Alvarez, Julia.
How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents
. 1994 . A well-acclaimed novel by a modern Latina author from the Dominican Republic. The first chapter is excellent for classroom analysis on the symbolism of the guava.
Cisneros, Sandra.
La Casa en Mango Street
. New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, 1994, Translated by Elena Poniatoska.
———.
The House on Mango Street
. New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, 1994. A nostalgic and brave recounting of the author’s youth on Mango Street. Each chapter is a vignette or narrative poem, with precise visual images of the neighborhood and the characters in them.
Ferre, Rosario.
Maldito Amor
. Col. Iztacalco, Mexico: Editorial Joaquin Mortiz, S.A. de C.V., 1986.
———.
Sweet Diamond Dust.
New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, 1988. Translated from the Spanish by the author, Rosario Ferre. A collection of short stories, the second one, entitled “ The Gift,” describes a friendship between two Puerto Rican girls in a Catholic girls’ school and reveals the racism and elitism in the church hierarchy and in the society. The gift is twice-given and changes in symbolism from a beauty pageant prize to a simple gift of friendship to a sarcastic missive.
Floss, Flora.
The Caribbean: World Myths and Legends II
. Belmont, CA.: Simon & Schuster, 1993. A collection in English of Caribbean myths from islands such as Cuba,Haiti, Jamaica,Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the Dominican Republic. Of particular note is the tale from Haiti, entitled “The Magic Orange Tree,” 49-57.
Freire Matos, Isabel and Ruben del Rosario.
El Abecedario de Puerto Rico
. Sharon, Ct.: Troutman Press, 1968. Lively and authentic poems by a Puerto Rican poet that describe the tropical fruits of the island. Two selections used in this unit: El Mango and La Quenepa.
Matilla, Alfredo and Ivan Silen.
The Puerto Rican Poets
. Los Poetas Puertorriquenos. N.Y., N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1972. A bilingual anthology of Puerto Rican poets.
Santiago, Esmeralda.
When I was Puerto Rican
. New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, 1994. Excellent novel for classroom analysis of migrant novels and for the plentiful “refranes” that introduce every chapter.
Vega, Ana Lydia and Carmen Lugo Filippi.
Virgenes y Mawtires
. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Antillana, 1991. A collection of short stories from two of the most exciting new voices from Puerto Rico. The first story, entitled “Recetario de incautos,” is about a young lady’s excessive preocuppation with social appearances and with her quest for the perfect recipe. A sophisticated and cynical view of modern life.