I wish I knew how much you have to learn to let things go because rejection truly comes at all levels. And a way to steel yourself and your heart from disappointment, is learning every single thing in publishing is subjective. Accepting that is invaluable and once you do, it lessens (though, of course, doesn’t eliminate) imposters syndrome tremendously.

LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?

(SP): I just wrapped up reading Certain Dark Things by Silvia-Moreno Garcia and absolutely loved her take on vampires. In my writing life, I am working on everything from a co-written YA thriller project to a post-apocalyptic retelling of Romeo & Juliet to an MG fantasy to a new anthology proposal and trying to figure out the best next steps. In my agenting life, I’m working on getting client projects ready for submission, from an adorable all-animal picture book to a badass YA fantasy with Black girl magic.

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Sandra Proudman (she/her/ella) is a Mexican American author of unabashed Latinx stories and a literary associate at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. She is the author of the YA fantasy, Salvación, out fall 2024 from Wednesday Books and the editor of the anthology Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories, which is being published by Inkyard Press on February 6, 2024. When not busily immersed in all things publishing, you can find her spending time with her amazing husband and adorable preschooler, catching up on all her shows, and taking care of her garden. Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @SandraProudman and on her website sandraproudman.com.

Matt Sedillo: His Book Tour in Italy and translated work

Matt Sedillo is a Chicano political poet, essayist, and activist, based in Los Angeles, who is also starting his own press called El Martillo Press. Sedillo recently had an international book tour in Italy, after his work was translated into Italian. In this interview, he tells Latinx In Publishing Communications Co-Director Ruddy Lopez about Vite derubate, Terra derubata, how this tour came about, and his experience having his work translated.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Ruddy Lopez (RL): Tell me about your book tour in Italy and how it came about.

Matt Sedillo (MS): The book tour came through my publisher, Ensemble. They set up all the readings. When I say my publishers, it really was chiefly the effort of Edoardo Olmi, who was instrumental in the entire process. The trip included stops in Rome, Florence, Bitonto, Molfetta, Bari, Turin, Bologna, Venice, Varese, and finally Colleferro. It really was like several different trips all in one, each deserving its own careful retelling. I am still processing so much of what happened as this all was in the course of around three weeks.

I arrived in Rome two days early, planning to get over the jet lag. No such luck. Flamina Cruciani, a poet that David A. Romero and I are publishing, lives in Rome, so I figured it a good idea to meet up with her. Flamina is an incredible poet whose work has been celebrated all over the world. At dinner, we discussed the possibilities of readings in Colombia, the U.K. and what El Martillo would set up for her once she came stateside. On the day of the reading, I met Edoardo at the train station and we headed over to meet with Mateo, one of the owners of Ensemble Press, who had a box full of the books. It was an incredible feeling to open the box and see my translated work. I handed Mateo copies of El Martillo publications and we discussed a world of possibilities. That night I read at the famed Lettere Caffe with close to two dozen poets as the book made its debut. Many of these poets are noted on the national stage of Italy, as I am coming to understand. This was a great honor and I am still in the process of following up with the many doors and opportunities that appeared to have opened that night.

In Florence, I read at the University in a student-occupied center as part of a larger festival. While there I struck up a fascinating conversation with noted choreographer Cristina Rizo and we discussed her approach to dance and my approach to poetry and found some fascinating points of overlap and differences.

For the readings in Bitonto, Molfetta, and Bari, I spent three days living in an Antifa compound called Ex Secerma, meaning former barracks. The space was once a military barracks and now it was an anarchist co-op of some sort. The readings were set up by Edoardo, through our mutual friend Mark Lipman and their friend Pipo Marzulli, organizer of the poetry festival held there every other year. Pipo is a member of the Revolutionary Poet’s Brigade, an international organization founded by Hirschman, over a decade ago. Its proud legacy continues. Mark had invited me last year to Elba, where I first met Edoardo, alongside Anna Lombardo. They both loved my work so much that they committed to a translation and a publication.

