• Share:

From September 15 to October 15, celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Central American independence days that fall within these dates for countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Belize. In honor of this celebration, we would like to share a few titles from the University of Michigan Press that highlight the history, culture, identities, and contributions of the Hispanic and Latinx communities in the United States and beyond, as well as ongoing sociopolitical issues and systemic inequalities that persist today.

Below is a selection of some of our new and upcoming titles. We invite you to explore our Latin American Studies and Latinx Studies lists for more titles to read this month!

Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas by Theresa Delgadillo

Theresa Delgadillo’s Geographies of Relation: Diasporas and Borderlands in the Americas crosses interdisciplinary and canonical borders to investigate the interrelationships of African-descended Latinx and mestizx peoples through an analysis of Latin American, Latinx, and African American literature, film, and performance. Not only does Delgadillo offer a rare extended analysis of Black Latinidades in Chicanx literature and theory, but she also considers over a century’s worth of literary, cinematic, and performative texts to support her argument about the significance of these cultural sites and overlaps.

None of the Above: Protest Voting in Latin American Democracies by Mollie J. Cohen

Contrary to received wisdom, None of the Above: Protest Voting in Latin American Democracies by Mollie J. Cohen shows that most citizens cast blank or spoiled votes in presidential elections on purpose. By participating in invalid vote campaigns, citizens can voice their concerns about low-quality candidates while also expressing a preference for high-quality democracy. Campaigns promoting blank and spoiled votes come about more often, and succeed at higher rates, when incumbent politicians undermine the quality of elections. Surprisingly, invalid vote campaigns can shore up the quality of democracy in the short term. None of the Above shows that swings in blank and spoiled vote rates can serve as a warning about the trajectory of a country’s democracy.

Transnational Philippines: Cultural Encounters in Philippine Literature in Spanish edited by Rocío Ortuño & Axel Gasquet

Transnational Philippines: Cultural Encounters in Philippine Literature in Spanish approaches literature that has been forgotten or neglected in studies on other literatures in Spanish due, in part, to the fact that today Spanish is no longer spoken in the Philippines or in Asia. Its chapters elaborate on the problems surrounding the cultural and identity relations of the Philippines with other regions and the literary nature of Philippine texts. By addressing the need for a postnational approach to Spanish-language Philippine literature, the book challenges the Spain/Latin America dichotomy existing in Spanish language literary studies and leans toward a global conception of the Hispanophone.

Latinx Shakespeares: Staging U.S. Intracultural Theater by Carla Della Gatta

2024 Honorable Mention International Latino Book Awards

Latinx Shakespeares by Carla Della Gatta investigates the history, dramaturgy, and language of the more than 140 Latinx-themed Shakespearean productions in the United States since the 1960s—the era of West Side Story. This first-ever book of Latinx representation in the most-performed playwright’s canon offers a new methodology for reading ethnic theater that looks beyond the visual to prioritize aural signifiers such as music, accents, and the Spanish language.

Inhabiting the Impossible: Dance and Experimentation in Puerto Rico edited by Susan Homar & nibia pastrana santiago

This first-of-its-kind book brings together writing by artists and scholars to survey the lively field of Puerto Rican experimental dance across four decades. Originally published as Habitar lo Imposible, the translation in English features essays, artist statements, and interviews, plus more than 100 photos of productions, programs, posters, and scores. Throughout, Inhabiting the Impossible edited by Susan Homar and nibia pastrana santiago provides fresh, invaluable perspectives on experimentation in dance as a sustained practice that has from the start deeply engaged issues of race, gender, sexuality, and politics.

Down Syndrome Culture: Life Writing, Documentary, and Fiction Film in Iberian and Latin American Contexts by Benjamin Fraser

Benjamin Fraser’s Down Syndrome Culture pushes the traditionally Anglophone borders of disability studies by examining examples in Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese-language texts, and incorporating the work of thinkers in Iberian and Latin American studies. Through a close analysis of life writing, documentaries, and fiction films, the book emphasizes the central role of people with Down syndrome in contemporary cultural production.

Transformismo: Performing Trans/Queer Cuba by M. Myrta Leslie Santana (Forthcoming February 2025) 

Transformismo by M. Myrta Leslie Santana suggests that these performances are making critical interventions in Cuban trans/queer life and politics and in doing so, the volume offers critical insight into how Cuba’s postsocialist reform has exacerbated racial, sexual, and economic inequalities. Leslie Santana considers how Black lesbian and transgender transformistas are expanding understandings of sexual selfhood and politics on the island, particularly questioning the ways that Black women’s creativity is prominently featured in the aesthetics of tourism and trans/queer nightlife, while Black women themselves are denied social and material capital.

Evading the Patronage Trap: Interest Representation in Mexico by Brian Palmer-Rubin

With analysis drawing on over 100 interviews, an original survey, and official government data, Evading the Patronage Trap by Brian Palmer-Rubin focuses on such organizations and develops an account of biased pluralism in developing countries typified by the centrality of patronage—discretionarily allocated state benefits. Rather than serving as conduits for demand-making about development models, political parties and interest organizations often broker state subsidies or social programs, augmenting the short-term income of beneficiaries, but doing little to improve their long-term economic prospects.