It is easy to take cultural heritage months for granted. We swipe our cards, highlight our favorite creators and stories and then move on with our day, reassured of our inherent goodness. But the truth is, we are better served in taking these moments to really reflect on whether or not we are creating space in our world for other people to exist. And whether that existence is truly reflective of the beauty and culture they contribute to the world, or if it looks more like some shadow of an identity that we have shaped in the tiny little boxes we've shoved them into, only to take them out and dust them off during the 30 days a year we've set aside for them to matter.

While I do want to be very intentional about celebrating Latine voices during these designated days, more than that, I want to challenge you to be conscious of the way you create space for them in your actual life. Latine people have, and continue to, make incredible contributions to our culture, our history, and the future of humanity. That deserves recognition and respect. Simultaneously, they continue to bare a huge portion of the burden that is created by western colonialism/imperialism.

I do not want to reduce them to their suffering, as that is neither honest or appropriate representation. But I do want to take this moment to challenge you to pay attention to what is happening around you. Not only in the United States, but all over the world. Pay attention, listen as Latine people speak for themselves, and take action in every space and in every way that you can.

Book lists are great. Highlighting your favorite creators is great.

Paying attention and taking action are greater.

That said, I do also want to point you toward a few Latine voices that you can invest in right here and now.

Inez Ray

As you know, Inez Ray has her debut novel, Buzzard publishing through our community in just a little over a week! Inez is a Latine woman who not only writes incredible stories, but works in reproductive healthcare, where she actively serves underrepresented people and advocates every day for better, safer and more equitable healthcare for everyone. Buzzard is a near-future dystopian that explores our country's current war on reproductive rights through the story of Mae, the last midwife in the United States performing abortions after reproductive rights are dismantled across the entire country. When she is eventually caught and convicted, she is forced to serve as a nurse for an experimental prison for young drone pilots and discovers horrific human rights violations happening, which leaves her with the difficult choice of either keeping her head down and possibly one day being able to get out and reunite with her sons, or do what she has always done, and prioritize the needs of the marginalized people in front of her.

I chose to invest in this book because I believe that Inez has something important to say to the world. Not just in this book, but in the stories she will write after it as well. I believe she is the kind of writer that comes along only a few times in a generation and I believe we would be foolish not to listen as she challenges the world to change.

Buzzard launches on September 22nd and we are very far from our goal for pre-orders. So if you are reading this, please go take a moment to order your copy right now. Here is a link where you can find the paperback for 15% off, or the e-book for just $3.99.

Carmen @Carmen

If you are not familiar with Carmen, I hope that you take the first section of this blog very seriously. Because Carmen is one of the fiercest advocates for Latine authors out there. She has been a staple in bookish spaces for years and currently, she is working to build her community here at Bindery so that she can continue her advocacy through a publishing imprint of her own. An imprint that would be focused on championing Latine voices specifically.

We can help her accomplish that goal by showing up here and now. And I am asking you to do exactly that. When I came to you and asked you to help me build this community so that we could fight for Black and brown authors together, you showed up and flooded me with support. And now I am asking you to do that for Carmen as well. Because as I said, she is a fierce advocate, and Latine authors would be so lucky to have them in her corner.

If you can spare $5 a month to help her in her mission to bring change for Latine authors, go subscribe to her Bindery HERE.

Stay Informed and Act

Lastly, I want to point you toward an organization that fights tirelessly for Latine people. UnidosUS is the largest civil rights organization for Latine people in the United States and they are a great starting point for anyone wanting to stay informed on what efforts are being taken to bring change. And more importantly, they are a great starting point for anyone wanting to figure out how to act. https://unidosus.org/

Like I said before, our goal has to be to intentionally create space for Latine voices in our lives. So if you are reading this and realizing that is not work you have already done, I am asking you to do it now. 30 days a year is not enough. Pay attention all year long.

Here are some more stories you can pick up if you are looking to add some books to your shelves:

The Queen's Redguard series by Isabelle Olmo is a political fantasy/romantasy series following Queen Almira and her faithful guard of fierce and powerful woman as they navigate the rapidly changing political landscape of their kingdom. The series starts with Queen and Conqueror, directly after Almira's husband is killed in the battle and, in order to stabilize the kingdom, she decides to marry the very man who killed him. It is an interconnected series, weaving the political and romantic choices of this powerful group of women around an overarching story of betrayal, suffering, and survival. Grab the first book in the series HERE.

If you need some shifter romance in your life, check out the Grym Hollow books by Tati Alvarez. The Guardian is a mysterious and seemingly omnipotent being who has one aim: to end the war in Mescos. Which he is doing by helping the rulers of each of Mescos' magical communities deepen their power by helping them to find their fated mate. Begining with Malix, the king of Dragons. You can grab the first book, The Dragon's Rose, HERE. (And between us, I might have a cameo character in book two, The Wolf's Mate, which you can grab HERE.)

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery follows New Yorks most prestigious publicist, Gwedolyn Montgomery. Gwendolyn has put her past behind her and wants nothing to do with the supernatural world she prefers to pretend doesn't exist. But when someone from her past shows up with a dire warning that the barrier between humans and spirits is weakening, she is going to have to get over herself and do what needs to be done. This was written by Afro-latine author, Clarence Haynes. Grab your copy HERE.

Last but not least, I would love it if you went and pre-ordered Natalia Hernandez' newest book, The Lost Guardian. This is an adventure book that is The Mummy meets a gender-bent Indiana Jones. It follows a reclusive historian who is suddenly ushered into a world he was not prepared for when his grandfather sends him a map to the lost tomb of the last Incan Emperor and the badass woman who shows up in his darkest moment to protect him from danger as he fights to solve an impossible mystery in time to save the world. Grab your copy HERE.