In Turin, I met up with Mateo and David, the owners of Ensemble. I commented what a strange twist of fate as I was starting my own press with my friend David A. Romero. We had a great laugh about this. The festival itself was massive. It was such an honor to be there at the booth with the publisher and to see the size and scope of all the incredible writers that are housed by Ensemble. The translation branch of the press, Affluenti, has also published Dianne Suess. Meeting the Italian book-buying public all happened so fast. We sold quite a few books and we met the public head-on as literally thousands of people were at the event. There was a great deal of interest in the American political landscape. And I answered as best I could through Edoardo.

In Bologna, we took part in a festival of books put on by Seven Foxes, a bookstore that had a strong working relationship with Ensemble. The festival was held in a public park and my reading was followed with a Q & A. The audience was very curious about how I became so politically outspoken and what the dangers were in the U.S. of being as strident as I am. I answered to the best of my ability.

Venice was incredible, really truly one of the most surreal experiences for me. At this point in my life, I can say I have read at the University of Cambridge, at UNAM, at Casa De Las Americas, and now at an international poetry festival held in Venice, Italy. I have the great Anna Lombardo to thank for this. Anna has organized this festival for many years. Anna was a great friend and colleague to Jack Hirschman and working with Anna, for me, it really begins to cement my own legacy as a poet whose work is celebrated on an international level. At the festival, I ran into my old friend, the beat poet laureate of Hungary Gabor Gyukics, who translated and got my work published in three Hungarian literary journals; one of them right next to Sylvia Plath. What an honor that is. I also ran into my great friend Serena Piccoli, one of the best political poets I have ever met, and we talked about the doors that get closed when you speak out in an unapologetic fashion.

In Varese, I caught up with Gaetano and Maria Elena. While there I stayed in Maria Elena’s family home that was built in the 1300’s. That blew my mind. At the house there was a printing press, a work station and a painting studio. Maria Elena and Gaetano are maybe the most natural artists I have ever met. Also would you believe they got us incredible press for their event. In one paper I was compared to Amiri Baraka and Jack Hirschman. What an incredible honor to be compared to such legendary poets in print in another country.

Finally, I made my way to the last show in Colleferro. I was exhausted but it was a different kind of exhaustion. It was an exhaustion informed by a career and legacy-defining trip. It was a satisfied exhaustion. On the train it was announced there was a WWII unexploded bomb on the tracks and the train was delayed. We rushed onto the subway, and rushed from there to the bookstore. We were 15 minutes late to the reading and my head was pounding. The audience was mostly composed of radical teachers who asked the most insightful political questions of the entire trip. I did my best to answer the questions and that was that.

(RL): How did you feel seeing your poems translated into Italian for the first time?

MS: It was incredible to get a hold of the book for the first time. I really do feel as though my life is about to change in a big way. I feel as though all my work, over the years, is beginning to really pay off. I feel as though I am just getting started. To be honest, the biggest feeling I feel right now is relief. It is a confirmation of what those who believed in me have always said about me. I may not have the biggest fanbase but I do have an incredibly passionate one. I have felt pressure over the years to live up to what my biggest supporters have said about me. I have articles in print comparing me to Brecht and Dalton, and others comparing me to Ginsberg. That is a lot of pressure. It is a lot to live up to. I feel like this is a step in the right direction and more than anything, I feel relieved to finally be headed in the right direction.

(RL): Tell us more about the Turin International Book Fair and your experience participating in it.

MS: The Turin International Book Fair is the largest most important book fair in Italy. To have been an invited guest is the stuff dreams are made of. I really hope to do more things like this across the world. I have my eyes set on Guadalajara, Berlin, and Medellin.

(RL): What advice do you have for writers hoping to have their work translated?

MS: My advice to writers wanting to have their work translated, especially speaking to an audience based in the U.S., is first to reverse your thinking on what it means to write. Here in the U.S. we are constantly told that writing is about healing or therapy or something that edifies the author. Writing can be all those things. But if you want people to care about your work, write about things that matter to more people than just yourself. Write not as a matter of personal expression but as a public service. Do that often enough and you will gain international attention. Write about things that matter and write well. Seek international stages. Do those two things at the same time and it may just happen for you as well. Right now I have been translated into three languages and there is talk of a fourth and a fifth. This happened because of both my content and my skill. Work on both.

