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Sedona Library celebrates Hispanic
Heritage Month
by Marcela Saldivia-Berglund,
PhD, Latino Services Librarian
SEDONA, AZ (October
8, 2009) - It is a known fact–and most Americans
take pride in it—that the United States is a country
founded on strong democratic principles defended in
the Constitution that protect the civil rights and
individual freedom of all.
Immigrants from around
the world have come–and continue coming—to this
country seeking to better their lives because they
believe in these principles. The different ethnic
groups that comprise this great nation are being
acknowledged for their particular contributions to
the economical and cultural growth of this country.
Through the years, numerous cultural festivals and
heritage celebrations have been created to honor
these groups, and one such celebration is National
Hispanic Heritage Month.
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Hispanic Heritage Month is a period designated to
recognize the contributions of Hispanic-Americans to
the United States, and to celebrate Hispanic
heritage and culture. This celebration began in 1968
as “Hispanic Heritage Week” approved by President
Lyndon Johnson. It was enacted into law on August
17, 1981, on the approval of Public Law 100-402. In
1988 it was expanded by President Ronald Reagan to
cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and
ending on October 15. The starting point was chosen
to be September 15 because it marks the Independence
Day of five Central American Republics: Guatemala,
El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In
addition, Mexico celebrates its Independence Day on
September 16, and Chile on September 18. This 30-day
celebration also includes October 12, known as “Día
de la Hispanidad,” which commemorates the arrival of
Columbus in the Bahamas in 1492. “Embracing the
Fierce Urgency of Now” is this year’s motto for the
National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Sedona Public Library has a
great collection of books written by outstanding
Spanish, Latin American, and Latino/Latina authors.
Our esteemed readers may wonder what the difference
is between these three terms. Spanish refers to
Spain—the Old Country—which through conquest and
colonization left a cultural imprint on the
Amerindian peoples they encountered. Unlike the
Anglo-Saxon colonization of America, the Spaniards
practiced extended miscegenation giving birth to a
new kind of people, half-Spanish half-Amerindian (or
“mestizos”) as well as the next generation of
Spaniards born in the Americas (or “criollos”).They
became the inhabitants of the new Latin American
Republics who directly inherited the Spanish
traditions, but, most importantly, the Spanish
language. In the 1960s, under President John F.
Kennedy, the “Alliance for Progress”—an economic
assistance program to Latin America to counteract
what was perceived as an emerging communist threat
from Cuba to the United States—was created. Ever
since, the term “Latin America” gained international
acceptance to designate the 21 independent
Spanish-speaking republics that once were colonies
of Spain. The notion of “Latinos” is derived from
it, as well as its gendered variables of
“Latino/Latina.”
Contrary to general belief,
Latino authors born in the United States write in
English because they've been raised and educated
here and not in a Spanish-speaking country. Some
popular titles originally written in English are
“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros which
captures the life of a Mexican-American girl growing
up in Chicago; “Dreaming in Cuban” by Cristina
Garcia describes the experience of a Cuban family
transplanted in New York; “The
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot
Diaz narrates the lives of three generations of
Dominicans in New Jersey; “Borderlands/La Frontera:
The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldúa describes the
open cultural wounds of a Mexican woman struggling
for survival on the Mexico-U.S. border.
Our collection both in English
and Spanish includes biographies of remarkable
Latinos such as farm-worker activist Cesar Chavez;
political revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara;
surrealist artist Frida Kahlo; poet and activist
Pablo Neruda; baseball legend Sammy Sosa, and many
more.
In addition, the collection of
DVDs offers great films in English language such as
“The House of the Spirits” based on the bestseller
novel by Isabel Allende with a remarkable cast
including Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons,
Winona Ryder, and Antonio Banderas. There are new
DVD acquisitions in Spanish language with English
subtitles that are film prize winners, such as the
Cuban release “Strawberry and Chocolate”; the
Mexican magical love story “Like Water for
Chocolate”; and the deep Spanish drama “The Sea
Inside.” Moreover, there are excellent music CDs on
a variety of Latin rhythms, Billboard popular hits,
and Latino Emmy-awarded artists.
You can also select excellent
titles in English translation by many Latin American
and Spanish writers
in the main fiction stacks.
Some recommended titles include: “The Island of
Eternal Love” by Daina Chaviano (Cuba); “The Angel's
Game” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Spain); “Of Love and
Other Demons” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia);
“2666” by Roberto Bolaño (Chile); “Zorro” by Isabel
Allende (Chile); “The Old Gringo” by Carlos Fuentes
(Mexico); and “Aleph” by Jorge Luis Borges
(Argentina). For those who enjoy
the pleasure of reading in Spanish, we recommend “De
cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento” by
Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic); “La multitud
errante” by Laura Restrepo (Colombia); “La noche de
Tlatelolco” by Elena Poniatowska (Mexico); “La
fiesta del chivo” by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru); “El
reino de este mundo” by Alejo Carpentier (Cuba); and
“Vivir para contarla” by Gabriel García Márquez
(Colombia). Come to the Library and enjoy
reading, listening to music, and watching DVDs
during Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond!
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