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UCLA Library has assembled a list of recommendations exploring the history and culture of Latinx communities in collaboration with the Chicana/o and Central American Studies Department, members of MEChA de UCLA and the Latinx Film and Theater Association.
Browse the selection below!
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Resources
Diaries of a Terrorist (2022) by Christopher Soto
"This debut poetry collection demands the abolition of policing and human caging. In 'Diaries of a Terrorist,' Christopher Soto uses the 'we' pronoun to emphasize that police violence happens not only to individuals, but to whole communities. His poetics open the imagination towards possibilities of existence beyond the status quo. Soto asks, 'Who do we call terrorist, & why'? These political surrealist poems shift between gut-wrenching vulnerability, laugh-aloud humor, and unapologetic queer punk raunchiness. 'Diaries of a Terrorist' is groundbreaking in its ability to speak—from a local to a global scale—about one of the most important issues of our time." (Publisher's Description)
Diaries of a Terrorist Diaries of a Terrorist
Citizen Illegal (2018) by José Olivarez
"In this stunning debut, poet José Olivarez explores the stories, contradictions, joys, and sorrows that embody life in the spaces between Mexico and America. He paints vivid portraits of good kids, bad kids, families clinging to hope, life after the steel mills, gentrifying barrios, and everything in between. Drawing on the rich traditions of Latinx and Chicago writers like Sandra Cisneros and Gwendolyn Brooks, Olivarez creates a home out of life in the in-between. Combining wry humor with potent emotional force, Olivarez takes on complex issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and immigration using an everyday language that invites the reader in. Olivarez has a unique voice that makes him a poet to watch." (Author's Description)
Citizen Illegal Citizen Illegal
Juliet Takes a Breath (2016) by Gabby Rivera
"Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that's going to help her figure out this whole "Puerto Rican lesbian" thing. She's interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women's bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff. Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle? With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself." (UC Library Description)
Juliet Takes a Breath Juliet Takes a Breath
The Poet X (2018) by Elizabeth Acevedo
"Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she can't stop thinking about performing her poems." (UC Library Description)
The Poet X The Poet X
Connected (2020) by Roberto J. González
"This is the true story of how, against all odds, a remote Mexican pueblo built its own autonomous cell phone network—without help from telecom companies or the government. Anthropologist Roberto J. González paints a vivid and nuanced picture of life in a Oaxaca mountain village and the collective tribulation, triumph, and tragedy the community experienced in pursuit of getting connected. In doing so, this book captures the challenges and contradictions facing Mexico's indigenous peoples today, as they struggle to wire themselves into the 21st century using mobile technologies, ingenuity, and sheer determination. It also holds a broader lesson about the great paradox of the digital age, by exploring how constant connection through virtual worlds can hinder our ability to communicate with those around us." (Publisher's Description)
Connected Connected
Postcolonial Love Poems (2020) by Natalie Diaz
"Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire against erasure. Natalie Diaz's brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloveds. Through these poems, the wounds inflicted by America onto an indigenous people are allowed to bloom pleasure and tenderness: 'Let me call my anxiety, desire, then. / Let me call it, a garden.'... Postcolonial Love Poem unravels notions of American goodness and creates something more powerful than hope—a future is built, future being a matrix of the choices we make now, and in these poems, Diaz chooses love." (Publisher's Description)
Postcolonial Love Poems Postcolonial Love Poems
Resources
We Are Owed (2021) by Ariana Brown
"We Are Owed is the debut poetry collection of Ariana Brown, exploring Black relationality in Mexican and Mexican American spaces. Through poems about the author's childhood in Texas and a trip to Mexico as an adult, Brown interrogates the accepted origin stories of Mexican identity. We Are Owed asks the reader to develop a Black consciousness by rejecting U.S., Chicano, and Mexican nationalism and confronting anti-Black erasure and empire-building. As Brown searches for other Black kin in the same spaces through which she moves, her experiences of Blackness are placed in conversation with the histories of formerly enslaved Africans in Texas and Mexico. Esteban Dorantes, Gaspar Yanga, and the author's Black family members and friends populate the book as a protective and guiding force, building the "we" evoked in the title and linking Brown to all other African-descended peoples living in what Saidiya Hartman calls "the afterlife of slavery." (Publisher's Description)
We Are Owed We Are Owed
The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School (2022) by Sonora Reyes
