Latino literature is literature written by people of

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

ancestry, often but not always in English, most notably by Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Dominican Americans, many of whom were born in the United States. Notable writers include:

Elizabeth Acevedo Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican-American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People’s Poet Laureate. Acevedo is the author of the young adult novels ''The Poet X'', '' With the Fire on High'', ...

Julia Alvarez Julia Alvarez (born March 27, 1950) is an American New Formalist poet, novelist, and essayist. She rose to prominence with the novels ''How the García Girls Lost Their Accents'' (1991), '' In the Time of the Butterflies'' (1994), and ''Yo!'' ...

Gloria Anzaldua Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkin ...

Rudolfo Anaya Rudolfo Anaya (October 30, 1937June 28, 2020) was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel ''Bless Me, Ultima'', Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano literature. The themes and cultural references of ...

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include ''Empire of Dreams'' (1988), ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011). Braschi writes cross-genr ...

Julia de Burgos Julia de Burgos García (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953) was a Puerto Rican poet. As an advocate of Puerto Rican independence, she served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican National ...

Ana Castillo Ana Castillo (born June 15, 1953) is a Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Considered one of the leading voices in Chicana experience, Castillo is known for her experiment ...

Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, ''The House on Mango Street'' (1983), and her subsequent short story collection, ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'' (1991). Her work ex ...

Junot Diaz Junot is a French name that may refer to the following notable people: ;Given name *Junot Díaz (born 1968), Dominican American ;Surname *Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantes (1784–1838), French writer *Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantès (1771 ...

, Cristina García,

Oscar Hijuelos Oscar Jerome Hijuelos (August 24, 1951 – October 12, 2013) was an American novelist. Of Cuban descent, during a year-long convalescence from a childhood illness spent in a Connecticut hospital he lost his knowledge of Spanish, his parents' ...

Judith Ortiz Cofer Judith Ortiz Cofer (February 24, 1952 – December 30, 2016) was a Puerto Rican author. Her critically acclaimed and award-winning work spans a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young-adult ficti ...

Piri Thomas Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas; September 30, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was a Puerto Rican-Cuban writer and poet whose memoir ''Down These Mean Streets'' became a best-seller. Early years Thomas was born to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban ...

Rudy Ruiz Rudy Ruiz is a writer, advocate, and social entrepreneur. Ruiz is known for writing ''The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez'' and ''Valley of Shadows'', magical realism novels which received critical acclaim and literary awards. In 2014, Ruiz auth ...

Denise Chavez Denise may refer to: * Denise (given name), people with the given name ''Denise'' * Denise (computer chip), a video graphics chip from the Amiga computer * "Denise" (song), a 1963 song by Randy & the Rainbows * Denise, Mato Grosso, a municipalit ...

Cherrie Moraga Cherrie is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: *George Kruck Cherrie (1865-1948), American naturalist and explorer *Peter Cherrie (born 1983), Scottish football goalkeeper *Cherrie Ying (born 1983), actress *Cher ...

Kathleen Alcalá Kathleen Alcalá (born 29 August 1954) is the author of a short-story collection, three novels set in the American Southwest and nineteenth-century Mexico, and a collection of essays. She teaches creative writing at workshops and programs in Was ...

Carmen Maria Machado ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

, and Edmundo Paz Soldan, among others.

Rise of Latino literature in American academies

A major development in late-20th-century American literature was the proliferation of writing by and about Latinos. This coincided with the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

and its related ethnic pride movements; these led to the formation of

Ethnic Studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

and Latino Studies programs in major American universities. Latino Studies stemmed from the development of

Chicano Studies Chicana/o studies, also known as Chican@ studies, originates from the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, and is the study of the Chicana/o and Latina/o experience. Chican@ studies draws upon a variety of fields, including history, sociol ...

and Puerto Rican Studies programs in response to demands articulated by

student movements Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

in the late 1960s. Such programs were established, alongside other new areas of literary study as

women's literature The academic discipline of women's writing is a discrete area of literary studies which is based on the notion that the experience of women, historically, has been shaped by their sex, and so women writers by definition are a group worthy of separ ...

gay and lesbian literature Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior. Overview and history Because the social acceptance of homosexual ...

postcolonial literature Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries. It exists on all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especia ...

, Third World Feminism, and the rise of

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mo ...

