National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States between September 15th and October 15th. This national holiday was created to honor the culture and traditions of both Hispanic and Latinx Americans, celebrating communities with roots in 20 Latin American countries and territories that make up over 19% of the U.S. population. Our mission at Storitopia is to share audio stories with kids everywhere. We want kids to hear stories that help them learn the rich history of many different communities around the world as well as identify with stories from their own communities. This month we are pulling together podcasts and audio stories that share and honor the culture and tradition of people from Hispanic and Latinx communities.
Many of the podcasts we recommend are part of the Kids Listen community, a non-profit, grassroots organization that advocates for high-quality audio content for kids. The organization was established by kids' podcast creators, parents, and educators who love and support the creation of fun and educational audio content. This month, Kids Listen member Phoebe Owens (mom-producer of The Adventures of Power Dog in Dogland) published a roundup of resources from its member shows. There are so many great recommendations here. In addition to the Kids Listen podcasts, here are some additional recommendations for audiobooks and Spanish-language podcasts for kids.
Kids Podcasts en Español to Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month
(5+) Cuentos Increibles is a delightful Spanish-language podcast for young kids. This summer they released a series of shows highlighting travel adventures in Latin America. Last month was a series that your dinosaurios lovers will devour! This month (and next) Monstruario de Cuentos Increíbles will share stories of magical creatures. The show was created by Sonoro Media and has over 175 episodes to listen to.
(7+) Allegro Magico, a Classical Music podcast for kids and families, hosted in Spanish, by Claudio Ortiz. Episodes teach listeners about the world of classical music; everything from composers like Mozart and Clara Schuman to instruments and operas. Ortiz created 100 episodes between 2017 and 2022 and several of them are available to listen through your preferred podcast app. But recently, in an effort to preserve the shows for listeners, she has created a Premium Membership through a link on her website.
(8+) Mija is a beautiful audio drama that is narrated by Mija (“My daughter” in Spanish) who shares immigrant family stories in each episode. There are three seasons of Mija, following a different family and its stories in each. The podcast is created by Ochento Studios, and is available in Spanish, English, French, and Arabic. In addition to the three seasons of family stories, the podcast feed also has two mini-series: Mija Shorts and Mija Musica, which highlights stories from daughters of immigrants around the world.
(10+) Also from Ochento Studios is Adventure in Atacama, a choose-your-own-adventure game like nothing I have ever experienced while listening to a podcast. If you are familiar with choose-your-own-adventure books, you should be able to follow along here. In the game, listeners jump around 37 multi-lingual episodes, deciding every 3-12 minutes which direction they want the story to go. The adventure starts with Mariela, a flight attendant, who discovers her estranged father on a flight. He's looking for help finding her mother and saving the world from the "Atacama Effect", a language apocalypse that causes everyone to lose the ability to communicate. I tried to listen. and jump around, on a traditional podcast player, but it was challenging. The website (link above) or here in Spanish, as Azafata en Atacama, is much easier to navigate.
Kids Audio Books to Help Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month (4+) Just Help! How to Build a Better World This story is inspired by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's family and their desire to help others. Sonia takes young listeners on a journey through a neighborhood where kids and adults, activists and bus drivers, friends, and strangers all help one another to build a better world for themselves and their community. The audiobook shares ways for kids to help their communities, inspiring the importance of service to others. (6+) Patchwork Newbery Medal-winning author, author Matt de la Peña writes a beautiful book with a powerful message: you are unique and your story is still being written. Each story allows listeners to imagine the possibility of what life and the future hold. (8+) Singing with Elephants Cuban-born eleven-year-old Oriol lives in Santa Barbara, California, where she struggles to belong. When Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature moves to town, Oriol finds herself opening up. When she
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