Write On

With its color and dynamism, Hispanic Heritage Month is sweeping into Philadelphia starting September 15th. Sure, it might look a little different—celebrators will be sporting masks and perhaps favoring outdoor events—but the history and culture of Latino communities will still take the spotlight.

There’s so much to celebrate and commemorate, and in Philly, there are so many ways to play ball— for instance, as a spectator at the Philadelphia International Unity Cup, a showcase of the city’s international fútbol clubs. Art enthusiasts might take in the haunting and compelling works of Puerto Rican artist Johnny Irizarry at Taller Puertorriqueño. Socially distanced crowds might cluster for Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

But there are those who aren’t feeling up to the gatherings this year. Maybe crowds just seem too daunting. Maybe the statistics detailing how Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted Hispanic communities are too sobering.

Or maybe you’re like me, and you’re out of town on a writing residency for most of the month! If reading is more of your speed, welcome to my world. These are some books on my list:

I love historical fiction just as much as I loved the excitement and culture of a somewhat recent, pre-pandemic vacation to Mexico City. So I can’t wait to read Mexican Gothic by Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Hers is the story of a 1950s debutante living in Mexico City who receives a disturbing letter from her cousin, kicking off a series of dark, strange events.

Since I’m writing this column from my writing residency in Portland, Oregon, I’m also thinking about Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, a novel that the consummate author Roxane Gay called “f**king outstanding.” It’s the story of a young woman who’s just come out to her religious Puerto Rican family, and who’s leaving the Bronx and trying to make sense of the “hippie white” community that is PDX.

As I’m writing my own work about tangled family histories, I’m curious about [Elegies] by Roberto Carlos Garcia. It’s a book of poetry that the Latino Book Review describes as “family history as mythology and elegy as ode.” I’m especially interested in how Garcia broadens his “family” to include other poets: blending lines by writers like Willie Perdomo and Ross Gay.

And, being out West, taking hikes in the sprawling forests and trails surrounding Portland, I’m thinking about land. In Spirit Run, by Noé Álvarez, a nonfiction memoir about a 6,000 mile run he undertook as part of the Peace and Dignity Journey in which runners make footprints across the country on a journey to reflect and celebrate the lands of indigenous peoples. As a Mexican American, Álvarez has a unique relationship with indigenous history. As do I, as someone of African descent, writing from the tribal lands of the Multnomah, Clackamas, Chinook, and many, many others.

Of course, unlike Álvarez, I’m not running the 3,000 miles back to Philadelphia! I’ll catch a plane, and have plenty of reading for that long flight home.