The books listed on this site are by queer authors or are queer texts,
and in some cases both by and about queers. The books may only contain supporting queer characters.
In the interest of space, the annotations for these books have been
limited to a synopsis on how the book is queer, as they are all by
or about Chicano/Latinos. A few of the books have no annotation, as
the title makes the content obvious.
This is by no means a complete list but is as comprehensive as possible.
There is no category for transgender, although a few of the books
under the category of queer have transgender content.
The majority of these books are literature or fiction, with numerous
anthologies, novels and volumes of poetry.
Due to length, this section has been divided into several pages.
Alarcón, Norma, Ana Castillo and Cherríe Moraga,
Eds. The Sexuality of Latinas. Berkeley, CA: Third Woman Press, 1988.
A bilingual
anthology covering all aspects of Latina female sexuality.
Alarcon, Francis X. Body in Flames = Cuerpe en
Llamas. San
Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1990.
Mexican-American
author with a dual language book of his writings and poetry.
Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands / Fronteras: The
New Mestiza.
San Francisco, CA: Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1987.
An collection of
essays and poetry on queer sexuality. Also some bilingual pieces.
---, Ed. Making Face, Making Soul / Haciendo
Cara: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Women of Color. San Francisco: Aunt Lute
Books, 1990.
An
anthology by feminist women of color with some essays and poetry on queer
sexuality. Also some bilingual pieces.
---. Interviews/Entervista. Ed. Analouise Keating. New
York, NY: Routledge, 2000.
A
collection of conversations, sort of a memoir, of the queer Chicana feminist
author.
Arenas, Reinaldo. Before Night Falls. Viking, 1993.
This
is a memoir of his life in Cuba and as an exile in the US. It is a very candid
account of his sexuality and of Castro's dictatorship. Arenas has written
numerous novels in Spanish (translated to English) based on his experiences in
Cuba, a few of which are listed below:
---. The Assault. Trans. from Spanish by Andrew
Hurley. New York: Viking, 1994.
---. The Color of Summer: Or, The New Garden
of Earthly Delights.
Trans. from Spanish by Andrew Hurley. New York: Viking, 2000.
This
is Arenas last book before his death.
---. Singing from the Well. Trans. From Spanish by Andrew
Hurley. New York: Viking, 1987. Spanish edition, Celestino Antes Del Alba.
This is a coming
of age novel.
Bergmann, Emile and Paul Smith, eds. Entiendes?:
Queer Readings, Hispanic Writings. Duke, 1995.
An
anthology on queer Latino culture, one of the first, in fact.
Berman, Sabina. Lunas. Mexico, DF: Editorial Katón,
1988.
Poetry
from a lesbian perspective.
Calderón, Sara Levi. Dos Mujeres. Mexico, DF: Diana, 1991.
---. The Two Mujeres. San Francisco: Aunt Lute
Press, 1992.
This
novel is sort of a coming out story of a woman in Mexico City.
Calva, Jose Rafael. El Jinete Azul. Mexico City: Editorial Katun,
1985.
This
may be nonfiction, but Calva is known to write about gay men.
---. Utopia Gay. Mexico City: Ed. Oasis, 1983.
Novel about a
gay marriage.
Campo, Rafael. Diva. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1999.
---. The Other Man Was Me: A Voyage to the New
World. Houston:
Arte Publico Press, 1994.
---. What the Body Told. Durham: Duke University Press,
1996.
Campo
is a Cuban gay medical doctor and poet. These are collections of his poetry,
but are not his only works.
Castillo, Ana. Loverboys. New York, NY: W.W. Norton,
1996.
Castillo
is a feminist lesbian writer. Short stories of love in all its forms.
---. So Far From God. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1993.
A
novel on the relationships of women with some commentary on AIDS.
---. The Mixquiahuala Letters. Tempe, AR: Bilingual Press,
1986.
Castillo’s first
novel about the relationship of two women.
Chirbes, Rafael. Mimoun. London: Serpent's Tail, 1992.
Translated from Spanish by Gerald Martin.
Story
of a bisexual novelist.
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Houston, TX: Arte Publico
Press, 1984, 1989. Reprint New York: Random House/Vintage 1991.
---. Woman Hollering Creek, and Other Stories. New York, NY: Random House,
1991.
Both
books are collections of the stories of various women, with varying
sexualities.
Cordova, Jeanne. Faults. Boston, MA: Alyson Press,
1999.
