King’s Page
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15th to October 15th, and the library is running a reading competition to celebrate. Anyone who reads a book in Spanish or by a Latino author before October 15th is eligible to enroll in a raffle with five winners, the prize for which will be a ten dollar gift card to either Blenders or Lighthouse Coffee. Hispanic Heritage Month was established in 1968 via congressional legislation, and has since been celebrated yearly to honor the contributions of Latino and Hispanic people to American culture and society. Any book written by a Hispanic author is eligible- that includes any Spanish speaking country, including all of Latin America and Spain.
Senior Johanna Gomez, co-president of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlán), said, “I think it’s important, especially during these times when we continue to focus on empowering each other, specifically taking this month, to dedicate it to the beautiful and diverse culture that is the Hispanic community, which is such a large percentage of our community here … It’s so exciting to see all of these celebrations here.”
One raffle will be entered per book read, and there is no limit to the number of books you can read. Books recommended by the library include Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, about two estranged half-siblings united when their father dies in an accident; Dominicana by Angie Cruz, which follows a young Dominican woman moving to 1960s New York City; and Afterlife by Julia Alvarez, about a writer whose life is upended when her sister dies and she’s forced to take care of an undocumented pregnant teenager. Other potential classic reads by Hispanic authors could include One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, which catalogues seven generations of the Buendia family in the fictional town of Macondo; or the legendary short story collection Ficciones, by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Or, if you want some real retro stuff, you could read Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, widely considered the first true novel of all time. In any case, the competition is a great opportunity to read some new books from a culture that has too often been sidelined during literary discussions.