New Magazine, Palabritas, Showcases Emerging Latinx Writers

Harvard senior Ruben Reyes Jr. is launching a Latinx literary magazine called Palabritas, which translates to "little words." The first issue of the online publication "features the voices of 34 writers who, like Reyes, identify as Latinx, a gender-neutral term for Latinos and Latinas," as Juan Siliezar writes for the Harvard Gazette. More:

Through writing, Reyes is combatting simple narratives surrounding El Salvador and its people. With Palabritas, Reyes wanted it to do the same for all Latinx people. To achieve that, Reyes and his team opened submissions not just to Harvard’s Latinx community but worldwide. Eighty-five writers submitted more than 100 pieces (most in English but some in Spanish or both languages.)

Standouts in the first issue include: an essay by Jasmine Hyppolite ’21, who spent a summer in Peru where she experienced racism as an Afro-Latina; a poem by New York-based Óscar Mosés Diaz reacting to President Trump’s announcement blocking temporary protected status for Salvadorans; and a short story about a kidnapping, by marketing and communications professional Santiago Jurksaitis, who was born in Colombia but lives in the Czech Republic.

“What we were looking most for was to show as many narratives and versions of being Latinx as possible, which is why we made a big effort to include a lot of people who are often overlooked in popular conceptions of Latinx people,” Reyes said. “I think the first issue, for sure, is so much better for that.”

Read more about Reyes and Palabritas here.