Um, any fictional recs with Latino and/or Hispanic characters?

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Latina Bunny

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I feel a bit silly to ask, but I am interested in any recs of fictional content (any format: novel, picture books, comics, can be MG or Adult, or even any mediums, like video games, whatever) that have any Latino or Hispanic main characters.

Can be historical, educational, contemporary, or SFF.*


I know I am not very well read in a lot of literature or a ton of pop culture, so I would love some more recs.

The limited book examples I can remember reading off the top of my head are: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe; Esperanza Rising; and the American Girl Josefina book series. I also remember a cute folktale-like picture book called Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book as well. (I vaguely remember also reading a sort of picture book about how Three Kings Day was celebrated in Puerto Rico and other Latin American places as a very young girl, but I can't remember the title at all.)

- The Latino or Hispanic characters can be light skinned (like me and some of sisters and cousins), or just happen to be of Hispanic descent, and don't always have to be Mexican.

- The main characters also don't have to be fluent in Spanish---though I would most likely assume they had some kind of exposure to the language (or parts of the culture or some pop culture) growing up and understanding tiny bits of it, like I did.

Anyway, um, I would be grateful for any recommendations of any mediums, whether it's novels, folklore, short stories, children's books, comics/graphic novels, video games, etc. ^_^

*ETA: I usually like upbeat, hopeful, or heartwarming stuff. Not a horror fan or into overly violent or gory stuff. I am willing to try some serious-ish stuff, but not too trigger-like stories with any sexual assault.
 
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kevinwaynewilliams

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I'm talking a bit about myself today: please forgive me. Everything I Know About Zombies, I Learned in Kindergarten has six-year-old Rosarita (Puerto Rican) along with five-year-olds Jorge and Diego (both Puerto Rican) and Lucia and Maria (both Dominican, also five) and Catalina, an adult Puerto Rican, as supporting characters. Very minor characters in that novel include Enrique Calderon (an EMT), Pedro Rodriquez (truckdriver), Magdalena (streetwalker), and Angelica (receptionist). Its sequel, Rosarita's Redemption, will come out next year some time (maybe 2018), and Rosarita is pretty much the main of that one.

All of those characters show up again in the impending (mid-2017) Bronx Apocalypse, in which Enrique and Pedro have featured roles.
 

maxmordon

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Latina Bunny

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I'm talking a bit about myself today: please forgive me. Everything I Know About Zombies, I Learned in Kindergarten has six-year-old Rosarita (Puerto Rican) along with five-year-olds Jorge and Diego (both Puerto Rican) and Lucia and Maria (both Dominican, also five) and Catalina, an adult Puerto Rican, as supporting characters. Very minor characters in that novel include Enrique Calderon (an EMT), Pedro Rodriquez (truckdriver), Magdalena (streetwalker), and Angelica (receptionist). Its sequel, Rosarita's Redemption, will come out next year some time (maybe 2018), and Rosarita is pretty much the main of that one.

All of those characters show up again in the impending (mid-2017) Bronx Apocalypse, in which Enrique and Pedro have featured roles.

Nah, it's fine to show off your own stuff. It's a writer's forum after all, lol. :D

Even though this is not my genre (zombie stories), I do like that your story has lots of Latino/Hispanic characters. :) The premise of the story is pretty different and interesting, too. Poor kids! :-0

Oh, that's a funny coincidence: One WIP I had written a few years back had the main character named Rosa, and other characters having variations of that name (like Rosita, Rosie, etc). XD
 
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Latina Bunny

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Books:

* The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Dominican-American family in New Jersey)
* The House in Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Mexican-American girl in Chicago)
* Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda (the funny adventures of a Mexican-american online reporter)
* Memory Mambo by Achy Obejas (Cuban-American lesbians in Chicago)
* Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older (Latina girl from Brooklyn who can talk with the dead)
Oooh, very interesting recs! Muchas gracias! :D
 

Latina Bunny

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I managed to find

I'm just interested in Latino or Hispanic characters in general, in any medium.

I managed to find some lists of Hispanic or Latino characters in anime, which is pretty cool:

https://www.google.com/amp/blog.honeyfeed.fm/top-10-latino-characters-in-anime/amp/

http://cosplayingwhilelatino.tumblr...-latino-anime-characters-yasutora-sado-bleach

I know there are some Latino or Hispanic superhero characters out there, too, like Blue Beetle (the 3rd one, I believe?), one version of Spider-Man, and a few other ones that I can't remember at the moment...

There are some stereotypes (or just overused tropes) in video games and tv/movies, like drug dealers, illegal (usually Mexican) immigrants, prostitutes, "sexy"/"spicy" Latinas, etc, but I feel like that hopefully, more and more entertainment keep breaking away from some of these stereotypes or tired tropes.

I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for more characters and stories out there.

