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Latino Book Review Presents

Latino Book Review Presents

By Latino Book Review

Latino Book Review Presents — a podcast focused on bringing you the best of Latinx literature.
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Latino Book Review Presents Carmen Tafolla

Latino Book Review PresentsMar 11, 2024

00:00
35:33
Latino Book Review Presents Carmen Tafolla

Latino Book Review Presents Carmen Tafolla

Carmen Tafolla is an educator, storyteller, artist, and scholar with a Ph.D. in bilingual education. She has written over 40 books and has presented her work in several continents. She was the first poet laureate of the city of San Antonio, the first Latina to be named president of the Texas Institute of Letters and she has been recognized with multiple awards. In this episode with Héctor Rendón, Carmen shares her experience of being bilingual and bicultural in the United States at a time when her language, culture, and history were forbidden by Texas law. She talks about growing up in the barrio, the inequities in education, her latest book, unjust laws, and much more.

Mar 11, 202435:33
Latino Book Review Presents Ana Castillo

Latino Book Review Presents Ana Castillo

Ana Castillo is a Chicana and feminist writer whose career has inspired people for several decades. She has received many awards for her writings, including the Fuller Award for Lifetime Achievement, and has been selected for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Her work has been the object of study for countless academic studies. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Ana talks about the origins of her literary career, her indigenous roots, her book, Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home, and much more.

Oct 11, 202334:51
Latino Book Review Presents Diana Lopez

Latino Book Review Presents Diana Lopez

Diana Lopez is a graduate of the MFA program at Texas State University. She was a middle school teacher and a university professor. Her middle-grade books are read in schools across the United States. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Diana talks about the state of children's literature within the Latinx community, the origin of her relationship with literature, her latest book Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman, and much more.

Aug 20, 202329:53
Latino Book Review Presents Erika Denise Edwards

Latino Book Review Presents Erika Denise Edwards

Erika Denise Edwards is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Texas at El Paso. She has conducted research about race and gender in Argentina and has been instrumental in reigniting the conversation of colorism and blackness in Latin America. She is the author of the book Hiding in Plain Sight: Black Women, the Law, and the Making of a White Argentine Republic published by the University of Alabama Press. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Erika talks about the history of blackness in Argentina and some of the misleading myths about why there is a lack of black visibility in the country. She talks about colorism, white supremacy throughout Latin America, and much more.

May 28, 202330:03
Latino Book Review Presents Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Latino Book Review Presents Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Marcelo Hernandez Castillo is a professor of creative writing at St. Mary's University in California. He is one of the founders of Undocupoets, an organization that helped remove the requirement of U.S. citizenship in several major first-book poetry awards. He is regarded as one of the most promising Latinx writers, and his work has been praised by multiple national outlets. In this interview with Hector Rendón, Marcelo shares how literature has become a passport in his life that has allowed him to navigate various worlds. He also talks about his current projects, and much more.

Apr 01, 202333:04
Latino Book Review Presents Manuel Muñoz

Latino Book Review Presents Manuel Muñoz

Manuel Muñoz is a first-generation college student who graduated from Harvard University and received his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Cornell University. He has also been recognized with multiple awards and is a professor at the University of Arizona. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Manuel Muños shares about his life, his experience of working in the fields and his academic transition, his literary journey, and his most recent book, "The Consequences."

Feb 18, 202329:11
Latino Book Review Presents Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Latino Book Review Presents Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa is a Puerto Rican author who has lived in the Bronx for most of her life. Before becoming a recognized writer, she spent decades working as a teacher and as a librarian in the New York City public school system. She has received multiple awards, and she is recognized for telling stories from the perspective of Afro-Latinas in Puerto Rico. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Dahlma shares about her life, influences, and upbringing in the Bronx and Puerto Rico. She also talks about her novel 'A Woman of Endurance', and much more.

Nov 22, 202227:34
Latino Book Review Presents Estela González

Latino Book Review Presents Estela González

Estela González is a binational and bilingual immigrant writer. She is a Latina who writes about the environment, class, and gender. She is a 2019 finalist in the Louise Meriwether Prize by Feminist Press. She is also a university professor who teaches creative writing at Middlebury College in Vermont. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Estela shares about her life, the themes within her book, the universal problem of racism and colorism, and much more.

Oct 25, 202223:51
Latino Book Review Presents Erika L. Sánchez

Latino Book Review Presents Erika L. Sánchez

Erika L. Sánchez is a New York Times bestselling author, a National Book Award Finalist, and the Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz Chair at DePaul University in Chicago. She has been praised as one of the most accomplished young Latina writers of our time. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Erika shares about her family background, her desire for equity, her literary journey, future projects, and much more.