A
novel with some lesbian content.
---. Margins. Seattle, WA: Seal Press, 1992.
Dual
language novel about a young lesbian.
de la Peña, Terri. Latin Satins. Seattle, WA: Seal Press, 1994.
A
novel about a Chicana lesbian singing group in Santa Monica.
Ferre, Rosaria. Sweet Diamond Dust. Plume, 1996.
A
collection of stories, some dealing with queer sexuality.
Forte-Escamilla, Kleya. [Edna Escamill]. Mada:
An Erotic Novel.
Toronto: Sister Vision/Black Women and Women of Colour Press. 1993.
---. The Storyteller With Nike Airs and Other
Barrio Stories.
San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Foundation, 1994.
Both are
collections of stories with some queer content.
Foster, David William, Chicano/Latino
Homoerotic Identities.
Taylor & Francis, Inc. 1999.
Collection
of essays on Chicano/Latino homoerotic identities.
Garcia-Lorca, Federico. A Poet in New York. Ed. by Christopher Mauerer;
trans. from Spanish by Greg Simon and Steven F.White. New York: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, 1988.
A
collection of poetry from a gay poet.
Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. Sor Juana's Second
Dream.
Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1999.
The
story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th century Mexican lesbian author.
Gaspar de Alba, Alicia, María Herrera-Sobek and
Demetria Martínez. Three Times a Woman: Chicana Poetry. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press,
1989.
Dual
language book of poetry.
Gil-Gomez, Ellen M. Performing La Mestiza:
Textual Representations of Lesbians of Color and the Negotiation of Identities.
(Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory: The Interaction of Text and Society). New York, NY: Garland Press,
2000.
Gomez, Alma, Cherríe Moraga, and Mariana
Romo-Carmona, Eds. Cuentos: Stories by Latinas. New York, NY: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983.
Bilingual
anthology of stories, some from lesbian authors.
Gomez-Vega, Ibis. Send My Roots Rain. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute
Foundation, 1991.
A
novel about a lesbian artist dealing with her sexuality.
Guerra, Erasmo, ed. Latin Lovers: True Stories
of Latin Men in Love.
Painted Leaf Press. 1999.
An
anthology of stories of love with gay authors such as Reinaldo Arenas.
Lancaster, Roger. Life is Hard: Machismo,
Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley: 1992.
A
look at the sexual relationships between men in Nicaragua, specifically in regards
to machismo.
Leyland, Winston, Ed. Now the Volcano: An
Anthology of Latin American Gay Literature. Trans. by Erskine Lane, Franklin D. Blanton, Simon Karlinsky. San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1979.
Limón, Graciela. The Day of the Moon. Houston: Arte Publico, 1999.
The
story of a man whose bride becomes lovers with his sister. After she passes
away, he is left to return to a family in torment.
Manrique, Jaime. Virgins, Guerrillas and Locas:
Gay Latinos Writing About Love. Cleis Press. 1999.
---. Besame Mucho: New Gay Latino Fiction (New
Gay Latino Fiction).
Painted Leaf Press. 1999.
Two
separate anthologies of stories of gay Latinos.
Martínez, Elena M. Lesbian Voices from Latin
America. Hamden, CT: Garland Publishers. 1996.
Mayer, Oliver. Blade To The Heat. New York: Dramatists Play
Service, 1996.
A play about gay
boxers.
Moraga, Cherríe. Heroes and Saints and Other
Plays.
Albuquerque, NM: West End Press, 1994.
A
collection of plays by a queer Chicana writer. "Giving up the Ghost"
is the story of a lesbian and her relationships, one with a bisexual woman.
"Shadow of a Man" has some gay undertones. "Heroes and
Saints" has a gay character. Moraga is a lesbian feminist with numerous
other books.
---. Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca
Paso Por Sus Labios.
Boston, MA: South End Press, 1983.
A
collection of poetry and essays, sort of a memoir, from queer author Moraga.
---. The Last Generation: Prose and Poetry. Boston, MA: South End Press,
1993.
Another
collection of essays and poetry. Moraga has several other books out as well.
Munoz, Elias Miguel. The Greatest Performance. Houston, TX: Arte Publico
Press, 1991.
Two
Cuban exiles in the US, a gay man and a lesbian, recount their past lives in
homophobic Cuba.
Murray, Stephen O. Latin American Male
Homosexualities.
