LéaLA prepares celebrations for its tenth edition

The Organizing Committee of LeáLA – Spanish Book Fair and Literary Festival – announced progress on its tenth edition, scheduled for 2025. Under the theme “Let’s build peace together,” LeáLA promotes pride in the language and our cultures, making books and reading allies to foster dialogue and harmony. 

Due to its unique characteristics, it is the most ambitious program for the dissemination and promotion of books and reading in Spanish in the United States of America, featuring exhibition areas for various publishers that publish in Spanish and thus bringing titles closer to all audiences in Los Angeles.

The 2025 edition of LéaLA is scheduled for the last weekend that coincides with the celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month.

As in previous editions of LéaLA, writers and creators from Mexico, the United States, and various Ibero-American countries will engage in dialogue with the community during an intense and exciting four-day program. As in previous years, there will be free activities including discussions on literature, contemporary thought, film, humor, and creative writing, with a focus on children and young adults. 

In addition, the cultural offerings will include a wide-ranging literary and publishing program, giving voice to the poetry and writing of authors from both sides of the border, while also hosting children's workshops and events. The literary fair and festival, organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA with support from the legacy of philanthropist Pyrrha Gladys Grodman, will take place from Thursday, September 25 to Sunday, September 28, once again at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, in the iconic Olvera Plaza, located in the heart of Hispanic Los Angeles.

“Our 2025 motto, ‘Let’s build peace together,’ is the inspiration with which we seek to foster a spirit of coexistence, solidarity, and conviction by creating spaces for thinking, debating, reflecting, and growing, all in harmony. With your support, I believe we have been achieving this, which encourages us to continue growing, proposing, and innovating,” said Marisol Schulz Manaut, CEO of LéaLA.

“The support and presence of the Latino community in this cultural project has allowed LéaLA, in our ten editions, to contribute to building audiences and reaching a market that wants and seeks to both value and defend its own language,” she commented while speaking with special guests and media at a meeting aimed at providing an overview of the event.

Luis Gustavo Padilla Montes, president of the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, shared details with attendees about the academic program the Foundation will offer during the fair, which is dedicated to the transformative power of education. On September 26, a workshop and panel discussion will be offered to identify ways to strengthen bilingual and bicultural education. The intention is clear: to promote equity, inclusion, and international academic collaboration through strategic alliances between institutions in Mexico and California.

Lydia Acosta Stephens, director of the Multilingual Education Department of the Los Angeles School Districts, and Ambassador Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, were also present at the event.

The opening will be on Thursday the 25th at 4 pm, although from the early hours of that day there will already be children's workshops, school visits and the first activities on the agenda, which can already be consulted on LéaLA's social networks and website.

On Friday the 26th, the film "La falla" (The Fault), which has been shown and made an impact at various festivals, will be screened. It will be introduced by its director, the talented filmmaker Alana Simões, who offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of children in the town of Acatic, Jalisco, as they bid farewell to their teacher and explore the impact her departure has on her students.

At LéaLA 2025, in addition to film and even monsters, there will be discussions about literary and graphic storytelling, literature, the promotion of reading, the writing process, and, of course, literary genres, as well as topics such as uncomfortable books, for which the Chilean José Ignacio Valenzuela, “El Chascas,” and Xavier Velasco have been invited.

Other guests participating in LéaLA 2025 include María Baranda, Toño Malpica, Alberto Chimal, Raquel Castro, as well as the always popular Benito Taibo and Jorge F. Hernández. The program offers a wide range of topics, authors from multiple generations, and storytellers. All of them will engage in dialogue with attendees, celebrating the Spanish language in a completely free program.

A warm and inviting space at LéaLA has been Central de Poesía, where Gaspar Orozco and Ilana Luna share the microphone to listen to the creations of voices from both sides of the border. Poets and the public come together and engage in dialogue in a creative environment.

LéaLA grows to ten workshops for children in partnership with the “Letras para Volar” initiative of the Universidad de GuadalajaraThis year, under the banner of building peace together, children will play and learn while strengthening fundamental values ​​of solidarity on our planet. There will be special talks for young people and parents, workshops with music and songs, and sessions with excellent storytellers, all aimed at sparking and nurturing a love of reading in young children.

The full program and guest personalities will be announced on the event website, www.lea-la.com

The LéaLA project has had a strong presence in the Los Angeles community following successful editions at the Los Angeles Convention Center (2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015), and the 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions at LA Plaza de la Cultura y las Artes. The response from the public, educational institutions, and media support have been key allies in this unique event, which this year welcomes DIRECTV to support its tenth edition.

For its 2025 edition, the Spanish Book Fair and Literary Festival, LéaLA, will maintain its focus on close and personal connections with authors. Books by participating speakers and writers will be available to the public thanks to the participation of [the relevant organization/organization]. Librería Carlos Fuentes from the Universidad de Guadalajaraas well as more than 40 publishers, who will offer a wide variety of titles in Spanish in their exhibition and sales spaces.

LéaLA - Spanish Book Fair and Literary Festival 2025 is organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, with the support of the Grodman Legacy and the collaboration of the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles and the Alumni Association of the Universidad de Guadalajara in Los Angeles, as well as several public and private institutions on both sides of the border.

LéaLA – Spanish Book Fair and Literary Festival
When: September 25, 26, 27 and 28, 2025, from 9 am to 7 pm.
Where: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, located at 501 N. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website www.lea-la.com

*All activities are free.
 

Attentively
“1925-2025. A Century of Thinking and Working”
"Piensa y Trabaja"
Guadalajara, Jalisco, August 22, 2025

Text: Read it
Photographer: UDGFoundUSA