LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is a community hub where people gather to celebrate Latinx culture through exhibitions, music, dance, culinary arts, and artmaking and storytelling experiences. Housed in two historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles, LA Plaza is adjacent to Olvera Street at El Pueblo de Los Angeles.
El Pueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument is near the site of the early Los Angeles pueblo (or town), where forty-four settlers of Indigenous, African, and European ancestry journeyed more than one-thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico. They established a farming community next to the Tongva village of Yaanga in September 1781. Today, as a department of the City of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is a living museum that continues to fulfill its unique role as the historic and symbolic heart of the city.
LA2026 Humanities Discussions at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Sharing the History of Los Angeles Through Food
Saturday, March 14, 2026
In-person event
LA Cocina de Gloria Molina
555 N Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (PT)
A conversation with Carlos Salomon (Professor of Ethnic Studies, California State University East Bay), Natalie Santizo (Assistant Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, San Diego State University), Enrique C. Ochoa (Professor of Latin American Studies and history, California State University, Los Angeles), and Dominica Rice-Cisneros (James Beard nominated chef and owner of Bombera in Oakland, California).
Panelists will discuss food and its relationship to regional identity from the late 1700s to today, from Mexico to Los Angeles. They will consider how Angelenos and our neighbors have experienced food pathways over time and how those ideas contributed to health, society, and economic wellbeing.
We the People and Stories of Citizenships
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
(Note: this is the new, rescheduled date)
Online Event
12:00 – 1:30 pm (PT)
A conversation with Marla A. Ramírez (Assistant Professor of History and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Francisco Balderrama (Emeritus Professor of Chicano Studies and History, Cal State LA), and Mireya Loza (Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Georgetown University).
Historians will reflect on the themes of the Declaration and how it relates to experiences of migration, repatriation, and the Bracero Programs of 1917-1922 and 1942-1964 in Southern California.
LA2026 Humanities Discussion
Fall 2026
In-person event
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 N Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
An in-person discussion with humanities scholars and community leaders on the themes in the exhibitions at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. More details are coming soon!
Learn more about the items in the exhibition
