Finding Light Through Storytelling
Recommended Reading & Films for September 2025
Finding Light Through Storytelling: Recommended Reading & Films for September 2025
This month we share curated picks celebrating the power of storytelling in its many forms. Some invite us to smile, to laugh and to love, while others ask us to reflect, to reckon and to remember. As Hispanic Heritage Month began on September 15, communities across the U.S. remain under the shadow of fear over ICE raids, with cultural events and film screenings being canceled or self-censored out of safety concerns. In their place, we are shining a bright light on stories written by Hispanic and Latin authors, lived by Hispanic and Latin communities and brought to life by Hispanic and Latin actors, directors and creators. These choices are reminders of the importance of keeping stories alive and what is lost when voices are silenced.
Books
1. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America (Second Revised and Updated Edition) by Juan González (2022)
A sweeping history of the Latinx experience in the United States, this revised and updated edition traces centuries of migration, struggle and achievement. Written by journalist Juan González, it remains a cornerstone text on how Latino communities have shaped—and continue to shape—American life.
2. My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes (2022)
Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and co-writer of In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes tells her lyrical story of coming of age in a sprawling Puerto Rican family in Philadelphia. With language and family memory as her guides, she creates a portrait of resilience, creativity and identity.
3. Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer (2025)
An epic and deeply reported history of the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. Through the lives of migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who shape their fate, Blitzer presents a powerful account of survival, policy and consequence.
4. Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (2025)
Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and longlisted for the National Book Award, this bold novel follows an undocumented student at an elite college confronting a future that refuses to make space for her. Part campus novel, part pop song, it reimagines the coming-of-age story with daring and originality.
5. Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra (2014)
Alejandro Zambra, hailed as a leading voice of Chilean fiction, offers his most personal novel to date. Beginning with a childhood memory of an earthquake and moving between author and character, past and present, it reflects with melancholy and honesty on life under and after the Pinochet regime.
Films
1. Going Varsity in Mariachi (Netflix, August 29, 2024)
This spirited documentary follows the Mariachi Oro of Edinburg North High School in the Rio Grande Valley as they prepare for competition under the guidance of teacher Abel Acuña. Classic songs like Mexico Lindo y Querido and El Rey are reborn in the hands of young musicians, showing how mariachi builds community, strengthens identity and instills pride in heritage.
2. Pedro Páramo (Netflix, November 6, 2024)
Three-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto makes his directorial debut with this reimagining of Juan Rulfo’s landmark novel. Juan Preciado (played by Tenoch Huerta) journeys to the spectral town of Comala to honor his mother’s last request, only to encounter the haunting legacy of his father, Pedro Páramo. It is a tale of memory, tyranny and how the past reverberates across generations.
3. Frida (Prime Video, January 2024)
Directed by Carla Gutiérrez, this distinctive documentary lets Frida Kahlo speak for herself through her diaries, letters and first-person narration by Fernanda Echevarría. Animation brings her artwork vividly to life, capturing the heartbreak, passion and brilliance that fueled her creativity. The result is an intimate portrait of an artist who turned pain into enduring expression.
4. Captain America: Brave New World (Disney+, February 14, 2025)
The fourth film in Marvel’s Captain America saga follows Sam Wilson as he takes up the shield after Avengers: Endgame. Alongside him is Danny Ramirez, of Colombian and Mexican descent, playing Joaquin Torres as the new Falcon. Mixing blockbuster spectacle with new cultural visibility, the film highlights the growing presence of Latin voices in mainstream storytelling.
5. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip (Disney+, March 28, 2025)
This stand-alone sequel to the 2014 family comedy features an all-Latinx cast, including Eva Longoria, Jesse Garcia and Cheech Marin. The Garcias, a family of Colombian and Mexican heritage, embark on a road trip to reconnect with each other and their roots, only for everything to spiral into hilarious chaos. At its core is Alexander, determined to end the family’s “curse” and bring them back together.
Though times are heavy, this month’s films and books are just a few examples of what good art can do: open hearts, spark laughter, offer solace and sometimes even show us hope is stubborn, refusing to let us give up. Pick one, two or all of them. Let them make you smile, make you think and make you feel.
Perhaps more importantly, though, let them remind us storytelling is a lifeline connecting us across distance, culture and circumstance. When communities are pushed to the edge, art remains a bridge. By choosing to engage with these stories, we honor not just the creators but also the resilience of every voice still finding a way to be heard.