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Latin Roots, American Voices

Diverse in ethnic and national origin backgrounds, Americans with Latine heritage contribute to every corner of literature and performance styles. The audiobooks here are intended to pique your listening interest in all those kinds of variety. You might start with OUR MIGRANT SOULS, written by journalist and academic Héctor Tobar, who plumbs the corners of Latine identity in today’s United States, and read by André Santana, whose voice work reflects the author’s thesis of Latine identity’s youth. Or share with a small child MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME by the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Meg Medina, and performed by a full cast. The list also includes short stories, novels for every age group, memoirs and biographies, poetry, and drama. No matter your reading and listening preferences, you’ll find something to your taste here.
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AFTER THE HURRICANE

AFTER THE HURRICANE

by Leah Franqui | Read by Frankie Corzo

Harper Audio
Fiction

Frankie Corzo delivers a nuanced performance that complements this audiobook splendidly. Elena Vega has a complicated relationship with her father, Santiago, a successful lawyer who never recovered from his traumatic childhood. Trying to cope, he became an alcoholic, alienating Elena who knew nothing of his past. Now, Santiago is living in Puerto Rico. When a hurricane ravages... Read More

AMERICAN NIGHT: THE BALLAD OF JUAN JOSE

AMERICAN NIGHT: THE BALLAD OF JUAN JOSE

by Richard Montoya, Culture Clash | Read by Keith Jefferson , Richard Montoya , Todd Nakagawa , Sean San Jose , Kimberly Scott , Herbert Siguenza , Tom Virtue

L.A. Theatre Works
Poetry & Drama

Laughter and applause fill this theatrical look at American history from the perspective of a Mexican who is cramming for his citizenship test. Policeman Juan José, who fled on foot to the U.S. to escape corruption and drug wars, is haunted by Teddy Roosevelt, Sacajawea, Bob Dylan, Jackie Robinson, Violet Pettus (an African-American nurse during the 1928 flu pandemic), Emmett... Read More

BALLAD & DAGGER

BALLAD & DAGGER

by Daniel José Older | Read by Lee Osorio

Disney Hyperion
Young Adult

Listeners are introduced to the island of San Madrigal by 16-year-old Mateo Matisse. He is a descendant of its inhabitants, a tight-knit diaspora of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews who escaped and settled in Brooklyn when the island sank into the sea. On the night of the community's annual fete, Mateo is surprised when he not only witnesses a murder but also learns... Read More

THE BELOVED WORLD OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR

THE BELOVED WORLD OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR

Earphones Award Winner

by Sonia Sotomayor | Read by Jaina Lee Ortiz, Sonia Sotomayor [Intro and Prologue]

Listening Library
Children

Sonia Sotomayor invites listeners to learn about her journey to becoming the first Latina Supreme Court Justice of the United States in this middle-grade adaptation of her memoir, MY BELOVED WORLD. Sotomayor narrates the prologue of her captivating story in an inspiring voice full of determination. Narrator Jamie Lee Ortiz then takes on Sotomayor's storytelling role, guiding... Read More

BIG CHICAS DON'T CRY

BIG CHICAS DON'T CRY

Earphones Award Winner

by Annette Chavez Macias | Read by Vanessa Vasquez, Alessandra Manon, Aida Reluzco, Krysta Gonzales (as Dani Muñoz)

Brilliance Audio
Fiction

A supremely talented quartet of narrators will delight listeners with their vibrant and expressive voices. This addictive story follows four cousins who are navigating life as individuals and as part of a large Mexican American family. As children, they were very close, but family dynamics pushed them apart. Now, as adults, they wonder if they can be close again. All four women... Read More

BREATHE AND COUNT BACK FROM TEN

BREATHE AND COUNT BACK FROM TEN

Earphones Award Winner

by Natalia Sylvester | Read by Frankie Corzo

Harper Audio
Young Adult

Seasoned narrator Frankie Corzo delivers another satisfying and beautiful performance with her heartfelt and nimble narration. Peruvian-American teenager Veronica has hip dysplasia; being in the water is the only way she feels relief. Suddenly, she discovers the opportunity to become a mermaid performer when auditions open at Mermaid Cove, an aquatic tourist destination.... Read More

