Madison Public Library Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

October 11, 7-8 pm, Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St.
Citizen Illegal is a revealing portrait of life as a first generation immigrant, a celebration of Chicano joy, a shout against erasure, and a vibrant re-imagining of Mexican American life. In this stunning debut, poet José Olivarez explores the stories, contradictions, joys, and sorrows that embody life in the spaces between Mexico and America. He paints vivid portraits of good kids, bad kids, families clinging to hope, life after the steel mills, gentrifying barrios, and everything in between. Drawing on the rich traditions of Latinx and Chicago writers like Sandra Cisneros and Gwendolyn Brooks, Olivarez creates a home out of life in the in-between. Combining wry humor with potent emotional force, Olivarez takes on complex issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and immigration using an everyday language that invites the reader in. Olivarez has a unique voice that makes him a poet to watch. Presented as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival, October 11-14, www.wisconsinbookfestival.org.

October 13, 4:30pm, Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St.
The first time Isabel meets her father-in-law, Omar, he’s already dead—an apparition appearing uninvited on her wedding day. Her husband, Martin, still unforgiving for having been abandoned by his father years ago, confesses that he never knew the old man had died. So Omar asks Isabel for the impossible: persuade Omar’s family—especially his wife, Elda—to let him redeem himself. Isabel and Martin settle into married life in a Texas border town, and Omar returns each year on the celebratory Day of the Dead. Every year Isabel listens, but to the aggrieved Martin and Elda, Omar’s spirit remains invisible. Through his visits, Isabel gains insight into not just the truth about his disappearance and her husband’s childhood but also the ways grief can eat away at love. When Martin’s teenage nephew crosses the Mexican border and takes refuge in Isabel and Martin’s home, questions about past and future homes, borders, and belonging arise that may finally lead to forgiveness—and alter all their lives forever. Presented as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival, October 11-14, www.wisconsinbookfestival.org.

October 18, November 1, November 15,  1-3pm,  Sequoya Library, 4340 Tokay Blvd. (past programs September 20, October 4)
Presentado por University League en asociación con la Biblioteca Sequoya. Todos son bienvenidos, los libros y las discusiones están completamente en español. Por favor, obtenga un plan de lectura en el escritorio marcado con “Ask Here”  Primer y tercer jueves, 6 sept 2018 - 6 junio 2019.

October 20, 2-4pm, Alicia Ashman Library, 733 High Point Rd.
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer. Starring Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal & Benjamin Bratt (PG, 1hr 45min, 2017)

October 27, 12-2pm, Pinney Library, 204 Cottage Grove Rd.
Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Araceli Esparza. Learn how to make an altar, talk about the elements of an altar, and hear a Dia de los Muertos story.  Make  your own papel picado and taste pan de muerto. And, join local artist Rodrigo Carapia as he creates a painting on canvas related to Día de los Muertos.
Celebra el Día de los Muertos con Araceli Esparza. Aprende a hacer un altar, habla de los elementos de un altar, y escucha una historia de dia de los muertos. Haz tu propio papel picado y saborea el pan de muerto. Y, únase al artista local Rodrigo Carapia mientras crea una pintura sobre lienzo relacionada con el día de los muertos.

Tuesday, November 27, 6:30pm, Meadowridge Library, 5726 Raymond Rd.
Celebrated Latina civil rights activist and foreword writer Dolores Huerta once said, "Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world." These are the stories of some of the Latina activists from Wisconsin who have lived Huerta's words. Somos Latinas shares the powerful narratives of 25 activists from outspoken demonstrators to collaborative community-builders to determined individuals working for change behind the scenes- providing proof of the long-standing legacy of Latina activism throughout Wisconsin. Somos Latinas draws on activist interviews conducted as part of the Somos Latinas Digital History Project, housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society, and looks deep into the life and passion of each woman. This presentation will feature co-author Eloisa Gómez and several of the women featured in the book.  Book sales, signing, and refreshments to follow.