I'll have to check my library one of these days.

BTW, There doesn't have to be a theme of immigration or illegal immigration or whatever: I would love it if Hispanic or Latino characters could just exist (and not as stereotypes) and just are, just like everybody else, (just like me existing).

Kind of like when there are times when LGBTQA characters could just be, and just exist without having to have a coming out (or angsty closeted) plot line every single time. :)
 

lizmonster

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* Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older (Latina girl from Brooklyn who can talk with the dead)

I also want to plug HALF-RESURRECTION BLUES and the whole Bone Street Rumba series (he just released a book of shorts as well). SHADOWSHAPER gets (deserved) praise, but the others are adult urban fantasy rather than YA. (Also, Older is a poet and should be read by everyone. :))
 

maxmordon

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I also want to plug HALF-RESURRECTION BLUES and the whole Bone Street Rumba series (he just released a book of shorts as well). SHADOWSHAPER gets (deserved) praise, but the others are adult urban fantasy rather than YA. (Also, Older is a poet and should be read by everyone. :))

I actually interviewed him a few months ago. All around swell guy. Every now and then I write to him on Twitter.
 

GooseAmbassador

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Have you tried The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell? It is a sci-fi novel where one of the principal characters is Puerto Rican, and large chunks of the book are set in South America (I don't have my copy to hand at the moment to check the exact country. My apologies!). Tastes vary, but I enjoyed it a lot; it is quite a moving drama, about (among other things) the clash of cultures, and the way that you can never know in advance what the outcome of your actions will be. It won a lot of awards, and reviews were generally very good, so - worth a try! :Thumbs:
 

Latina Bunny

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Thanks for the recommendations, everybody. :) Though I do also read stories with male protagonists (like mystery genre), I usually tend to prefer female protagonists in general (because I relate to female POVs better), so I may check Daniel José Older's "Shadowshaper" and Max's other recommendations first before tackling the others.

I still loving hearing the various recommendations, even if they're not for me, because this can help expose other people to those great recs. :) That's the great thing about these kinds of threads. :D
 
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LJD

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I can't remember if you read romance, but Hold Me by Courtney Milan is really good.
 

Latina Bunny

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I can't remember if you read romance, but Hold Me by Courtney Milan is really good.

Thanks! I read the excerpt, and I really liked it. Hopefully the dude transitions smoothly to being a nicer guy over time, because he's a total jerk, and I have little patience for jerks (especially male jerks). XD I like that they're smart characters, though, and that there is some diversity involved (ethnicity wise and sexuality-wise). :)

Off-topic: I used to read Romances of all sub-genres, mostly M/M and some M/F, but I'm getting tired of them because I'm not into some of the adult het Romance tropes, and I don't like explicit sex involving males that much. I prefer sweeter stuff in general.

(Thanks to AW, I have discovered Regency Romances, and I am now enjoying some by Georgette Heyer. LOVE these books so, so much!! :) They're sweet/low heat Romances, so they don't have explicit sex. I prefer explicit sex stuff for erotic lesbian fiction only.)
 
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LJD

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Thanks! I read the excerpt, and I really liked it. Hopefully the dude transitions smoothly to being a nicer guy over time, because he's a total jerk, and I have little patience for jerks (especially male jerks). XD I like that they're smart characters, though, and that there is some diversity involved (ethnicity wise and sexuality-wise). :)

Yeah, he is definitely a jerk with her at the beginning. Don't worry, this changes. There is a little on-page sex, but not a lot.
 

Latina Bunny

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Yeah, he is definitely a jerk with her at the beginning. Don't worry, this changes. There is a little on-page sex, but not a lot.
Cool! :) I read more except on Amazon, and I'm really liking this so far. Definitely buying this.

I was googling and I got some results.

Ah, I love Goodreads.
Goodreads is always great for lists (even if some entries are not always accurate, lol):

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/hispanic

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/latina

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/latino
 

ap123

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Julia Alvarez is fantastic, I'd start with either How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents or In the Time of Butterflies. :)
 

Latina Bunny

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Sorry for not responding earlier; I've been busy and preoccupied lately. Thanks for the suggestions/recs, everyone! :) It's good to hear that these characters are out there. ^_^
 

bombergirl69

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Ha! I had Julia Alvarez as a professor and yes, she is fantastic!

Great titles already mentioned, but wanted to add one. I adored Queen of the South, by Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte--totally riveting. Yes, is about the drug trade--not an interest of mine, but this book is a terrific read. Smart, resourceful girl from Sinaloa escapes drug violence to Spain, where she finds more , but manages to not only survive but become the Queen of the South (drug queenpin) It's a loose retelling of th Count of Monte Cristo and it's very, very well done.
 

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I have to second Julia Alvarez. And I've also liked Pam Munoz Ryan. She writes YA and children's lit.
 
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