Just in time for last-minute holiday gift shopping, Remezcla.com, a guide to cutting-edge Latin culture in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco, has come out with its list of the Best Hispanic Books for 2012.
Traces of Bliss
By Cecilia Velástegui
First Place Winner of the International Latino Book Award for Popular fiction, this novel borrows from the magical realism tradition Latino literature is so well-known for. When Claire, a personal massage therapist, who devotedly caters to the seniors in the rich neighborhood of Los Feliz in Los Angeles, changes the oil she uses to a formula suggested by her grandmother, all of her elderly clientsstart to experience extremely vivid memories — really more like flashbacks — of their ancestors from centuries ago.
Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White
By Lila Quintero Weaver
In 1961, when Lila was five, she and her family emigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Marion, Alabama, in the heart of Alabama’s Black Belt. As middle-class Latino immigrants in a region that was defined by segregation, the Quinteros occupied a privileged vantage from which to view the racially charged culture they inhabited.
The Time In Between: A Novel
By Maria Dueñas
This one is for fans of historical fiction – Spanish heroine Sira Quiroga takes us through one of the most turbulent times in Europe: the onset of World War II.
Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon
By Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
This memoir tells the story of Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, a now-renowned neuroscientist who leads cutting-edge brain research, but who began life in the U.S. as an undocumented migrant worker.
This is How You Lose Her
By Junot Diaz
It’s been a big year for Remezcla favorite Junot Diaz – his highly anticipated collection of short stories came out, his devoted fans nearly caused a riot at an NYC book reading, and he was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant.
Complete information on the books is available at www.remezcla.com