. Many works dramatize social justice issues that disproportionally impact Latino communities, such as discrimination, racism, harassment, incarceration, border and immigration issues. There is a plethora of scholarship about Latino people in a range of fields, including literature, theater, popular culture, religion,

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

linguistics, politics, and urban planning. Latino literature expands American identity and tackles some of the country's controversies re: immigration, the US-Mexico border,

, Latino LGBTQ sexuality, and the double-consciousness of the Latino minority.

Prominent Writers

Latina

In the 1990s,

and

helped blaze the trail for Latina authors with novels such as ''

In the Time of the Butterflies ''In the Time of the Butterflies'' is a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez, relating a fictionalized account of the Mirabal sisters during the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The book is written in the firs ...

'', ''

The House on Mango Street ''The House on Mango Street'' is a 1984 novel by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. Structured as a series of vignettes, it tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. Based ...

'', and ''

How the García Girls Lost Their Accents ''How the García Girls Lost Their Accents'' is a 1991 novel written by Dominican-American poet, novelist, and essayist Julia Alvarez. Told in reverse chronological order and narrated from shifting perspectives, the story spans more than thirty ...

'', winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas. Precursors of

Latino philosophy Latin American culture is the formal or informal expression of the people of Latin America and includes both high culture (literature and high art) and popular culture (music, folk art, and dance), as well as religion and other customary practices. ...

and Third World Feminisms are

and

, best known for their collaboration of groundbreaking feminist anthology

This Bridge Called My Back ''This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color'' is a feminist anthology edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa, first published in 1981 by Persephone Press. The second edition was published in 1983 by Kitchen Table: ...

Chicano

Groundbreaking Chicana books that are still widely studied include: '' The Last of the Menu Girls'' (

), '' Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza'' (

Gloria Anzaldúa Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

), and

So Far from God ''So Far from God'' is a novel written by Ana Castillo, first published in 1993 by W. W. Norton & Company. It is set in a town in New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Sant ...

(

). Other Chicanx writers of note are

Jimmy Santiago Baca Jimmy Santiago Baca (born January 2, 1952) is an American poet, memoirist, and screenwriter from New Mexico. Early life and education Baca was born in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, in 1952. Abandoned by his parents at the age of two, he lived ...

Lorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes (born August 6, 1954) is an American poet and activist, who is considered one of the greatest figures in Chicano poetry. She has been described by Alurista, as "probably the best Chicana poet active today." Early life Cer ...

, and Leroy V. Quintana.

Puerto Rican

Celebrated Puerto Rican novels include

's ''

Down These Mean Streets ''Down These Mean Streets'' is a memoir by Piri Thomas, a Latino of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent who grew up in Spanish Harlem,Berger a section of Harlem with a large Puerto Rican population. The book follows Piri through the first few decades ...

'' and

's ''

Yo-Yo Boing! ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) is a postmodern novel in English, Spanish, and Spanglish by Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. The cross-genre work is a structural hybrid of poetry, political philosophy, musical, manifesto, treatise, memoir, and dra ...

'' and her geopolitical comic tragedy in English about the liberation of Puerto Rico, ''

United States of Banana ''United States of Banana'' (2011) is a postmodern allegorical novel by the Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. It is a cross-genre work that blends experimental theatre, prose poetry, short story, and political philosophy with a manifesto on ...

.'' Other novels of note are

Rosario Ferré Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano (September 28, 1938 – February 18, 2016) was a Puerto Rican writer, poet, and essayist.

's ''Eccentric Neighborhoods,'' Luis Rafael Sanchez's ''Macho Camacho's Beat,'' and

Richie Narvaez Richie Narvaez (born 1965) is an American author and professor. In 2020, he won an Agatha Award and an Anthony Awards, Anthony Award for his novel ''Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco.'' His work focuses on the Puerto Rican and Nuyorican exper ...

's ''Hipster Death Rattle.'' Puerto Rico and its diaspora have also produced important playwrights such as

René Marqués René Marqués (October 4, 1919 – March 22, 1979) was a Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright. Early years Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo. He developed an interest in writing at a young age and was p ...

Luis Rafael Sánchez Dr. Luis Rafael Sánchez, a.k.a. "Wico" Sánchez (November 17, 1936) is a Puerto Rican essayist, novelist, and short-story author who is widely considered one of the island's most outstanding contemporary playwrights. Possibly his best known play ...

, José Rivera, and

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

, and poets such as

Miguel Algarin --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

, and

Pedro Pietri Pedro Pietri (March 21, 1944 – March 3, 2004) was a Nuyorican poet and playwright and one of the co-founders of the Nuyorican Movement. He was considered by some as the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement. Early years Pietri was born in ...