"Seventeen-year-old Yamilet prefers drawing attention for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new mostly white Catholic school. At least here no one knows she's gay, and she intends to keep it that way. After a harsh rejection from her crush at her old school, she could use the fresh start. It's harder to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly cute. Yami isn't sure if she likes Bo or if she's just jealous of her unapologetic nature. Either way, she isn't ready to make the same mistake again. If word got to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. Here, she has new priorities. Make her mom proud, keep her brother out of trouble, and most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been good at any of those things, but that's a problem for future Yami." (Author's Description)
The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School
The Undocumented Americans (2020) by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
"Traveling across the country, journalist Karla Cornejo Villavicencio risked arrest at every turn to report the extraordinary stories of her fellow undocumented Americans. Her subjects have every reason to be wary around reporters, but Cornejo Villavicencio has unmatched access to their stories... Cornejo Villavicencio powerfully reveals the hidden corners of our nation of immigrants. She brings to light remarkable stories of hope and resilience, and through them we come to understand what it truly means to be American." (Publisher's Description)
The Undocumented Americans The Undocumented Americans
The Afro-Latin@ Reader (2009) by Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores
"The Afro-Latin@ Reader focuses attention on a large, vibrant, yet oddly invisible community in the United States: people of African descent from Latin America and the Caribbean. The presence of Afro-Latin@s in the United States (and throughout the Americas) belies the notion that Blacks and Latin@s are two distinct categories or cultures. Afro-Latin@s are uniquely situated to bridge the widening social divide between Latin@s and African Americans; at the same time, their experiences reveal pervasive racism among Latin@s and ethnocentrism among African Americans... The contributions that Afro-Latin@s have made to U.S. culture are highlighted in essays on the illustrious Afro-Puerto Rican bibliophile Arturo Alfonso Schomburg and music and dance genres from salsa to mambo, and from boogaloo to hip hop. Taken together, these and many more selections help to bring Afro-Latin@s in the United States into critical view." (Publisher's description)
The Afro-Latin@ Reader The Afro-Latin@ Reader
Watch
Most of these films are available on Kanopy. All currently enrolled UCLA students, staff, and faculty can watch these movies for free. See how in this guide or check out other streaming collections.
Resources
Los Punks: We Are All We Have (2016) directed by Angela Boatwright
"The film, directed by renowned photographer Angela Boatwright, explores the young, mostly Hispanic, Punk scene in L.A. and finds an undeniably gritty, yet creative environment. With unprecedented access to backyard parties, concerts, and daily ups and downs, the film shares a vérité look at the realities of the 21st century, our need for community, the importance of self-expression and of course, the power of rock & roll. The sense of belonging is palpable; emotional bonds fostered among good families and those broken, poverty and wealth, adolescence and maturity, with the music emanating a magnetic chorus for all to sing together. Los Punks: We Are All We Have portrays this vibrant 'DIY' community with candor and rough beauty." (Kanopy Description)
Los Punks: We Are All We Have Los Punks: We Are All We Have
Como Quisiera (2022) directed by Karla Diego and Deyri Chacon Perez
"As Andrea moves into her college apartment she looks back at her memories with her best friend Mariela, who could not join her on her journey to college. Overwhelmed by sadness, there might be more than meets the eye when exploring their friendship." (UCLA Latinx Film & Theatre Association Description)
Como Quisiera Como Quisiera
We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo Music (2015) directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren
"We Like It Like That tells the story of Latin boogaloo, a colorful expression of 1960s Latino soul, straight from the streets of New York City. From its origins to its recent resurgence, it’s the story of a sound that redefined a generation and was too funky to keep down... Through original interviews, music recordings, live performances, dancing and rare archival footage and images We Like It Like That explores this fascinating, though often overlooked, bridge in Latin music history, seeking to understand its context in the story of Latinos in America and its continued influence around the world today." (Director's Description)
We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo Music We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo Music
I Am the Queen (2010) directed by Josue Pellot and Henrique Cirne-Lima