University of New Mexico Press. 1995.
An
anthropological look at Latin American gay men. An anthology.
Obejas, Achy. Memory Mambo. Pittsburgh, PA: Cleis Press,
1996.
Obejas
is a Cuban lesbian. This is her first novel, a story about a Latina lesbian and
her struggles with family, identity and work.
---. We Came All The Way From Cuba So You
Could Dress Like This? Stories. Pittsburgh, PA: Cleis Press, 1994.Stories
about Latino immigrants, lesbians, gays, addicts, and other people facing life
challenges.
---. Days of Awe. New York, NY: Ballantine
Books, 2001.
This
novel is less about sexuality and more about racial identity.
Ortiz Taylor, Sheila. Coachella. Albuquerque, NM: University of
New Mexico Press, 1998.
This
novel takes place during the 1980s AIDS crisis and deals with transgender
(drag) as well as queer issues.
---. Faultline. Tallahassee, FL: The Naiad
Press, 1982.
A
novel with several lesbian characters.
---. Southbound. Tallahassee, FL: The Naiad
Press, 1990.
This
is the sequel to Faultline.
Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth and Margarita
Fernéndez Olmos. El Placer de la Palabra: Erótica Femenina de América Latina. Mexico, DF: Editorial Planeta,
1991.
---. Pleasure in the Word: Erotic Writing by
Latin American Women.
White Pine, 1991.
An
anthology of erotic writing from 20th century Latin American writers, some of
whom are lesbians.
Peri Rossi, Cristina. Evohe. Washington, DC: Azul Editions,
1994.
A
collection of erotic lesbian poetry. Peri Rossi has numerous other books out.
This particular one was banned by the military.
Pinera, Virgilio. Cold tales. Translated from Spanish by
Mark Schafer, revised by Thomas Christensen. Hygiene, Colo.: Eridanos Press,
1988.
A
collection of stories about his life and sexuality, as a gay man. Has published
several other books as well.
Pinero, Joseph. Short Eyes: A Play. New York: Hill and Wang,
1975.
A
play depicting prison life among a group of black and Puerto Rican prisoners.
Rodriguez, Aleida. Garden of Exile: Poems. Louisville, KY: Sarabande,
1999.
A
collection of poems from a Cuban-American lesbian poet.
Romo-Carmona, Mariana. Living at Night. Duluth, MN: Spinsters Ink,
1997.
The
main character of this novel is a working-class Puerto Rican lesbian.
Silvera, Makeda, ed. Piece of My Heart: A
Lesbian of Colour Anthology. Toronto: Sister Vision Press, 1991.
An
anthology of stories from lesbians of color, including some Latinas.
Taylor, Diana and Juan Villegas, eds. Negotiating
Performance: Gender, Sexuality, and Theatricality in Latin America. Duke, 1995.
An anthology of
theatrical related pieces covering queer topics, such as AIDS and transgender.
Torres, Daniel. Moriras si da una primavera:
una novelita azul.
Coral Gables: Iberian Studies Institute, University of Miami, 1993.
A
novel about the coming out story of a Puerto Rican gay man during the AIDS
crisis.
Troyano, Alina, et al. I, Carmelita Tropicana:
Performing Between Culture. Boston, MA: Bluestreak/Beacon, 2000.
Troyano is a Cuban lesbian feminist performance artist. This is a
collection of her prose and plays.
Trujillo, Carla, ed. Chicana Lesbians: The
Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About. Berkeley, CA: Third Woman Press, 1991.
An anthology of
poetry, art, essays, letters and interviews of Chicana lesbians.
Trujillo, Carla. What Night Brings. Willamantic, CT: Curbstone
Press. 2003.
This
is the first novel from lesbian author Trujillo. It is the story of a girl
struggling with her gender identity, praying each night that God will turn her
into a boy.
Umpierre-Herrera, Luz María. The Margarita
Poems.
Berkeley, CA: Third Woman Press.
A collection of poems from this lesbian poet.
Velasquez, Gloria. Tommy Stands Alone. Houston: Pinata Books/Arte
Publico Press, 1995.
This
is the novel of a Mexican American high school student who struggles with his
sexual identity and family.
Villanueva, Alma Luz. Naked Ladies.
Tempe, Ariz: Bilingual Press,
1994.
The story of a woman and her struggles in life, including her
husband’s gay lover contracting AIDS.