Alan Pelaez Lopez – författare

When Language Broke Open collects the creative offerings of forty-five queer and trans Black writers of Latin American descent who use poetry, prose, and visual art to illustrate Blackness as a geopolitical experience that is always changing. Telling stories of Black Latinidades, this anthology centers the multifaceted realities of the LGBTQ community.By exploring themes of memory, care, and futurity, these contributions expand understandings of Blackness in Latin America, the Caribbean, and their U.S.-based diasporas. The volume offers up three central questions: How do queer and/or trans Black writers of Latin American descent address memory? What are the textures of caring, being cared for, and accepting care as Black queer and/or trans people of Latin American descent? And how do queer and trans embodiments help us understand and/or question the past and the present, and construct a Black, queer, and trans future?The works collected in this anthology encompass a multitude of genres--including poetry, autobiography, short stories, diaries, visual art, and a graphic memoir--and feature the voices of established writers alongside emerging voices. Together, the contributors challenge everything we think we know about gender, sexuality, race, and what it means to experience a livable life.

Nayeli misses her abuelita. Though her Mami promises that one day the whole family will have papeles, and they’ll travel the world together, their Boston apartment feels empty without the sounds, colors, and rhythms that Abuelita brought from their homeland, Oaxaca.And on the days Nayeli misses her abuelita the most, only one thing will do: music. When the vallenatos and boleros  are playing, their apartment becomes their own country: one where no one is undocumented or alone. Lyrically written by award-winning Afro-Zapotec poet Alan Pelaez Lopez and vibrantly illustrated by debut artist Bernardo Rodriguez, Abuelita’s Music is a transporting tale of migration, memory, and the power of music to break down the borders that seek to separate us from those we love.* Perfect for discussions of and teaching units on Immigration* Eligible for several awards including the Ezra Jack Keats newcomer* Great "Grandma" buy (for kids who miss their grandmas)* Also available in Spanish!