DANCING HANDS

DANCING HANDS How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln

by Margarita Engle | Read by Almarie Guerra

Dreamscape
Children

The magic of music enchants in this audio biography of world-renowned pianist Teresa Carreño's childhood. Almarie Guerra's gentle, reassuring narration transports the listener to Teresa's idyllic days playing the piano in Venezuela, followed by her flight from a revolution and arrival in New York City during the Civil War. Guerra beautifully voices Margarita Engle's lyrical... Read More

FALLING SHORT

FALLING SHORT

Earphones Award Winner

by Ernesto Cisneros | Read by Timothy Andrés Pabon, Gary Tiedemann

Harper Audio
Children

Timothy Andrés Pabon and Gary Tiedemann adeptly narrate this story about middle-school angst and basketball. Issac and Marco have been neighbors and best friends since kindergarten. Marco is an A student whose parents' recent divorce has made him sad. He hopes that playing basketball will get his father's attention. Issac excels at sports but not academics. He hopes that better... Read More

THE FAMILY IZQUIERDO

THE FAMILY IZQUIERDO Stories

Earphones Award Winner

by Rubén Degollado | Read by Rogelio T. Ramos, Thom Rivera, Kyla Garcia, Frankie Corzo, Roxanne Hernandez, Carolina Hoyos

Blackstone Audio
Fiction

A luminous ensemble brings this delectable audiobook to life. Listeners follow three generations of the Izquierdo family. In 1958, Papa Tavo and Guadalupe moved from Reynosa to McAllen. The Izquierdos are sure a neighbor has placed a curse on them. They attribute all their sadness or bad luck to the curse. But not all the Izquierdos believe in this curse; listeners get a chance... Read More

THE FARAWAY WORLD

THE FARAWAY WORLD Stories

Earphones Award Winner

by Patricia Engel | Read by Gisela Chípe, Frankie Corzo, Inés del Castillo, Cynthia Farrell, Dominique Franceschi, George Newbern, Anthony Rey Perez, Aida Reluzco, Alejandra Reynoso, Gary Tiedemann, Patricia Engel

Simon & Schuster Audio
Fiction

The author and an all-star ensemble of narrators perform this dazzling short story collection from Colombian American writer Patricia Engel. Each piece is performed by a different narrator, providing a unique voice for every story. In "Aida," Inés del Castillo's narration evokes the grief of a family whose daughter goes missing. Aida Reluzco keeps listeners spellbound with her... Read More

FELICE AND THE WAILING WOMAN

FELICE AND THE WAILING WOMAN Los Monstruos

Earphones Award Winner

by Diana López | Read by Elena Rey

Listening Library
Children

Elena Rey will captivate listeners with her command of accents, which are intentionally comical or subtle, depending on the character she is portraying. Twelve-year-old Felice is an orphan living in Corpus Christi with her uncle; years ago her mother died while crossing the river in the town of Tres Leches. Felice has heard that her mother became La Llorna, a wailing ghost who... Read More

THE GO-BETWEEN

THE GO-BETWEEN

Earphones Award Winner

by Veronica Chambers | Read by Karla Souza

Listening Library
Young Adult

Karla Souza (who plays Laurel on "How to Get Away with Murder") creates a pitch-perfect, youthful narration of Cammi, an ultra-privileged teen whose life is transformed. When Cammi's Mexican telenovela superstar mom moves the family to the U.S. to play a maid in an American television show, Cammi's new friends at progressive Polestar Academy assume Cammi is an immigrant kid on... Read More

