LéaLA, Spanish-Language Book Fair and Literary Festival 2022, a four-day event of cultural exploration with various activities around literature that include talks, plenary sessions, children's workshops, a poetry corner, book signings and sales, and more, is getting ready for its opening in Los Angeles.

Aimed at book lovers and with a special emphasis on children, this event will feature more than 80 different authors and guest speakers.

Marisol Schulz, General Director of LéaLA, highlights:

LeáLA celebrates Spanish as a way of vindicating our culture, a bond that unites us and that we share with more than 500 million people in the world.

“Under the theme ‘Let's unite the words,’ and paying homage to the Mayan culture in its 2022 edition, in accordance with its vocation to reaffirm pride in the language and our cultures, LéaLA has positioned itself as the most ambitious dissemination program and promotion of books and reading in Spanish in the United States of America. Combining the characteristics of the Literary Festival with the format of the Book Fair, it will have exhibition areas of various publishers that publish in Spanish and thus bring titles to all audiences in Los Angeles,” it is pointed out by the organization. 

Highlights

Among the various family-type activities, the six daily children's workshops that will explore the Mayan culture in interactive and practical sessions with crafts that show legends of this important civilization, such as the Rain God, Chaac, teaching that the lack of rain is a phenomenon that has affected man for centuries, stand out.

These are the presentations that also stand out:

• World-renowned author of "The Four Agreements," Miguel Ruiz, will offer an insightful talk with his son, José Ruiz, also an acclaimed author. "The Four Agreements" has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into 46 languages.
• The renowned author, Ismael Cala, described by The New York Times as “the Latin Larry King,” will narrate his most recent book, “Fluir para no Sufrir.”
• Considering that the Los Angeles community of Mexican descent is the second largest Mexican population outside of Ciudad de México, the opening address will feature the participation of Lorenzo Córdova, President Counselor of Mexico’s National Electoral Institute. His presentation, entitled "Mexico is where you are,” addresses the important right to vote of Mexicans abroad.

“Since LéaLA’s first editions, designed as book fairs, readers of all ages have explored or reaffirmed their interest in what is said, thought, and created in Spanish. We discovered there is great pride in belonging to the sum of cultures that precede us,” stated Schulz.

Sponsors 

LéaLA is supported by sponsors and media partners including: AJUA, AltaMed, Arizona State University, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Los Angeles Public Library, Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, Northgate Markets, Sheraton Grand, Tortas Chago, ABC7, El Aviso Magazine, El Clasificado, El Suplemento, Estrella TV, Honduras Magazine, KPFK, NBC4, Noticias Para Inmigrantes, Que Buena Radio, Quinceañera.com, and Telemundo52.

It is important to note that this fair, with free access and aimed at people of all ages, will be open between August 25 and 28 at the Plaza de Cultura y Artes de Los Angeles.

About LéaLA

This fair is organized by the Fundación Universidad de Guadalajara USA, a 501c3 non-profit organization, with the support of Grodman Legacy, the collaboration of the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, the University of Guadalajara Alumni Association in Los Angeles, as well as important public and private institutions on both sides of the border. LéaLA has had a strong presence in Los Angeles with successful editions at the Los Angeles Convention Center (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), and the 2019 and 2021 editions as a Literary Festival.