Oct 01, 202227:11
Latino Book Review Presents Meg Medina

Latino Book Review Presents Meg Medina

Meg Medina is a multifaceted author. She writes picture books, middle-grade stories and young adult fiction. In 2019, she won the prestigious John Newbery Medal, and she has won a long list of other awards. She is a New York Times Best Selling Author. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Meg shares about her family and background, her literary journey, the themes in her books and much more.

Dec 18, 202134:02
Latino Book Review Presents Angela Cervantes

Latino Book Review Presents Angela Cervantes

Angela Cervantes is one of the most prolific children's authors of our time. She writes books for middle school children, and she started writing her stories at the age of nine. Her stories focus on Latina main characters, and they have been praised everywhere. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Angela speaks about the origin of her love for reading and writing, cultural visibility in literature, diversity, and much more. 

Oct 06, 202129:11
Latino Book Review Presents Sandra Cisneros

Latino Book Review Presents Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Cisneros is one of the most influential Latinx authors of all time. She is regarded by many as the main reference in Latinx and Chicano literature. She has sold millions of books, and her work has been translated all over the world. Her book, The House of Mango Street, is a popular reading in schools and universities across the United States. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Sandra Cisneros talks about her new book titled Martita, I Remember You, her life's physical and spiritual journey, her literary perspectives, and much more.

Sep 06, 202128:23
Latino Book Review Presents Tony Diaz

Latino Book Review Presents Tony Diaz

Tony Diaz is a writer, activist and professor. He was the first Chicano to earn a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. He is also a political analyst with his own radio show, and his work has been published by multiple national media outlets. He is the founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, which encourages cultural change within Latinx communities. In this interview, Tony talks about the Librotraficante "Book Trafficking" movement, the activism he is part of, his literary work and much more.

Aug 13, 202131:20
Latino Book Review Presents Christopher Carmona

Latino Book Review Presents Christopher Carmona

Christopher Carmona is the interim director of Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and an author of poetry and fiction. He is the author of the saga El Rinche: The Ghost Ranger of the Rio Grande, an acclaimed story that reimagines the Lone Ranger as a Chicano Superhero. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Christopher Carmona talks about his work, superheroes, the bloody history of the Texas Rangers, and more.​

Jun 29, 202122:31
Latino Book Review Presents Kianny N. Antigua

Latino Book Review Presents Kianny N. Antigua

Kianny Antigua is a bilingual author specialized in children's literature. She was born in the Dominican Republic, migrated to the U.S. when she was a teenager, and today she is a writer and a senior lecturer at Dartmouth College. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Kianny Antigua talks about her children's books, language, culture, and self-love.

Jun 02, 202120:37
Latino Book Review Presents Felicia Rose Chavez

Latino Book Review Presents Felicia Rose Chavez

Felicia Rose Chavez is an educator and nonfiction writer who has revolutionized classrooms across the United States. Her work and her teaching techniques have been recognized with multiple awards. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Felicia Rose Chavez talks about her book titled The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop, classroom oppression faced by students of color across the country, a plan of action for educators, students, and writers, and much more. 

May 06, 202125:22
Latino Book Review Presents Natalia Molina

Latino Book Review Presents Natalia Molina

At a time when the U.S. society is reckoning with systemic racism, Natalia Molina from USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences sheds light on how the concept of race is made in America. Dr. Molina is one of the top scholars working on race, history and Latinx studies. She is also an award-winning author who was recently named a MacArthur Fellow. Her book titled How Race Is Made in America has become an essential source to understand this topic. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Dr. Molina discusses the role of storytelling and the policies that create ideas of race, racial scripts, and much more. 

Apr 21, 202132:07
Latino Book Review Presents Alberto Ledesma

Latino Book Review Presents Alberto Ledesma

Alberto Ledesma can be considered one of the early Dreamers in the United States. He currently works as Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkeley. He is also a writer and cartoonist and has published an illustrated book titled Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer. In this interview with Héctor Rendón, Alberto Ledesma talks about his undocumented origins, his journey through the American education system, his work as a writer and illustrator, and much more. 


Apr 06, 202125:44
Latino Book Review Presents Julia Alvarez

Latino Book Review Presents Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez is one of the most recognizable faces in Latinx literature. She has won the Hispanic Heritage Award, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award, and in 2013 she was awarded the National Medal of Arts from the President of the United States. In this interview with Héctor "Vale" Rendón, Julia Alvarez talks about her identity and the role it has in her writing, her time in the Dominican Republic, the impact of her family's stories, her writing process, and much more. 

