In a city where Spanish is woven into everyday life, LéaLA (loosely translated into “read it”) has become more than a literary festival—it is a celebration of the language, stories, and cultural heritage that aims to bridge generations of U.S. Latinos and their ancestors south of the border.

LéaLA – The Spanish Language Book Fair & Literary Festival, organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, LéaLA will once again transform LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes into a vibrant gathering place for readers, authors, educators, filmmakers, poets, and families who share a love of literature and the Spanish language.

Now recognized as one of the country’s premier literary and cultural events, LéaLA continues its mission of fostering dialogue through books, critical thought, film, poetry, educational programming, and the exchange of ideas that connect communities across generations and borders.

This year’s theme, “The Stories That Unite Us Speak Spanish,” reflects the festival’s belief that language is more than a means of communication—it is a powerful connection to identity, family, and cultural heritage.

Held in the historic Olvera Street district, the festival brings together voices from the United States, Mexico, and Latin America, offering attendees the opportunity to discover new authors, participate in literary conversations, attend cultural presentations, and enjoy family-friendly programming—all free of charge.

Honoring the Stories We Inherit

One of the most meaningful additions to this year’s festival is “The Voice of Memory,” a community writing contest that invites participants to celebrate the people whose stories helped shape their lives.

Rather than focusing solely on published works, the initiative encourages writers of all ages to share the anecdotes, traditions, life lessons, and cherished memories passed down by grandparents, parents, mentors, and other influential figures.

The contest underscores one of LéaLA’s central messages: some of our most powerful stories are first told at home.

A Cultural Bridge Through Literature

Organized by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, with support from the philanthropic legacy of Phyrrha Gladys Grodman, LéaLA has become an important cultural bridge connecting Spanish-speaking communities throughout the Americas.

“Spanish is the language that carries our memories, traditions, and stories,” organizers note. “Through literature and storytelling, we preserve our past while inspiring future generations.”

The festival is also supported by the University of Guadalajara Alumni Association in Los Angeles and numerous public and private institutions committed to promoting literacy, education, and cross-cultural understanding.

Event Information

LéaLA – The Spanish Language Book Fair & Literary Festival

Dates: September 24–27, 2026

Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 N. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Admission: Free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.lea-la.com.

The post Four Days of Books, Culture and Community: LéaLA Returns to Los Angeles Sept. 24-27th first appeared on .

With Halloween being Jasmine Ortiz’s “absolute favorite holiday,” it was only a matter of time before the singer/songwriter paid homage to the spookiest day of the year. And that she did today by announcing via her label, KGB Records, the release of her new single Trick or Treat, an alternative pop song about the challenges dealing with dating and getting “ghosted”. “Ghosting” is an expression that describes when a love interest stops communicating with a partner with no explanation—in other words, disappearing like a ghost. The song is personal for Jasmine. “Trick or Treat highlights how spooky that feeling can be,” she says. 

Penned and produced by Jasmine herself, the single marks a new musical direction for the 20-year-old artist who has gained popularity with her danceable reggaeton tracks. “Trick or Treat belongs in the American alternative pop scene with both an ethereal and electronic feel,” states Jasmine. “I still love reggaeton and learned a lot in the past couple years,” she says. “Now I’m ready for a shift in my career, I want to show people how much more I can do.”

In her new single, she does it all—writing, producing, playing and programming instruments, selecting loops and more. “This song is 100 percent me,” she says with pride in her voice.

Trick or Treat is a product of the scary times the world is currently facing due to the global pandemic, when creatives suddenly found themselves hunkered down at home for safety. In isolation in her hometown of Stroudsburg, PA or the Poconos, Jasmine found herself experimenting with new sounds and producing more music.

While “Ghosting is a scary reality of dating in 2020,” admits Jasmine, she didn’t want heartbreak and disillusion be the focus in her lyrics. Instead, she conjures the fun spirit of modern day Halloween to deliver a message to a lover who disguises his true intention and disappears with no explanation. Also, very cleverly, she doesn’t allow the song to be dated for October’s scary season. After all, date ghosting happens all year long. “My song goes well beyond Halloween,” she says. 

Trick or Treat is the artist’s eighth single in a musical career that was publicly launched about two years ago. Of Puerto Rican, Salvadorian and Spanish descent, the bilingual/bicultural songstress began her musical journey performing and recording reggaeton, releasing dance-friendly tracks, and collaborating with popular artists like Swiftondemand and YBN Almighty Jay as well as renowned producers TrackDilla and Cesar Da Emperor (responsible for hits by Tyga and Post Malone).

SpotifyThe video for Trick or Treat recreates scenes from some of Jasmine’s favorite horror flicks, such as It, Psycho and The Shining. The video is directed by Jasmine’s mother, Maria Picon, who also happens to be a filmmaker. “Unpopular opinion, but I think horror films can be really funny sometimes”, she quips.

Jasmine’s new single arrives at a pivotal time in her career. She is currently a student at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she is majoring in music with a minor in political science. With classes going online due to the Covid-19 crisis, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and move to Los Angeles to expand her musical horizons. An adventurer by nature, Jasmine packed up what she could fit into one suitcase and traveled cross-country in an SUV to follow her dreams. 

“I’m here to pursue my greatest passion in life,” says Jasmine. “I started playing piano at age three, singing at six, and writing songs at eight. I’ve been doing music my whole life and I have many more songs to share.”

Trick or Treat can be played on Spotify.

The post Recording Artist Jasmine Ortiz Drops New Single ‘Trick or Treat’ in Time for Halloween first appeared on .

¡HOLA! TV is now available and providing Latin media to more Latin households across the U.S. After reaching an agreement with Charter Communications, the station was integrated into Charter’s Spectrum TV “Mi Plan Latino” and “Latino View” packages on July 1st.

¡HOLA! TV  continues its expansion into the U.S. Hispanic market, where it already has a presence with the main operators making its original and quality offer a standard, especially in matters related to the royal families around the world, fashion, celebrities and lifestyle.

“We are pleased to enter into a programming relationship with Charter, which allows us to strengthen Hola TV in a very competitive market and offer our high-quality original programming to even more U.S. viewers,” Marcos Pérez, CEO and General Manager of ¡HOLA! TV, said in a statement.

¡HOLA! TV will  provide viewers with more than 700 hours of original production. It premiered on Spectrum with LA HORA ¡HOLA! which features the latest news on celebrities, fashion and royalty; new installments of Top Estilo, dedicated to the red carpets for leading awards, premieres and galas, and the weekly airing of Coronas y Palacios, a tour of the world of royalty, taking a closer look at the lives of royals.

The post ¡HOLA! TV Added To Spectrum, Strengthens Presence In The US first appeared on .