LéaLA celebrated the opening day of its 11th edition

LéaLA, the largest Spanish-language book fair and literary festival in the United States, celebrated the opening day of its 11th edition on Thursday, September 24, 2026, alongside students and community members at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown Los Angeles.

Organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, this year’s theme is “Las historias que nos unen hablan español” (The Stories That Unite Us Speak Spanish).”  

Welcoming a new group of students, LéaLA director Marisol Schulz expressed her ongoing gratitude to the educators and staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District before introducing Tony el Cuenta Cuentos. 

The storyteller had several of the students in the crowd eager to participate in the theater acts. His performances, along with the students’ help, were full of imagination, characters and adventure but they were also scary and spooky. 

LéaLA’s programming also featured “The Secret of the Hummingbird,” a workshop led by Lory Celaya. During the activity, students created their own original stories and illustrations, with several participants sharing their work aloud with the class.

There were many other workshops that involved arts and crafts too. Despite the scorching heat, students kept engaging with all free activities available across the festival.

The event also had several vendors with a variety of book categories from fiction to non-fiction. María de Jesús Robles was one of the many authors promoting their book at LéaLA. 

She explained that “La energia del amor” (The Energy of Love) was written specifically to empower the men and women who read it. The book also offers a wide range of topics and exercises.

“I drew a great deal of inspiration from my own experiences to write it and to help other women find their own empowerment,” Robles said. “It is my mission to travel everywhere, empowering both women and men.”

In the evening, the energy was through the roof for LéaLA when Cabaret Capricho started the opening ceremony with a Spanish musical show that was full of rhythm, talent and a lot of entertainment. They had folks dancing in front of the main stage while others clapped along.

Livette Ruvalcaba, the ceremony teacher, shared sentimental words about returning for another year to celebrate LéaLA’s 11th edition and the importance of the Spanish language. “I can’t help but think about how hard it is to split one’s heart in two. I often think about how much you can miss the land where you were born and how you carry it with you every day, wherever you happen to be,” she said.

Ruvalcaba also shared that although she was born in Guadalajara, she has lived in the United States for almost 22 years. For her, being bilingual is not only a skill; it’s a cultural connection that many Latinos in Los Angeles experience. 

“I am a daughter living away from home who, like all of us, deeply cares about preserving her Spanish,” said Ruvalcaba. “For several years, I have had the honor of serving as a LéaLA’s ambassador, and seeing us gathered here once again reminds me that our language continues to grow every time we share it.”

As LéaLA continues to expand, Schulz highlighted that over 700 students attended on the book fair’s very first day and are expecting overall bigger crowds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.