Mar 19, 202132:49
Latino Book Review Presents Maria Hinojosa

Latino Book Review Presents Maria Hinojosa

Maria Hinojosa has been a journalist for nearly 30 years. She has won multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards and two Kennedy Awards for excellence in journalism. She is the host of the radio show Latino USA distributed by NPR, and she is the founder of Futura Media. In this interview with Vale Rendón, Maria Hinojosa talks about her book Once I Was You, the separation of children from their parents in the U.S., Latino and Latina representation, and much more.

Dec 09, 202024:53
Latino Book Review Presents Oswaldo Estrada

Latino Book Review Presents Oswaldo Estrada

Oswaldo Estrada is a writer and a full professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has won multiple awards and, most recently, edited a short story book titled Incurables. In this conversation with Vale, he talks about his work as an academic, his experience as a Peruvian immigrant and how it contributes to his creative writing, the current state of Latinx and Latin American literature, and more.

Nov 25, 202022:20
Latino Book Review Presents Carlos Aguasaco

Latino Book Review Presents Carlos Aguasaco

Carlos Aguasaco is a poet, a storyteller and an associate professor of Latin American Cultural Studies at The City University of New York. In this interview with Vale Rendón, he speaks about his origins in Colombia, his trajectory as a poet, El Chapulín Colorado, his poetry book The New York City Subway Poems/ Poemas del metro de Nueva York, and more.

Nov 11, 202026:15
Latino Book Review Presents Kelly Lytle Hernández

Latino Book Review Presents Kelly Lytle Hernández

MacArthur Fellow, Kelly Lytle Hernández, is one of the leading experts on race, immigration, and mass incarceration in the United States. In this interview with Vale Rendón, she speaks about her book City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965, state violence against ethnic minorities, colonialism, mass incarceration, white supremacy, and more.

Oct 28, 202025:04
Latino Book Review Presents Isabel Allende

Latino Book Review Presents Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende is an international, award-winning, and best-selling author. She is the author of 23 books that have been translated into 42 languages and have sold over 74 million copies worldwide. She is the recipient of numerous recognitions including 15 international honorary doctorates and more than 60 awards in over 15 countries. In 2019, Isabel Allende spoke with Rossy Lima about her literary legacy and inspiration. In this interview, they talk about politics in the U.S. and abroad, her books, her non-profit organization, and more.

Oct 14, 202021:51
Latino Book Review Presents Amyra Leon

Latino Book Review Presents Amyra Leon

Amyra Leon is an author, musician, playwright, and activist. Her work transcends genre and medium and focuses on black liberation, politics, and communal healing. In this interview with Vale Rendón, Amyra shares about her book, Concrete Kids, her encounter with language, memories, communal healing, and more.

Oct 01, 202024:44
Latino Book Review Presents Kali Fajardo

Latino Book Review Presents Kali Fajardo

Kali Fajardo-Anstine is the author of Sabrina & Corina, a collection of eleven short stories that reflect the realities of women from different backgrounds. In this interview with Vale Rendón, Kali Fajardo-Anstine speaks about the women and Native Americans in her stories, her cultural background, her novel Sabrina & Corina, the experiences that inspired her to become a writer, and more.

Sep 16, 202023:54
Latino Book Review Presents Cristina Rivera Garza

Latino Book Review Presents Cristina Rivera Garza

Cristina Rivera Garza is a renowned writer and professor in the Latinx scene. In this interview with Vale Rendón, Cristina Rivera speaks about her creative and academic work, the multidisciplinary elements that make up her writing, her role as a professor and director of the Ph.D. Creative Writing Program in Spanish at the University of Houston, her upcoming books, and more.

Sep 03, 202030:08
Latino Book Review Presents Chanel Cleeton

Latino Book Review Presents Chanel Cleeton

Chanel Cleeton is a Cuban American, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. In this interview with Toloo Riazi, Chanel Cleeton talks about her book The Last Train to Key West, her family's stories about Cuba, the roles of women and history in her novels, and more. 

Aug 19, 202027:46
Latino Book Review Presents Mayra Santos-Febres

Latino Book Review Presents Mayra Santos-Febres

Mayra Santos-Febres is a renowned and beloved Puerto Rican author scholar. In this interview with Vale Rendón, Mayra Santos-Febres talks about the origins of her writing career, her creative process, what it means to be artist and public figure, her life as a writer, and more.

Jul 21, 202024:53