HOW TO LOVE A COUNTRY

HOW TO LOVE A COUNTRY Poems

by Richard Blanco | Read by Richard Blanco

Beacon Press
Poetry & Drama

With a quiet but driving intensity, Richard Blanco delivers poems that speak to our times. He addresses the push-pull of his identity as a Cuban-American, confronts his own mortality (his father died at 55), and touches on national tragedies such as the Pulse nightclub and Parkland high school mass shootings and the Boston bombing. In the affecting "November Eyes," the author... Read More

IN THE HEIGHTS

IN THE HEIGHTS Finding Home

by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Jeremy McCarter | Read by America Ferrara, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Jeremy McCarter

Random House Audio
Contemporary Culture

Before HAMILTON, before Lin-Manuel Miranda became a household name, there was IN THE HEIGHTS. This audiobook, read by many of those directly involved, recounts how the creative team of multicultural newcomers struggled to get their first Latino hip-hop project to Broadway and then, 10 years later, made into a Hollywood film. Here Miranda and HAMILTON co-author Jeremy McCarter,... Read More

A LAND OF BOOKS

A LAND OF BOOKS Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters

Earphones Award Winner

by Duncan Tonatiuh | Read by Carolina Hoyos

Dreamscape
Children

Carolina Hoyos expertly and lovingly narrates this astounding audiobook. A Mexihcah girl tells her little brother about the history of book making in Mesoamerica before the arrival of Europeans. Book-making techniques are explored in depth--from the plants used to make the pages to the animals, insects, and rocks used to complete and decorate the books. How these books were... Read More

THE LESBIANA'S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL

THE LESBIANA'S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Earphones Award Winner

by Sonora Reyes | Read by Karla Serrato

Harper Audio
Young Adult

Narrator Karla Serrato is delightful as she adds humor and expressiveness to the turmoil of this coming-of-age story. Serrato’s youthful voice pairs perfectly with the range of emotions the characters experience. High school is hard, and Yamilet has it extra hard. So many things have gone wrong in her life. Most importantly, she hesitates to come out as queer. A light appears... Read More

MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

by Meg Medina | Read by Brian Amador, Rosi Amador, Alisa Amador

Live Oak Media
Children

Alisa, Rosi, and Brian Amador narrate a sweet story of connecting across a generational and language divide. Mia's "far-away" grandmother has come to live with Mia and her family. Alisa's youthful and earnest voice tells listeners of Mia's struggles to talk with her abuela who is narrated in Spanish by Rosi. Neither Mia's Español nor abuela's English is strong enough for them... Read More

MARIA, MARIA

MARIA, MARIA And Other Stories

by Marytza K. Rubio | Read by Kyla García

Tantor Media
Fiction

This debut collection of short stories combines magical realism, folklore, nature, and family in a wholly unique mix. Kyla García's expressive narration conjures the mystical atmosphere evoked in the wide range of stories. In one, women invoke magic in a course on witchcraft at a community college. Another involves the legacies of a California family's multiple Marias, and... Read More

ORDINARY GIRLS

ORDINARY GIRLS

by Jaquira Diaz | Read by Almarie Guerra

HighBridge Audio
Biography & Memoir

A gripping, gorgeous story from start to finish is brought to life by narrator Almarie Guerra. Like author Jaquira Díaz, Guerra was born in Puerto Rico and is bilingual. In a smooth, engaging voice that isn't overly theatrical, she brings a balance of spirit and restraint to her delivery of Díaz's electric memoir. The listener follows Díaz from her childhood in the projects in... Read More

OUR MIGRANT SOULS

OUR MIGRANT SOULS A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of "Latino"

by Héctor Tobar | Read by André Santana

Macmillan Audio
Contemporary Culture

Academic Héctor Tobar explores Western European-descended North Americans' evolving creation of "brownness" as a governable and repressible classification. The youthful timbre of André Santana's voice pairs well with Tobar's view of Latino people as young in both generational and political senses. Santana weaves Tobar's data and other research, stories of his life and his... Read More