"In Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, the Vida/Sida Cacica Pageant brings together members of the Puerto Rican community to celebrate its transgender participants. I Am the Queen follows Bianca, Julissa and Jolizza as they prepare for the pageant under the guidance of Ginger Valdez, an experienced transgender from the neighborhood. These trans women share stories of their transition, their relatives’ varying reactions, and how they find support from within the community. Family dynamics, cultural heritage, and personal identity all play a part in how the contestants face the daily struggle that comes from being true to themselves." (Kanopy Description)
I Am the Queen I Am the Queen
The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo (2018) directed by Phillip Rodriguez
"This genre-defying film introduces the radical Chicano lawyer, author and counter-cultural icon, Oscar Zeta Acosta. Acosta was the basis for Dr. Gonzo in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,' written by his friend, the Hunter S. Thompson. Channeling the psychedelic 60's and the irreverence of 'Gonzo' journalism, The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo shows Acosta's evolution playing out against the backdrop of a society in turmoil. From his origins in rural California, to his stint as a Baptist missionary in Panama, to his radicalization in the Chicano movement of the late 60's, and finally to his mysterious disappearance off the coast of Mexico in 1974, the film offers a complex vision of a Chicano icon who was emblematic of a generation, and yet totally unique in so many ways. Executive Produced by Benicio Del Toro." (Kanopy Description)
The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo
Precious Knowledge (2011) directed by Ari Luis Palos
"Precious Knowledge reports from the frontlines of one of the most contentious battles in public education in recent memory, the fight over Mexican American studies programs in Arizona public schools. The film interweaves the stories of several students enrolled in the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School with interviews with teachers, parents, school officials, and the lawmakers who wish to outlaw the classes. While 48 percent of Mexican American students currently drop out of high school, Tucson High’s Mexican American Studies Program has become a national model of educational success, with 93 percent of enrolled students, on average, graduating from high school and 85 percent going on to attend college.The filmmakers spent an entire year in the classroom filming this innovative curriculum, documenting the transformative impact on students who became engaged, informed, and active in their communities." (Kanopy Description)
Precious Knowledge Precious Knowledge
Resources
Real Women Have Curves (2002) directed by Patricia Cardoso
"In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory." (IMDB Description)
Real Women Have Curves Real Women Have Curves
Made in L.A. (2007) directed by Almudena Carracedo
"An Emmy award-winning feature documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made in LA reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice." (Kanopy Description)
Made in L.A. Made in L.A.
Under the Same Moon (2007) directed by Patricia Riggen
"Under the Same Moon puts a human face–several very appealing faces–on the dilemma of Mexican 'illegals' living and working clandestinely in the United States and the loved ones back home they’re supporting. Rosario, a young single parent, left her village four years ago and jumped the border to find work in Los Angeles; ever since, she and son Carlitos, now nine, haven’t seen each other, but she faithfully calls him from the same street-corner pay phone every Sunday morning. When Rosario’s mother–the boy’s guardian–dies in her sleep, Carlitos taps into an impressive reservoir of street smarts and contrives his own border crossing. The border is just the first of many obstacles to a mother-and-child reunion–not least the fact that the only address the boy has for Rosario is a mental image of the corner she always phones from." (Director's Description)
Under the Same Moon Under the Same Moon
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Resources
MEChA de UCLA
"MEChA was founded on the principles of self-determination for the liberation of our people. We believe that political involvement and education is the avenue for change in our society. This is why MEChA de UCLA continues to work both within the university and within the community by providing support with 11 organization projects and 4 annual events all ran and organized by MEChistAs." (MEChA de UCLA Website)
@mechadeucla @mechadeucla
UCLA Latinx Film and Theatre Association
"The Latinx Film and Theatre Association is an organization based in UCLA. Our mission is to provide Latinx students a platform to create and showcase their artistic work. As the only Latinx-focused film and theatre group at UCLA, we understand the difficulties of finding a home on campus, and we strive to bring talented and dedicated individuals together to produce art in a collective setting." (UCLA LFTA Website)
@lftaucla @lftaucla
Mariachi de Uclatlán
"Hosted by the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, Mariachi de Uclatlán is a student group dedicated to the performance of traditional Mexican music." (UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Website)
@uclatlan @uclatlan
Mijente
"[Mijente} is a political home for Latinx and Chicanx people who seek racial, economic, gender and climate justice... Mijente helps people do this through campaigns, connects people across a wide network and serves as a hub for culture, learning and advocacy." (Mijente Website).
