Cinco de Mayo is upon us once again. This holiday commemorating the Mexican army’s victory over France during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862 is certainly celebrated in Mexico but is also quite an occasion here in the United States. We tend to use this day as an excuse to throw a party and enjoy Mexican food and drinks, but we should remember that it’s also an important part of Mexican-American culture. On this note, we’ve compiled a short list of some of the hottest works by Mexican-American authors out there, along with a few newcomers that we think deserve more attention.
Nobody’s Pilgrims by Sergio Troncoso Cinco Puntos Press
No Country for Old Men meets The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in this story of three teenagers on the run, carrying a great menace, and chased by a greater evil.
Three teenagers are traveling northeast in a navy blue Ford pickup. Turi has fled his abusive family to see the beautiful New England landscape he’s always dreamed about. Arnulfo is undocumented and wants only to find someplace to work and live. Molly seeks a new life far away from her nowhere Missouri town. Turi and Arnulfo are best friends. Molly and Turi are falling in love.
But for all their innocence, violence follows the trio at every turn. The viejito who owns the truck wants it back. The narco who hid a deadly shipment in the truck really, really wants it back. And the imperturbable hitman the narco sends after the trio will kill anyone who stands in his way. With pensive, likable characters traveling and coming of age together, and a thriller twist that drives the narrative with intensity, Nobody’s Pilgrims is a can’t-put-down book with heart.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Urrea Little, Brown and Company
The House of Broken Angels is a sprawling family saga centered around the De La Cruz clan and its patriarch, Big Angel. The novel focuses in on the final birthday party Big Angel is throwing for himself, at home in San Diego, as he nears the end of his struggle with cancer and reflects on his long and full life.
When Big Angel’s mother, Mama America, approaching one hundred, dies herself as the party nears, he finds himself planning a farewell double-header. Among the attendants is his half-brother and namesake, Little Angel, who comes face to face with the siblings with whom he shared a father but not, as the weekend proceeds to remind him, a life.
This story of the De La Cruzes is the story of what it means to be a Mexican in America, to have lived two lives across one border. It is a tale of the ravaging power of death to shore up the bits of life you have forgotten, whether by choice or not.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Vintage
Told in a series of stunning vignettes, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros’s greatly admired novel of a Latina girl growing up in Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.
At times both heartbreaking and deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn’t want to belong – not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza’s story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and deciding for herself who she will become.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
River of Angels by Alejandro Morales Arte Público
This sweeping historical novel traces the trials and tribulations of two families, one Mexican and one Anglo, as a microcosm of the development of modern Los Angeles. Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families and an unpredictable river to explore the allure of Southern California and the history of Los Angeles.
From these two families of bridge builders emerges a story of interconnectedness. Through the Rivers and the families, the author takes us through multi-cultural sphere of darkness and despair juxtaposed with hope and joy. Times of violent discrimination contrasted with loving acceptance. Although these two families come from different backgrounds — ethnic, social, and linguistic — their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children, whose illicit love affair leads to tragedy, their families infected, wrenched apart by racism and the pseudo-science of eugenics rampant during the 1950s.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Mexican Flyboy by Alfredo Vea The University of Oklahoma Press
What if we could travel back in time to save our heroes from painful deaths? What if we could rewrite history to protect and reward the innocent victims of injustice? Burdened by the world’s injustices, Simon Vegas, a professor-poet with a traumatized past, straps on a time machine and whisks away these victims from horrendous deaths. Alfredo Veá’s new novel, The Mexican Flyboy, described in this way, sounds suspiciously like a Marvel comic. While The Mexican Flyboy seems to initially adopt such a structure, it quickly asserts itself as a historically rich, deeply literary, and passionate work intent on a different mission.
The Mexican Flyboy is a work of enormous ambition, an idiosyncratic, sensitive, flawed but big-hearted cry for us to pay attention to each other, to be generous, to read widely, to study and remember the past, and, most especially, to resist any doctrine that causes harm. Unsparing yet deeply generous, Alfredo Veá manages to embrace the horrific and urge us to image ourselves in a better way.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
Song of the Golden Scorpion by Alma Luz Villa Nueva Wings Press
Song of the Golden Scorpion is an endearing chronicle of two people, Javier and Xochiquetzal, who meet while on a Puerto Vallarta beach and begin a torrid love affair that lasts over 12 years. Over the course of their relationship, the two meet a variety of fascinating individuals and journey back and forth between the real world and the Mayan sixth world, a dreamlike spiritual realm. Everyone eventually converges in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where Xochiquetzal and Javier live, and at an all night fiesta at a magical mansion, everyone’s personal and collective wounds are revealed and healed.
