This list is intended for students interested in an introduction to U.S. Latino/a writing. For those new to this literature, I have provided a list of some notable texts about which a tradition of criticism has begun to emerge. Students interested in pursuing this field as a specialization in graduate school should consult reading lists such as Chicana and Chicano Literature from the Department of English at UCLA. These secondary critical works are also recommended for students interested in this field of study.

Coyolxauhqui  Image courtesy of the  Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico.

Alvarez, Julia. How The García Girls Lost Their Accents.
   ——. In the Time of the Butterflies.
   ——. In the Name of Salomé.
   ----. Something to Declare.
   ——. ¡Yo!

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima.
   ——. Heart of Aztlán.
   ——. Albuquerque.

Arias, Ron. The Road to Tamazunchale.

Barrio, Raymond. The Plum Plum Pickers.

Benítez, Sandra. Bitter Grounds.
   ----. The Weight of All Things.
   ----. The Place Where the Sea Remembers.

Castillo, Ana. The Mixquiahuala Letters.
   ——. Sapogonia.
   ——. So Far From God.

Chávez, Denise. The Last of the Menu Girls.
   ——. Face of an Angel.
   -----. Loving Pedro Infante.

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.
   ——. Woman Hollering Creek.
   ----. Caramelo.

Díaz, Junot. Drown.

Engle, Margarita. Singing to Cuba.
   ----. Skywriting.

Ferre, Rosario. The House on the Lagoon.
   ----. The Flight of the Swan.
   ----. Eccentric Neighborhoods.

García, Cristina. Dreaming in Cuban.
   ——. The Agüero Sisters.
   ----. Monkey Hunting.

Hinojosa, Rolando. Dear Rafe.
   ——. The Valley.

Hijuelos, Oscar. Our House in the Last World.
   ——. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.

Islas, Arturo. The Rain God.
   ——. Migrant Souls.

Jaramillo, Cleofas. Romance of a Little Village Girl.

Limón, Graciela. In Search of Bernabé.

Martínez, Demetria. Mother Tongue.

Martínez, Max. The Adventures of the Chicano Kid and Other Stories.

Moraga, Cherríe. Loving in the War Years.

Mohr, Nocholasa. Nilda.
   ——. El Bronx Remembered.
   ——. In Nueva York.

Morales, Alejandro. The Brick People.

Niggli, Josephina. Mexican Village.

Obejas, Achy. We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?
   ----. Memory Mambo.
   ----. Days of Awe

Ortiz, Cofer, Judith. The Line of the Sun.
   ——. Silent Dancing.
   ——. The Latin Deli.

Paredes, Américo. George Washington Gómez.

Piri, Thomas. Down These Mean Streets.

Rechy, John. City of Night.

Rivera, Tomás. Y no se lo tragó la tierra (And the Earth did not Devour Him).

Ruíz de Burton, Amparo. Who Would Have Thought It?
   ——. The Squatter and the Don.

Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican.

Villanueva, Alma. Under the Ultraviolet Sky.
    ----. Weeping Woman and Other Stories.

Villareal, José Antonio. Pocho.

Villaseñor, Victor. Macho!
   ——. Rain of Gold.

Villegas de Magnon, Leonor. The Rebel.

Viramontes, Helena Maria. The Moths and Other Stories.
   ——. Under the Feet of Jesus.

Poetry
Alarcón, Francisco. The Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation.

Alurista  Floricanto en Aztlán.

Álvarez, Julia. El Otro Lado/The Other Side.
   ----. Homecoming.
   ----. The Woman I Kept to Myself.

Baca, Jimmy Santiago. Immigrants in Our Own Land.

Castillo, Ana. The Invitation.
   ----. Women Are Not Roses.
   ——. My Father Was a Toltec.

Cervantes, Lorna Dee. Emplumada.
   ——. From the Cables of Genocide.

Cisneros, Sandra. My Wicked, Wicked Ways.
   ——. Loose Woman.

Cruz, Victor Hernandez. Snaps.
   ——. Mainland.
   ——. By Lingual Wholes.

Curbelo, Silvia. The Secret History of Water.

Gonzáles, Rudolfo. I Am Joaquín.

Martínez, Demetria. The Devil’s Workshop

Mora, Pat. Chants.
   ——. Borders.
   ——. Communion.
   ——. Holy Water.
   ——. Aunt Carmen’s Book of Practical Saints.

Ortiz Cofer, Judith. Reaching for the Mainland.
   ——. Terms of Survival.

Ríos, Alberto. Whistling to Fool the Wind.

Soto, Gary. Elements of San Joaquín.
   ——. The Tale of Sunlight.

Villanueva, Alma. Bloodroot.
    ----. Vida.

Zamora, Bernice. Restless Serpents.
    ----. Releasing Serpents.

Drama

Chávez, Denise. Nueva Narrativas y Ofrendas Nuevomexicanas.

López, Josefina. Simply María or The American Dream.

Los Pastores. c. 1880.

Moraga, Cherríe. Circle in the Dirt.
    ----. Giving up the Ghost.
    ----. Heroes and Saints.
    ----. Hungry Woman.
    ----. Shadow of a Man.
    ----. Watsonville.

Morton, Carlos. Johnny Tenorio.
   ----. The Savior.
   ----. The Miser of Mexico.
   ----.Pancho Diablo.

Niggli, Josephina. Sunday Costs Five Pesos.

Piñero, Miguel. Short Eyes.

Portillo-Trambley, Estela. Sor Juana and Other Plays.

Prida, Dolores. Beautiful Senoritas.
   ——. Coser y cantar.
   ——. Savings.
   ——. Pantallas.
   ——. Botanica.

Váldez, Luis.  The Theft.
   ——. The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa.
   ——. Los Vendidos.
   ——. Zoot Suit.
   ——. Bandido!