Second Generation Authors of Hispanic and Caribbean Origin

Click below to jump to authors with origins in . . .
Caribbean . . . Colombia . . . El Salvador . . . Mexico . . . Peru . . .Yanomami

Introduction

Ernesto Galarza was a Mexican-American writer and social activist who advocated on behalf of agricultural workers.

Mexicans make up the largest part of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Starting in the early 1900s, Mexicans began entering the U.S. as agricultural laborers. During World War II and the Korean War, Mexican laborers were sought by the U.S. to ease the labor shortage.

Of the rest of the immigrants from this region, a large percentage have come from the Caribbean islands.

As of the 2010 Census, about 16% of Americans identify as Hispanic (Census Bureau Data).

Caribbean

Alvarez, Julia (born 1950) — Alvarez was born in New York City but lived in the Dominican Republic until the age of 10, when her family fled the Dominican Republic for the United States.

Danticat, Edwidge (born 1969) — Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to Brooklyn, NY at the age of 12.

Diaz, Jaquira — Diaz was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Florida.

Diaz, Junot (born 1968) — Diaz was born in the Dominican Republic. He moved to New Jersey at the age of 8.

Eire, Carlos — Eire left Cuba at the age of 11.

Garcia, Cristina (born 1958) — Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated at the age of two to New York City, where she grew up.

Gay, Roxane — Gay was born and raised in Nebraska. Her parents are immigrants from Haiti.

Guy, Rosa (born 1925) — Guy was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven.

Hijuelos, Oscar (born 1951) — Hijuelos was born in New York City. His parents immigrated from Cuba.

Hudes, Quiara Alegria — Hudes was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Her mother is from Puerto Rico.

Marshall, Paule (1929 – 2019) — Marshall was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were immigrants from Barbados.

Mohr, Nicholasa (born 1935) — Mohr was born in New York City. Her parents were immigrants from Puerto Rico.

Obejas, Achy (born 1956) — Obejas was born in Cuba and immigrated at the age of 6. She grew up in Indiana.

Santiago, Esmeralda (born 1948) — Santiago was born in Puerto Rico, came to the United States at the age of 13, and grew up in New York City.

Thomas, Piri (1928-2011) — Thomas was born and raised in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. His mother was from Puerto Rico and his father was from Cuba.

Colombia

Guerrero, Diane — Guerrero was born in New Jersey and raised in Massachusetts.

Hernandez, Daisy — Hernandez was raised in New Jersey. Her parents are from Colombia and Cuba.

El Salvador

Zamora, Javier — Zamora immigrated alone to the U.S. at the age of 9. He lives in Arizona.

Mexico

Castillo, Marcelo Hernandez — Castillo came to the U.S. at the age of 5.

Cisneros, Sandra (born 1954) — Cisneros was born and raised in Chicago.

Galarza, Ernesto (1905-1984) — Galarza was born in Mexico and immigrated as a child to California.

Rodriguez, Luis (born 1954) — Rodriguez was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up in Los Angeles.

Rodriguez, Richard (born 1944) — Rodriguez was born and raised in California.

Ruiz, Ricardo — Ruiz was born and raised in Othello, Washington.

Villareal, Jose Antonio (born 1924) — Villareal was born in Los Angeles. His parents were immigrants and migrant workers.

Peru

Arana, Marie (born 1949) — Arana was born in Peru and immigrated with her family at the age of 9.

Sayman, Michael — Sayman was born and raised in Miami, Florida. His parents are from Peru and Bolivia.

Yanomami

Good, David (born 1986) — Good was born in Pennsylvania to an American anthropologist and a Yanomami tribeswoman.

2 Responses to Latin America and the Caribbean

  1. Carlos Gil says:

    Dear Jyotsna Sreenivasan, I appreciate the work you have done for this website about the writings by children of immigrants to America. I found myself wondering if others had written about their experiences growing up this way as I have. A few years ago I published the story of my family coming to America (We Became Mexican American: How Our Immigrant Family Survived to Pursue the American Dream). I am now writing about how I grew up and became an American. I am an octogenarian and finding it a therapeutic thing to do.
    Saludos.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *