LéaLA, the Spanish-language book fair, returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 15 to 17, with a diverse literary and cultural program. This is the fourth installment of the event (though it wasn’t held in 2014). The free family fair is an initiative by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, and it’s backed by the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). LéaLA is expected to receive more than 85,000 attendees during its three-day span.
The program is directed to the general public, but this year a special program has been designed for librarians, educators, and academics. More than 80 librarians from California, Illinois, Texas, and Massachusetts, and elsewhere have registered for the Professional Program on May 15.
The fair lineup consists of 154 authors from the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, including Claudio Magris (nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature several times), Federico Reyes Heroles, Lydia Cacho, Francisco Hinojosa, and Diego Osorno. In addition, important figures from the U.S.’s Hispanic community will be making presentations, such as Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the popular CNN announcer and bestselling author Ismael Cala; singer and author Chiquis Rivera; Emmy Award–winning TV host and bestselling author Maria Antonieta Collins; and the poet laureate of Los Angeles, Luis Rodríguez.
Representatives from Mexico City, which is the guest of honor, will occupy the main pavilion and host a program that reflects the cultural wealth and diversity of the Mexican capital.