Villa Nueva does an excellent job illustrating the rich culture of Mexico, paying close attention to the sites, people, food and sentiment. Song of the Golden Scorpion is an exhilarating tale of heart, honesty, love, and growth, a perfect read for those looking for a blend of spirituality and culture put forth by a fresh voice.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
Nobody’s Pilgrims by Sergio Troncoso
No Country for Old Men meets The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in this story of three teenagers on the run, carrying a great menace, and chased by a greater evil. Three teenagers are traveling northeast in a navy blue Ford pickup. Turi has fled his abusive family to see the beautiful New England landscape he’s always dreamed about. Arnulfo is undocumented and wants only to find someplace to work and live. Molly seeks a new life far away from her nowhere Missouri town. Turi and Arnulfo are best friends. Molly and Turi are falling in love. But for all their innocence, violence follows the trio at every turn. The viejito who owns the truck wants it back. The narco who hid a deadly shipment in the truck really, really wants it back. And the imperturbable hitman the narco sends after the trio will kill anyone who stands in his way. With pensive, likable characters traveling and coming of age together, and a thriller twist that drives the narrative with intensity, Nobody’s Pilgrims is a can’t-put-down book with heart.
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Urrea
The House of Broken Angels is a sprawling family saga centered around the De La Cruz clan and its patriarch, Big Angel. The novel focuses in on the final birthday party Big Angel is throwing for himself, at home in San Diego, as he nears the end of his struggle with cancer and reflects on his long and full life. When Big Angel’s mother, Mama America, approaching one hundred, dies herself as the party nears, he finds himself planning a farewell double-header. Among the attendants is his half-brother and namesake, Little Angel, who comes face to face with the siblings with whom he shared a father but not, as the weekend proceeds to remind him, a life. This story of the De La Cruzes is the story of what it means to be a Mexican in America, to have lived two lives across one border. It is a tale of the ravaging power of death to shore up the bits of life you have forgotten, whether by choice or not.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Told in a series of stunning vignettes, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros’s greatly admired novel of a Latina girl growing up in Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics. At times both heartbreaking and deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn’t want to belong – not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza’s story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and deciding for herself who she will become.
River of Angels by Alejandro Morales
This sweeping historical novel traces the trials and tribulations of two families, one Mexican and one Anglo, as a microcosm of the development of modern Los Angeles. Alejandro Morales introduces two very different families and an unpredictable river to explore the allure of Southern California and the history of Los Angeles. From these two families of bridge builders emerges a story of interconnectedness. Through the Rivers and the families, the author takes us through multi-cultural sphere of darkness and despair juxtaposed with hope and joy. Times of violent discrimination contrasted with loving acceptance. Although these two families come from different backgrounds — ethnic, social, and linguistic — their lives and fortunes become inextricably linked through their children, whose illicit love affair leads to tragedy, their families infected, wrenched apart by racism and the pseudo-science of eugenics rampant during the 1950s.
The Mexican Flyboy by Alfredo Vea
What if we could travel back in time to save our heroes from painful deaths? What if we could rewrite history to protect and reward the innocent victims of injustice? Burdened by the world’s injustices, Simon Vegas, a professor-poet with a traumatized past, straps on a time machine and whisks away these victims from horrendous deaths. Alfredo Veá’s new novel, The Mexican Flyboy, described in this way, sounds suspiciously like a Marvel comic. While The Mexican Flyboy seems to initially adopt such a structure, it quickly asserts itself as a historically rich, deeply literary, and passionate work intent on a different mission. The Mexican Flyboy is a work of enormous ambition, an idiosyncratic, sensitive, flawed but big-hearted cry for us to pay attention to each other, to be generous, to read widely, to study and remember the past, and, most especially, to resist any doctrine that causes harm. Unsparing yet deeply generous, Alfredo Veá manages to embrace the horrific and urge us to image ourselves in a better way.
Song of the Golden Scorpion by Alma Luz Villa Nueva
Song of the Golden Scorpion is an endearing chronicle of two people, Javier and Xochiquetzal, who meet while on a Puerto Vallarta beach and begin a torrid love affair that lasts over 12 years. Over the course of their relationship, the two meet a variety of fascinating individuals and journey back and forth between the real world and the Mayan sixth world, a dreamlike spiritual realm. Everyone eventually converges in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where Xochiquetzal and Javier live, and at an all night fiesta at a magical mansion, everyone’s personal and collective wounds are revealed and healed. Villa Nueva does an excellent job illustrating the rich culture of Mexico, paying close attention to the sites, people, food and sentiment. Song of the Golden Scorpion is an exhilarating tale of heart, honesty, love, and growth, a perfect read for those looking for a blend of spirituality and culture put forth by a fresh voice.