OYE

OYE

Earphones Award Winner

by Melissa Mogollon | Read by Elena Rey

Random House Audio
Fiction

Elena Rey rises to the challenge of narrating this emotionally charged and hilarious story of love and trauma shared among three generations of women. Luciana, the youngest daughter in a Colombian American family, becomes exasperated when her eccentric grandmother, Abue, refuses to evacuate from Miami during a hurricane. A mass found on Abue's gallbladder throws everything into... Read More

RELENTLESS

RELENTLESS My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America

by Luis A. Miranda Jr., Richard Wolffe [Contributor], Lin-Manuel Miranda [Fore.] | Read by Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Hachette Audio
Biography & Memoir

No stranger to delivering a powerful message, author and narrator Luis A. Miranda, Jr., performs this memoir of his life in Puerto Rico, his political activism, and the power of the Latino people. When he left Puerto Rico for New York City, Miranda, Jr., expected to pursue a PhD in psychology. Instead, he chose a life devoted to bettering his community and the lives of those in... Read More

RELIT

RELIT 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories

by Sandra Proudman [Ed.] | Read by Karla Serrato, Frankie Corzo, Dominique Franceschi, Zac Aleman, Andrew Joseph Perez, et al.

Dreamscape
Young Adult

An ensemble of narrators delivers this collection of 16 classic stories, poems, fairy tales, and myths reimagined with a Latinx spin and frequent genre bending, mostly into sci-fi and fantasy. Each short story utilizes one or more narrators who mostly fit the gender identity of the main character. Each narrator fully commits to their story, emotionally connecting with teens who... Read More

THE SONS OF EL REY

THE SONS OF EL REY

Earphones Award Winner

by Alex Espinoza | Read by Gisela Chípe, Tony Chiroldes, Lee Osorio, André Santana

Simon & Schuster Audio
Fiction

This riveting audiobook delves into the lives of three generations of luchadores, masked Mexican wrestlers, who are grappling with love and family secrets in Mexico City and Los Angeles. Narrators Gisela Chípe, Tony Chiroldes, Lee Osorio, and André Santana bring depth and authenticity to their characters. Chípe's portrayal of Elena resonates with strength and resilience,... Read More

THE SOUL OF A WOMAN

THE SOUL OF A WOMAN

Earphones Award Winner

by Isabel Allende | Read by Gisela Chípe

Random House Audio
Biography & Memoir

Internationally acclaimed author Isabel Allende describes her lifelong feminism. The audiobook begins with her experiences as a child witnessing her mother's attempts to provide for her three children after being abandoned by Isabel's father. Her story then moves through the feminist movement of the 1960s, her three subsequent marriages, and the effects of feminism on the lives... Read More

THE TOWN OF BABYLON

THE TOWN OF BABYLON

by Alejandro Varela | Read by Timothy Andrés Pabon

Audible, Inc.
Fiction

Timothy Pabon gives a masterful performance of this masterful debut. Andrés, a gay Latinx professor, returns to his hometown to take care of his aging parents. While there, he attends his 20th high school reunion and reckons with his past. Pabon expertly brings Andrés to life, portraying him in warm tones that sometimes spiral into self-righteous indignation. Andrés's... Read More

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE

by Isabel Cañas | Read by Jose Nateras, Krysta Gonzales

Penguin Audio
Horror

Jose Nateras and Krysta Gonzales convey the romance and spine-tingling horrors in this audiobook set during the Mexican-American War. In a gravelly voice, Nateras portrays Néstor's dread at being summoned back to protect the ranch where, nine years earlier, he witnessed his best friend Nena's gruesome death. He's shocked to find her alive, angry, and with no time for Néstor's... Read More

WOMAN WITHOUT SHAME

WOMAN WITHOUT SHAME

Earphones Award Winner

by Sandra Cisneros | Read by Sandra Cisneros

Random House Audio
Poetry & Drama

Sandra Cisneros’s performance of her poetry is a marvel. She is so good that one wishes she would record poetry by other writers as well. Her voice is a wonderful instrument, and she explores its possibilities with tone, accent, and timbre while conveying her intentions in these deeply personal poems. The poems examine life as a woman of a certain age in Mexico and the U.S.... Read More

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