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Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle." Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival, a participant in the 2012 San Francisco International Poetry Festival, the 2022 Elba Poetry Festival, and the recipient of the 2022 Dante's Laurel.Sedillo has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Axios, the Associated Press, and La Jornada among other publications. Matt Sedillo is the author of Mowing Leaves of Grass (FlowerSong Press, 2019) and City on the Second Floor (FlowerSong Press, 2022) as well as Terra Derubate, Vite Derubata (Ensemble Press, 2023). His poetry has been translated and published in Spanish, Italian, and Hungarian. Sedillo is the current literary director of The Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles.

Ruddy Lopez is an Executive Assistant and Editor at Community Literature Initiative and Communications Co-Director with Latinx in Publishing. She lives in Inglewood, California, and attended California State University, Long Beach, where she obtained a BA in English Literature and English Education. In her spare time, Ruddy enjoys reading, writing poetry, and exploring what her city has to offer.

Book Review: For a Just and Better World by Sonia Hernández

In For a Just and Better World: Engendering Anarchism in the Mexican Borderlands, 1900-1938, Sonia Hernández takes us on a historical journey utilizing archival documents related to the transnational labor and anarcho-syndicalist movements of the early 20th century. By applying a feminist perspective, Hernández develops a gendered history that highlights the contributions of women in the global labor movement. Hernández also explores various topics such as Revolutionary Motherhood and motherhood as a rhetoric; the significance of media in identity labeling; the circulation of news during the 20th century; the inequalities women activists faced within and outside labor unions, and lastly, the power of global organizing. Weaved throughout each chapter, Hernández forefronts the significance of the anarchist movement: the fight for freedom and the freedom to envision a just and better world.

“By centering on female anarchists and organizers, Hernández brings to the forefront their marginalized voices, ideas, goals, and contributions, thus providing a gendered and more inclusive history. ”

The book begins by focusing on the type of revolutionist environment that gave rise to the feminist and anarchist Caritina Pina in Tampico, Mexico. In its exploration of Pina’s role as the head secretary of the Comité Internacional Pro-Presos Sociales–essentially the role of a global labor broker and organizer—Hernández traces global contributions made by Pina and other prominent women within the labor movement. By centering on female anarchists and organizers, Hernández brings to the forefront their marginalized voices, ideas, goals, and contributions, thus providing a gendered and more inclusive history. Through Hernández’s archival research, they string together documents from archives around the globe that portray the significant  contributions of Pina and other women. Hernández states that through their utilization of the press, Pina and others—without moving from their hometowns—operated at a global level, disseminating their intellectual ideas on the anarcho-syndicalist movement in a transnational, or borderless, world. Through the expression and circulation of their ideas about labor inequalities, women like Caritina Pina fought for a seat at the table in a male-dominated labor movement. Furthermore, the women’s borderless operation and impact shaped 20th century Mexico into a renowned intellectual hub. In a world that reproduces colonial hierarchies and seeks to make global south contributions invisible, Pina and other women’s establishment of (and Hernandez’s reclaiming of) Mexico as a place of radical and forward moving intellectual ideas, is revolutionary. Despite these contributions, however, Hernández ruminates on the dead-end they were met with—a dead-end that often met many female and female activists like Caritina Pina within the archives.

Hernández moves on to specifically examine the transformation of anarchist labor movements in Mexico. They claim that anarchism, due to its foundation on freedom and equality, produced opportunities for women to express their own interests and contribute to the “lucha”. Essentially, anarchist theory, when put in practice, lead to direct action, possibilities for women, and transnational organizing. Hernández claims that the women who were first involved in these labor organizations, such as Pina and the women who came before her, experienced more freedom than was common in the religious state that often oppressed them through the politicization of motherhood and morality. However, as labor movement organizations transformed, they began to adhere to state politics and adopted similar oppressive attitudes towards women. Thus, women who had initially found refuge and freedom within the labor movement, were gradually disillusioned and pushed out.

