#latinx heritage month
It seems so surreal at the moment but we finally did it!!! We reached $13,000!!! Seriously. Thank you all for your help!! Y'all been incredible, hyping it up & giving us Latinxs a chance to have this book made!
A special shout out to supporters and those helping spread the word. Without you and our wonderful contributors, this project would be nothing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Here’s a preview of art by some of our talented Latinas featured in our anthology!!
Brianna Valdez
In addition to many more wonderful Latina contributors! You should definitely check out & follow our amazing contributors >>here<<
>>> PLEDGE HERE TO GET OUR BOOK FUNDED<<<
LAST DAY TO PLEDGE IS SEPTEMBER 26th! EVERY CONTRIBUTION COUNTS SO PLEASE PASS IT ON! THANKS! <3
Happy Latinx Heritage Month!
Let’s celebrate the fact that after years and years, Animal Crossing has finally included us!!! We can finally look like ourselves, especially us Afro-latinx ❤
¡Qué bonita bandera! AKA what heritage(s) do you claim?
I identify as Latinx these days, but it’s actually a complicated answer. I grew up identifying as either Mexican, Chicano, or Latino. I’m a transracial adoptee, so all I knew about my biological parents was that my dad immigrated from Mexico and then left soon after I was born. I did one of those DNA tests in my late 20s and discovered that I was mostly Salvadoreño and Guatemalan, but I felt strange identifying with that heritage since it had not been part of my upbringing. Latinx feels right to me, both as a political statement and to describe who I am. I am brown and proud!
When was the first time you saw yourself represented?
The not-so-great answer: Speedy Gonzales. My twin brother and I loved him. The actually-great answer: The House on Mango Streetby Sandra Cisneros, which I read for my freshman year English class. I was 14 years old, and it changed my life forever.
How do you connect to your heritage through your books (if at all)?
I wrote a transracial Latinx adoptee into Anger is a Gift to explore the complicated issues of heritage, race, and identity. She’s not the protagonist, but plays a huge part in the life of my main character. My second novel (currently untitled) is a Latinx-inspired/influenced magical realism/horror story that takes place in a desert society and deals with migration. It is a much more intense exploration of my heritage, especially since I literally would not exist if my father had not immigrated from Mexico to California.
What do you hope for the future of Latinx books?
I want so many different types of stories! I want those of us in the Latinx community to explore all the issues we face; I want us to be able to celebrate our culture and share it with others, but with us at the helm. Ultimately, I want Latinx people telling Latinx stories.
What is the book that inspired you to write for kids/teens?
There are quite a few, but The House on Mango Streetis always going to be my first answer. That book showed me that stories could be about people like me, could be set in places that looked like where I lived and could be about things that affected my life. I am also massively inspired by Octavia Butler,Ursula K. LeGuin, and the Animorphs series (DON’T JUDGE, THOSE BOOKS ARE GREAT AND MESSED UP).
What are you writing now?
My YA debut, Anger Is a Gift, comes out May 22, 2018; I’m currently hard at work at a magical-realism-meets-horror standalone set in a desert. You can read an excerpt here:click!
MARK OSHIRO is the Hugo-nominated writer of the online Mark Does Stuff universe (Mark Reads and Mark Watches), where he analyzes book and TV series. He was the nonfiction editor of Queers Destroy Science Fiction! and the co-editor of Speculative Fiction 2015, and is the President of the Con or Bust Board of Directors. When not writing/recording reviews or editing, Oshiro engages in social activism online and offline. Anger is a Gift is his debut YA contemporary fiction novel.
#SashaMerci doesn’t want much, just to reign supreme in the world of entertainment. Luminaries like #QuincyJonesand#ShondaRhimes being her inspiration. Citing comedy as “the love of my life,” she grew up Dominican in the Bronx where she witnessed being blunt, funny, and having the gift of roasting folks as just a way of life. But the #AfroLatinx sketch writer, director, and actor is also candid about the less-humorous side of life. Encouraging real dialogues about depression and mental health.
@SashaMerci is: La Triple Threat #YoungBlackAndFreeform
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Identity is self, expressed both inward and to the world. How do you identify?
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The Soy Yo Latinx roundtable reflects on their personal experiences with honoring heritage
I could watch Sarunas J Jackson beaming about his Panamanian and Black roots all day
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The Afro-Latino @goodtrouble actor talks about growing up “different” from the other kids in the neighborhood and the sense of pride it created
Growing up queer in a culture of machismo is not easy. So Latinx writer Curly Velasquez surrounded himself with his purpose and the love of an abuelita who just let Curly be Curly, Barbies and all.
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Continue celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Freeform’s Soy Yo campaign
“We love like it is the only gold we will ever own.” Felt that one in my chest.
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PoetYesika Salgado pens an original piece for Freeform’s Soy Yo campaign to honor Hispanic Heritage Month
Oh, to be a casual observer in the household that inspired the laughter, love, and endless stories in Yesika Salgado’s poetry
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@YesikaStarr celebrates her Salvadoran heritage every day
“Questions to Stop Asking Latinx People” with Francia Raisa
Racism and microaggressions? Not cute. Francia Raisa handling it? V cute.
Miss Amara La Negra literally went and made her damn name the proud embodiment of her Black skin, in a society that often overlooks the vibrant Afro-Latinx history that has originated culture from the jump. That’s how you do it.
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Watchthis space as we continue to celebrate Latinx Heritage