, as well as various members of the

Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorkers) Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in Alphabet City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip ...

Dominican-American

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

author

Junot Díaz Junot Díaz (; born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican-American writer, creative writing professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was fiction editor at ''Boston Review''. He also serves on the board of advisers for Freedo ...

, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his 2007 novel ''

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao ''The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'' is a 2007 novel written by Dominican American author Junot Díaz. Although a work of fiction, the novel is set in New Jersey in the United States, where Díaz was raised, and it deals with the Dominican R ...

'', which tells the story of an overweight Dominican boy growing up as a

social outcast An outcast is someone who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society or in some way excluded, looked down upon, or ignored. In common English speech, an outcast may be anyone who does not fit in with normal society, which can contribute to ...

in New Jersey. Another Dominican author,

, is well known for ''

'' and ''

''.

Cuban

Prominent Cuban-American works include Roberto G. Fernandez’ ''Raining Backwards'' (1988), Cristina Garcia’s ''

Dreaming in Cuban ''Dreaming in Cuban'' is the first novel written by author Cristina García, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. This novel moves between Cuba and the United States featuring three generations of a single family. The novel focuses p ...

'' (1992), and Oscar Hijuelos’ '' The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' (1989); and their colleagues in poetry Ana Menéndez,

Richard Blanco Richard Blanco (born February 15, 1968) is an American poet, public speaker, author and civil engineer. He is the fifth poet to read at a United States presidential inauguration, having read the poem " One Today" for Barack Obama's second in ...

, and

Rafael Campo Rafael Juan Campo y Pomar (24 October 1813 – 1 March 1890) was President of El Salvador 12 February 1856 – 1 February 1858.

. Latino philosophers from Cuba who write about the intersection of literature and philosophy include

Jorge J. E. Gracia Jorge J. E. Gracia (July 18, 1942July 13, 2021) was a Cuban-born American philosopher who was the Samuel P. Capen Chair, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Department of Comparative Literature in the State University ...

Ofelia Schutte Ofelia Schutte (born 1945) is Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of South Florida, where she had served as Professor of Philosophy since 2004, and as Professor of Women's Studies (and chair of the department) from 1999 until 2004. S ...

, Rolando Perez, and Gustavo Perez Firmat.

21st century trends

Coming-of-age stories

Among the newer voices are those in the genre of Latino coming of age novels. There are many stories and poems about young female protagonists struggling in school or within their bicultural families; the noteworthy books in this category include

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

by Erika L. Sánchez (2017) and

The Poet X ''The Poet X'', published March 6, 2018 by HarperTeen, is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The book, a ''New ...

(2018) For young readers in middle school, ''The Other Half of Happy'' by Rebecca Balcárcel tells a coming of age story, one of a young girl's longing to return to her father's homeland of Guatemala.

Daniel Alarcón Daniel Alarcón (born March 5, 1977 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer. He is co-founder, host and executive producer of '' Radio Ambulante'', an award-winning Spanish language podcast distributed by NP ...

’s ''At Night We Walk in Circles'' offer up political satire, such as the plot of an aspiring young actor living in a war-torn, unnamed South American, who lands a role in a farcical play “The Idiot President” and takes the role too seriously. In stark contrast are the autobiographically inspired adult fiction titles such as

Lina Meruane Lina Meruane Boza (born 1970) is a Chilean writer and professor. Her work, written in Spanish, has been translated into English, Italian, Portuguese, German, and French. In 2011 she won the Anna Seghers-Preis for the quality of her work, and in 2 ...

's Seeing Red, about the fear of going blind and having to depend on a lover. This is How You Loose Her by Junot Diaz (2012) a young student is inappropriately involved in a sexual relationship with an older women. ''Bless Me, Ultima'' by

is a popular Chicano coming of age novel that is widely taught in American middle schools and high schools. Anaya's novel is set in the 1940s in rural New Mexico and references ''

curandera A ''curandero'' (, healer; f. , also spelled , , f. ) is a traditional native healer or shaman found primarily in Latin America and also in the United States. A curandero is a specialist in traditional medicine whose practice can either contra ...

'' (spiritual healing) traditions, such as the gathering of medicinal herbs. The boy faces cultural, religious, and moral contradictions in his community of farmers, priests, cowboys, and soldiers.