“[Hernández] reminds us about unity, female emancipation and empowerment, and about the fight for freedom. . . Hernández calls us to envision a free world rooted in equality. ”

Hernández establishes a historical pattern: once an organization was union-backed, they started following state-led policies meant to curve prostitution through the control of female bodies and female labor. Female waitresses were most affected, experiencing the strictest surveillance and control through the regulation of sexuality and morality. These discriminatory regulations eventually forced many waitresses to make the difficult decision of letting go of their benefits in a union-backed organization that did not have their best interests at heart and instead collectively organize for each other through a grassroots organization known as the meseras libres, or free waitress movement. This, Hernández claims, was an act of Feminist Anarchism. (1) However, despite the success in establishing the meseras libres, their organization ultimately did not experience the same amount of success as other unions due to the brutal repression they experienced from the state. (2) By examining this history, Hernandez portrays how women were active participants within the fight for equal labor rights but ultimately not given the same outcomes as their male counterparts. The disproportionate outcomes lead many women to “leave unions to the men” (3) and instead adopt disengaged attitudes about organizing, freedom, and equality.

Although achieving a provocative description of the inequalities that feminist labor activists faced in the 20th century, Hernández does not leave readers helpless. Instead, she reminds us about unity, female emancipation and empowerment, and about the fight for freedom. In conclusion, Hernández calls us to envision a free world rooted in equality. 

1 Hernandez, Sonia. 2021. For a Just and Better World: Engendering Anarchism in the Mexican Borderlands 1900- 1938. Pg 112

2 Ibid 112

3 Ibid112.

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Dr. Sonia Hernández earned Bachelor and Master's degrees in History from the University of Texas-Pan American as well as a PhD in Latin American History from the University of Houston. She is a former UT Board of Regents Scholar and Fulbright scholar. Dr. Hernández's research focuses on the intersections of gender and labor in the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands, Chicana/o history, and Modern Mexico. She is the author of Working Women into the Borderlands (Texas A&M University Press, 2014) and For a Just and Better World: Engendering Anarchism in the Mexican Borderlands, 1900-1938 (University of Illinois Press, 20121). A highly awarded scholar, her works have won the Sara A. Whaley Book Prize (NWSA), the Liz Carpenter Award (TSHA), and the Philip Taft Labor Book Award (Cornell & LAWCHA). Dr. Hernández is currently an Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University.

Genesis Mazariegos is a graduate student in UC Irvine's School of Social Sciences. As a Guatemalan immigrant and life-long Orange County resident, Genesis' research is rooted in her lived experiences. Her current research focuses on tourism's effects on Latino neighborhoods in Orange County. As a McNair Scholar at UC Berkeley where she studied Anthropology, Genesis' research also examined Guatemalan transnational identity/culture and immigration law/policy.  Currently, Genesis is focused on pursuing both JD and PhD programs in order to become a transformative force and resource for her Latinx community.

Book Review: The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

The Luis Ortega Survival Club follows a young teenager, Arianna Ruiz or Ari, and her trauma after getting raped by Luis Ortega at a high school party. Ari is autistic and has selective mutism. At their high school, Ari is known as being a quiet person and therefore is pretty isolated from many of her peers. On the other hand, Luis is well known for being a “ladies’ man” and is often celebrated for it. When rumors start spreading about Ari hooking up with Luis, Ari is sexually harassed by her male peers, which continues to isolate and hurt her. Ari begins to receive notes that say #MeToo along with a tumblr username. She begins talking to the tumblr user and finds an unexpected friend through this experience. She is told to meet in room 205 if she is interested in getting back at Luis. At first, she isn’t interested but decides to go, after being frustrated with her experience. Room 205 reveals a support group of other people that have survived abuse from Luis. Suddenly, Ari has the opportunity to find friendship through her trauma and grow as a survivor.

