There was a Google + post this morning by one of my social media friends, Elianna Murillo regarding Hispanic Heritage Month and Google Play’s Latino books on discount in celebration thereof. Me being me, I was excited and clicked. All of a sudden that excitement was replaced by anger. Why was Sandra Cisnero’s House on Mango Street the only recognizable Chicano/a book on this list? I grew up in the dawning of Xicano/a lit and I didn’t see ANY of my literary heroes. Only one book of the many that inspired me, that showed me that I too could be an author, that my voice was important? Hijole, el corraje!
I posted a reply asking why weren’t my authors listed. I didn’t expect a reply and decided to rally myself for a fight. I was going to round up and get some kind of a protest going..or something. I am nothing, if not a peleoñera, except that I didn’t have to fight for it. In an amazingly quick and responsive show of why Google is so darned scary successful, they listened. Elianna replied to me within a half hour (seriously) with this…
Skeptical, I went over to Google Play and typed in Ana Castillo. Wow! Then Lucha Corpi, Luis Alberto Urrea, Luis J. Rodriguez, Denise Chavez, etc. I kept pulling up pages and pages of beautiful Chicano literature. This is a treasure!
So though I rarely advertise on AmoXcalli and that is in fact, against my policy, head over to Google Play. If you can’t buy the books, please, please please Plus 1 them, post on your networks and share, share, share. We matter. Our books matter. This is our history, our culture and our heart. These are our heroes. Let’s let Google know we care about our authors and that we appreciate them listening and getting these books in.