Emergence of Authors from Central America

As the 21st century saw an increase of Central Americans in the U.S. population, so too was there a notable rise in the number of literary contributions of authors from that area. ''Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature'', the first Latino literature anthology to offer scholarly and pedagogical resources, was co-edited by John S. Christie and the Salvadoran-American,

Jose B. Gonzalez Jose B. Gonzalez is a Latino poet and educator. Gonzalez authored the poetry collections, ''Toys Made of Rock'' (Bilingual Review Press, 2015), and ''When Love Was Reels'' (Arte Public Press, 2017), and with John S. Christie, served as Co-Edito ...

. Salvadoran-American poets such as William Archila, Claudia Castro Luna,

, Leticia Hernandez Linares, and Javier Zamora published poetry collections that reflected on the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...

and their own migrations. Leticia Hernandez also co-edited, along with Ruben Martinez and

Hector Tobar In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, ''The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States'', the first major collection of Central American writing in the U.S. Other notable authors who have family roots in Central America include: Nicaraguan-American Francisco Aragon; Guatemalan-American,

Francisco Goldman Francisco Goldman (born 1954) is an American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing, Trinity College. His most recent novel, ''Monkey Boy'' (2021), was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fi ...

; Panamanian-American Author, Christina Henriquez; Costa Rican-American poet,

Ruben Quesada Ruben Quesada, Ph.D., is an American poet and critic. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In 2022, Dr. Quesada published an edited collection of essays, ''Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry'' was be published by University ...

; and the Honduran-American poet, Roy G. Guzman.

Latino speculative fiction and fantasy

Growing genres are Latino

Speculative Fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

Sci-Fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

, and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

fiction; with their swift development comes a growth in Latino comic books and graphic novels, as documented in ''Latinx Rising'', the first anthology of science fiction and fantasy by Latinos living in the United States. Edited by Matthew David Goodwin and with an introduction by

Frederick Luis Aldama Frederick Luis Aldama is an American academic, known for this work as the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, founder and director of the Latinx Pop Lab, and Affiliate Faculty in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas, Austi ...

, the anthology features a range of speculative and fantasy fiction (''i.e.,'' ghosts, aliens, superheroes, robots, talking sardines) written by

, Edmundo Paz Soldan, and emerging Latino short story authors such as Ernest Hogan and Sabrina Vourvoulias. Latino

speculative Speculative may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Speculative art (disambiguation) *Speculative fiction, which includes elements created out of human imagination, such as the science fiction and fantasy genres **Speculative Fiction Group, a Per ...

, and

weird fiction Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Weird fiction either eschews or radically reinterprets ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other traditional antagonists of supernatural horr ...

bring humor to fantastical, futuristic, comedic, and stark political subjects, offering readers strange new concepts such as: Los cosmos azteca, shape shifting robots, pre-Colombian holobooks, talking sardines, and patron saints that are cybernetically wired. Cultural theorist Christopher Gonzalez argues that Latino fantasy writing provides necessary excursions into the realm of impossible in order for writers and readers to cope with 21st-century realities. Latino authors write about interconnected social justice, familial, and psychological issues (''i.e.,'' colonialism, migration, racism, mass incarceration, and misogyny).

, author of ''Her Body and Other Parties'', blends gothic romance, fantasy, and horror when dealing with misogyny.

conjures, in ''

,'' a bizarre cast of characters including things, creatures, and people (''i.e.,'' Cockroach, Exterminator, Reptiles, Lady Liberty,

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Zarathustra Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label=Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is s ...

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

, and

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

). In dealing with issues of Puerto Rican sovereignty and debt, Braschi's work projects about what might happen if the United States sold Puerto Rico to China as debt relief. Pulitzer Prize winner

, author of ''Drown'' and the short fantasy story "''Monstro''", has noted that colonialism's roots in

Caribbean culture The term Caribbean culture summarizes the artistic, musical, literary, culinary, political and social elements that are representative of Caribbean people all over the world. As a collection of settler nations, the contemporary Caribbean has b ...

involve fantasy, sci-fi, zombies, monsters, and aliens. Similarly, the short story "Room for Rent," by Puerto Rican author

, in which the arrival of extraterrestrials is likened to the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean, "evokes a dialogue between past and present colonial scenarios." Mexican-American author

has written dystopian sci-fi and

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

works addressing social issues related to immigration, borders, social justice and

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

References

{{Authority control Hispanic and Latino American literature

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

Hispanic and Latino American culture Caribbean-American culture

Rise of Latino literature in American academies

Prominent Writers

Latina

Chicano

Puerto Rican

Dominican-American

Cuban

21st century trends

Coming-of-age stories

Emergence of Authors from Central America

Latino speculative fiction and fantasy

See also

References