“There are so many layers that were beautifully woven together to deliver such an important story. . . Reyes’ is extremely talented in developing characters that have an in-depth background. ”

It’s no surprise that this is a five star read. There are so many layers that were beautifully woven together to deliver such an important story, especially for younger audiences. Reyes’ is extremely talented in developing characters that have an in-depth background. Ari’s autism and selective mutism is often discussed along with the discussion of consent. Ari does not like being touched, without warning, therefore, consent for any physical touch is often asked for by her friends and family. I loved that discussions of consent were included in this book because I have not seen much representation on how deep consent can go. It is often talked about in worst case scenarios, but it is important to keep in mind that consent is necessary for any physical interaction, such as touching someone’s shoulder.

Ari’s family also play a key factor in the story. Although her parents live together, they are experiencing trust issues, after her mother cheated on her father. The different family dynamics are illustrated through Ari’s relationships with each of her parents. With her mother, she is often frustrated as she relies on Ari as her “friend” and treats her like a therapist. This is extremely difficult for Ari as she is not a professional therapist and is experiencing her own difficulties. Meanwhile, her relationship with her father is completely different as he is hesitant to discuss his emotions. This depiction of family dysfunction is so important because most of the time, families are depicted as a perfect and harmonious relationship but child/parent relationships can be difficult.

Ari’s friends warmed my heart the entire way. Although she had a rough start with Shawni, she quickly becomes an ally that supports Ari no matter what. She always asks for permission to touch her and always has a pen and paper ready for Ari to use. Even though their friend group revolves around exposing Luis, I love that early on there is a moment where they all state that they want to have friendships outside of their shared trauma. This made the friend group extremely heartwarming and made me so happy that Ari had a new support system.

Due to their talent of telling stories from such important perspectives, Sonora Reyes has become an auto-buy author for me. This book reminded me of the movie, John Tucker Must Die, but with an enormous amount of depth and layers that made it even better!

Content warnings: bullying, slut shaming, sexual harassment, rape culture, and the aftermath of an off-page rape.

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Sonora Reyes is a queer second-generation immigrant who attended a Catholic high school. They write fiction full of queer and Latinx characters in a variety of genres. Sonora is also the creator and host of #QPOCChat, a monthly community-building Twitter chat for queer writers of color. They currently live in Arizona, in a multigenerational family home with a small pack of dogs who run the place.

Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books

June 2023 Latinx Releases

ON SALE JUNE 6

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo | YOUNG ADULT

For Jaime, returning to the Vermont town of Saint Juniper means returning to a past he's spent eight years trying to forget. After shuttling between foster homes, he hopes to make something out of this fresh start. But every gossip in town already knows his business, and with reminders of his past everywhere, he seeks out solitude into the nearby woods—Saint Juniper's Folly—and does not return.

For Theo, Saint Juniper means being stuck. He knows there's more out there, but he's scared to go find it. His senior year is going to be like all the rest, dull and claustrophobic. That is until he wanders into the Folly and stumbles on a haunted house with an acerbic yet handsome boy trapped—as in physically trapped—inside.

For Taylor, Saint Juniper is a mystery. She tries to practice the magic her dad banned from the house after her mom, an accomplished witch, suddenly died. But without someone to guide her, she's floundering. Then a wide-eyed teenager barges into her life, rambling about a haunted house and a trapped boy. He needs a witch.

The Folly and its ghosts will draw these three teenagers together. But can they each face their demons to forge a bond strong enough to escape the Folly's shadows?

Pedro & Daniel by Federico Erebia | Illustrated by Julie Kwon | YOUNG ADULT

Pedro and Daniel are Mexican-American brothers growing up in 1970s Ohio. Their mom doesn't like that Pedro is a spitting image of their darker-skinned father, that Daniel plays with dolls, that neither of the boys love sports like the other kids in their neighborhood. Life at home can be rough—but the boys have an unshakable bond that will last their entire lives.

Pedro & Daniel is a sweeping and deeply personal novel—illustrated with beautiful linework throughout by Julie Kwon—that spans from childhood to teenage years to adulthood, all the while tracing the lives of two brothers who are there for each other when no one else is. Together the brothers manage an abusive home life, school, coming out, first loves, first jobs, and the AIDS epidemic, in a coming-of-age story unlike any other.