@conmijente @conmijente
Dr. Alan Pelaez Lopez
"Dr. Alan Pelaez Lopez is an AfroIndigenous poet, installation and adornment artist from Oaxaca, México. Their work attends to the quotidian realities of undocumented migrants in the United States, the Black condition in Latin America, and the intimate kinship units that trans and nonbinary people build in the face of violence." (Alan Pelaez Lopez Website)
@migrantscribble @migrantscribble
Suzy Exposito
"Suzy Exposito is a music reporter at the Los Angeles Times. She previously spearheaded the Latin music section at Rolling Stone, and has written for NPR, Pitchfork and Revolver." (Los Angeles Times)
@HexPositive @HexPositive
Resources
Dash Harris Machado
"Dash Harris Machado is a multi-media producer, doula, Apetebí and facilitator. She is the co-founder of AfroLatinx Travel, and facilitates classes on Black Latin American History & Contemporary topics with Javier Wallace. Dash is the producer of NEGRO: A docu-series about Latino Identity... and co-producer of podcasts: Cumbe-AfroDiastories centering Black Latin American history tying it with the contemporary and Radio Caña Negra..." (Dash Harris Website)
@inadash @inadash
Citlalli Citlalmina Anahuac
"Citlalli Citlalmina Anahuac is a historian, poet, and activist. For that past 26 years, she has been studying her history as detribalized Mexicana and has dedicated her activism, poetry, and research to understanding her history. Citlalli's passion is to share the hidden history that is kept from us and celebrate who we are with accessible education for all ages and a priority to teaching my BIPOC community. She offers free courses on her youtube channel in order to present her message to various educational and social spaces." (Citlalli Anahuac Website)
@mexican__excellence @mexican__excellence
Guera con Nopal en Frente
Follow for Mexican American resources and culture, or if you are an educator for Mexican American students.
@just.frijoleraconphd @just.frijoleraconphd
Additional Resources
From East L.A murals to Chicanx social movements to Mexican American music, UCLA houses an amazing assortment of Latinx digital archives. Click on the links below to check them out!
Oscar R. Castillo Photograph Collection
"Since the late 1960s, photographer Oscar Castillo has documented the Chicano community in Los Angeles and South Texas. His subjects range from political events to cultural practices to the work of muralists and painters. His photographs explore major themes (social movement, cultural heritage, urban environment, barrio life) and approaches (photojournalism, portraiture, art photography). The Oscar Castillo Photograph Collection(opens in a new tab) at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center contains more than 3,000 digital images that are available through an online archive" (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center). Access the Oscar Castillo Photograph Collection(opens in a new tab).
Nancy Tovar Murals of East L.A. Collection
"Nancy Van Lauderback Tovar grew up in Chino, CA where she attended local schools for her formative studies, eventually graduating from UCLA... She was a creative force organizing classes that produced artistic banners, streamers, posters, and urban photography that reflected the Mexican heritage of the community. As an activist, Ms. Tovar was also a participant and supporter of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium... The photographs in this collection represent her passion for documenting art and life in Los Angeles, and her commitment to the struggle of la Raza" (UCLA Library Digital Collections). Access the Nancy Tovar Murals of East L.A. collection(opens in a new tab).
Los Angeles Latino Families Photo Project
"The Los Angeles Latino Families Photo Project was launched at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) spring 2012. It is an extension of an earlier initiative launched in 2007 to combat the invisibility of the Mexican American contribution to Los Angeles and California history predating the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s within textbooks, trade, and academic books and articles... The Los Angeles Latino Families Photo Project was developed as a way to fully capture the complexity of this city’s history as well as address the issue of preservation through the digitization of vulnerable image-based collections..." (UCLA Library Digital Collections). Access the Los Angeles Latino Families Photo Project collection(opens in a new tab).
The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings
"The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings is the largest repository of these commercially produced vernacular recordings in existence. The nearly 160,000 recordings in the collection were made primarily in the United States and Mexico and were issued on 78 rpm, 45 rpm, and 33⅓ rpm (long-playing, or LP) phonograph records and cassette and reel-to-reel tapes. The earliest recording was made in 1908, and the latest recordings were released in the 1990s. These performances are divided into three sections, roughly by era. Because of the depth and breadth of each section, and because many of the recordings are irreplaceable, the Strachwitz Frontera Collection is unique" (UCLA Frontera Library). Access the Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings(opens in a new tab).
Credits
Special thanks to: Mindy Steinberg, Ph.D, members of Latinx Film and Theater Association, members of MEChA de UCLA, students of Chicana/o And Central American Studies 172 and 188 and Nancy Khuc for curation.
Header: Left - Sylvia Rivera (with Christina Hayworth and Julia Murray) in 2000 by Luis Carle. From the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Middle - East L.A. Walkouts in March 1968 by Devra Weber. From the La Raza Photograph Collection.
Right - Protesters showing their support for the Chicano Movement. Accessed through scalar.usc.edu(opens in a new tab).