Secret of the Moon Conch by David Bowles and Guadalupe Garcia McCall | YOUNG ADULT

In modern-day Mexico, Sitlali is all alone after the death of her beloved abuela. Targeted by a dangerous gang member, she flees to the United States to find her father. The night before her journey, she finds an ancient conch shell on the beach and takes it with her as a memento of home.

In 1521, Calizto is trapped in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, which is besieged by Spanish invaders. He has fought valiantly, but hope for his people is running out. Desperate to escape, he takes up his mother's sacred conch and sounds a plea to the gods.

The conch holds magic neither Sitlali nor Calizto understand, magic that allows them to communicate across centuries--and find comfort in each other as they fight to survive. With each conversation, they fall deeper in love, and as the moon waxes, they become more present to each other. But as danger threatens at every turn, will they ever find a way to truly be together?

The Garden of Second Chances by Mona Alvarado Frazier | YOUNG ADULT

Juana's life has taken a dark turn. Accused of her husband’s death, she's now a seventeen-year-old mother, alone and undocumented in a prison cell. No one believes her when she claims she's innocent, not even the prison staff or the gang leader in her block who torments her relentlessly.

Her only solace is in her baby, but as Juana struggles to survive the dangers lurking in prison, the threat outside grows even more terrifying. Her husband's furious family wants to take the child away.

With no hope in sight, Juana discovers a glimmer of light in a small patch of earth in the prison yard. As she nurtures the plants, memories of her mother's strength and resilience surface, pushing Juana to fight for her freedom and her daughter's future. This is a story of courage, hope, and determination in the face of impossible odds.

ON SALE JUNE 13

Lupe Lopez: Reading Rock Star! by E. E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller | Illustrated by Joe Cepeda | PICTURE BOOK

Famous at Hector P. Garcia Elementary for being the first kid in kindergarten to ever start a band, Lupe Lopez enters first grade seeking a new sort of fame. She's ready to rock and roll straight into the role of Reading Rock Star! But despite her best efforts, the words she thought she knew--now grouped in sentence—only glare back at her. Stuck in Group A with the kids who can't read, she becomes the object of a rival's mockery. Will her beloved band, and her confidence, survive the sting of defeat? Leave it to Lupe to prove that the beat she feels when she taps her pencil isn't so very different from words and sentences—and that a real rock star is someone who doesn't give up. Featuring simple text laced with Spanish words, dynamic illustrations, and a reassuring theme, this sequel to Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules! will encourage fledgling readers to keep trying, even if they miss a beat or two.

ON SALE JUNE 15

Untapped Leadership: Harnessing the Power of Underrepresented Leaders by Jenny Vazquez-Newsum | ADULT NONFICTION

Untapped Leadership examines strategies, capabilities, and contributions from leaders of color and marginalized backgrounds from all walks of life and career stages. Highlighting diverse stories and strategies, this groundbreaking book reveals a different kind of leadership, one that requires an advanced understanding of situational awareness, organizational dynamics, and sound decision-making. Far from being a book only for leaders of color, Untapped Leadership shows that the lessons grounded in BIPOC leadership are lessons for anyone and everyone looking to bring a more nuanced and contextual perspective towards navigating life and career—from readers beginning their leadership journeys to those fortunate to lead teams and organizations through complex and fast-changing environments.

ON SALE JUNE 20

Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration by Alejandra Oliva | ADULT NONFICTION

In Rivermouth, Oliva focuses on the physical spaces that make up different phases of immigration, looking at how language and opportunity move through each of them: from the river as the waterway that separates the U.S. and Mexico, to the table as the place over which Oliva prepares asylum seekers for their Credible Fear Interviews, and finally, to the wall as the behemoth imposition that runs along America's southernmost border.

With lush prose and perceptive insight, Oliva encourages readers to approach the painful questions that this crisis poses with equal parts critique and compassion. By which metrics are we measuring who "deserves" American citizenship? What is the point of humanitarian systems that distribute aid conditionally? What do we owe to our most disenfranchised?

As investigative and analytical as she is meditative and introspective, sharp as she is lyrical, and incisive as she is compassionate, seasoned interpreter Alejandra Oliva argues for a better world while guiding us through the suffering that makes the fight necessary and the joy that makes it worth fighting for.

Fresh Dirt from the Grave by Giovanna Rivero| Translated by Isabel Adey | SHORT STORIES

In Fresh Dirt from the Grave, a hillside is "an emerald saddle teeming with evil and beauty." It is this collision of harshness and tenderness that animates Giovanna Rivero's short stories, where no degree of darkness (buried bodies, lost children, wild paroxysms of violence) can take away from the gentleness she shows all violated creatures. A mad aunt haunts her family, two Bolivian children are left on the outskirts of a Metis reservation outside Winnipeg, a widow teaches origami in a women's prison and murders, housefires, and poisonings abound, but so does the persistent bravery of people trying to forge ahead in the face of the world. They are offered cruelty, often, indifference at best, and yet they keep going. Rivero has reworked the boundaries of the gothic to engage with pre-Columbian ritual, folk tales, sci-fi and eroticism, and found in the wound their humanity and the possibility of hope.

Martina Has Too Many Tías by Emma Otheguy | Illustrated by Sara Palacios | PICTURE BOOK

Martina does not like parties. Parties are full of tías with their flashy fashions and boom-and-bellow laughter that's too much for quiet Martina. At least with all that noise, no one notices when she slips away. She finds herself in a magical place: a warm, familiar island where she can finally play in peace and quiet. Martina is home at last--or is she?

ON SALE JUNE 27

Anarchist Popular Power: Dissident Labor and Armed Struggle in Uruguay, 1956-76 by Troy Andreas Araiza Kokinis | ADULT NONFICTION

Araiza Kokinis's study of the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (FAU) broadens our understanding of the Cold War-era political landscape beyond the capitalism-communism and Old Left-New Left binaries that dominate the historiography of the epoch.

Arguably the most impactful anarchist organization globally in the Cold War era, the FAU viewed everyday people as revolutionary protagonists and sought to develop a popular counter-subjectivity through accumulating experiences directly challenging the market and the state. The FAU argued that everyday people transformed into revolutionary subjects through the regular practice of collective direct action in labor unions, student organizations, and neighborhood councils. Their slogan was "create popular power," and their praxis differed from nationalist strains of Marxism at the time. The strategies and tactics promoted by FAU, ones in which everyday people took on roles as historical protagonists, offered the largest threat to maintaining social order in Uruguay and thus spawned a military takeover of the state to dismantle and deflate their vibrant popular revolt.

Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes by Patty Cisneros Prevo | Illustrated by Dion Mbd | PICTURE BOOK

A downhill skier whose blindness has sharpened her communication skills. An adaptive surfer who shreds waves while sitting down. A young man who excels at wheelchair motocross—but struggles with math. Tenacious tells their stories and more, revealing the daily joys and challenges of life as an athlete with disabilities.

These competitors have won gold medals, set world records, climbed mountain peaks, claimed national championships, and many more extraordinary achievements. Get to know them in Tenacious!

ON SALE JUNE 30

A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories | Edited by Richard Z. Santos | SHORT STORIES

This riveting collection of horror stories—and four poems—contains a wide range of styles, themes and authors. Creepy creatures roam the pages, including La Llorona and the Chupacabras in fresh takes on Latin American lore, as well as ghosts, zombies and shadow selves. Migrants continue to pass through Rancho Altamira where Esteban’s family has lived for generations, but now there are two types: the living and the dead. A young man returns repeatedly to the scary portal down which his buddy disappeared. A woman is relieved to receive multiple calls from her cousin following Hurricane María in Puerto Rico, but she is stunned to later learn her prima died the first night of the storm! There’s plenty of blood and gore in some stories, while others are mysterious and suspenseful. Contributors include Ann Davila Cardinal, V. Castro, Ruben Degollado, Richie Narvaez, Lilliam Rivera and Ivelisse Rodriguez.