Past Episodes
Scroll down to check out past episodes organized by various themes throughout the year!
Back to School
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Nopal Family Tree
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Come along and read with us! Join special guest author, René Colato Laínez, as he reads his book René Has Two Last Names/René tiene dos apellidos. Following this read along, we will explore the meaning of familia through a nopal family tree art activity.
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English: Nopal Family Tree
Spanish: Arbol Geneaológico de Nopal
Culinary Arts: Healthy Taquito Wrap
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¡Es tiempo de comer! Learn how to create a healthy taquito wrap as a back-to-school snack. Join us in learning the importance of healthy eating and the history of the ingredients used in this recipe.
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English: Healthy Taquito Wrap
Spanish: Taquito Vegetariano
Edible Teaching Garden: Herbal Teas
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¡A relajarse! Learn about the origins of medicinal healing by creating your own herbal tea bags. This activity will explore ancient plant medicine practices to teach you how to reduce stress during a time of back to school learning.
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English: Herbal Teas
Spanish: Tés de Hierbas
Fiestas Patrias
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Muñeca Mazahua
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¡A bailar! Celebrate Mexico’s Independence and its traditions by learning the origins of the beloved Muñeca Mazahua. Create your own doll to honor your roots!
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English: Muñeca Mazahua
Spanish: Muñeca Mazahua
Culinary Arts: Pico de Gallo
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Time to use your five senses! Celebrate Fiestas Patrias with us by creating a tricolor Pico de Gallo to represent the colors of the Mexican flag.
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English: Pico de Gallo
Spanish: Pico de Gallo
Edible Teaching Garden: Pico de Gallo Ingredients & Container Gardening
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Have you ever wanted to start your own garden but thought you didn’t have enough space? Join us in discussing alternatives to outdoor gardening and learn how to grow ingredients for our tricolor Pico de Gallo recipe indoors.
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English: Container Gardening
Spanish: Jardín en Contenedores
Día de los Muertos
Culinary Arts: Calabazas en Tacha
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¡Los muertos vienen a comer! Food and traditional dishes play a central role in traditional altars during Día de los Muertos. Learn how to make calabazas en tacha, candied pumpkin, a seasonal and traditional plate that can be placed on your altar.
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English: Calabaza en Tacha
Spanish: Calabaza en Tacha
Edible Teaching Garden: Memory Satchels
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¡Vengan los muertos a celebrar! The scent of flowers and other plant materials help guide loved ones who have passed back to celebrate with us on Day of the Dead. Learn how to make and dedicate a memory satchel filled with aromatic plant materials for a loved one or antepasado.
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English: Memory Satchels
Spanish: Bolsitas de Recuerdos
Leyendo Con LA Plaza: Nicho Making
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¡A leer y decorar! Join us as we read together the book Rosita y Conchita by Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger. Altars for Día de los Muertos have evolved over many years! Learn about the history of this celebration by joining us in creating your very own decorative nicho using vibrant items from around your home!
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English: Nicho
Spanish: Nicho
Revolución Mexicana
Culinary Arts: Guisado
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Get your ingredients ready! Make a guisado, a braised strew, and learn about the resourcefulness women soldiers, known as Adelitas, practiced during the Mexican Revolution.
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English: Guisado
Spanish: Guisado
Edible Teaching Garden: Composting: Feeding the Soil
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What are ways you can give back to the soil? Join us in learning about the fight for land and freedom during the Mexican Revolution. Familiarize yourself with a sustainable practice known as composting to exercise resourcefulness in reducing your food waste and creating soil filled with nutrients for your garden.
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English: Composting
Spanish: Compostaje
Fiestas
Culinary Arts: Pozole
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What is your family’s favorite holiday dish? Gather your loved ones and join us in learning how to make pozole as an end-of-the-year celebratory dinner!
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English: Vegetarian Pozole
Spanish: Pozole Vegetariano
Edible Teaching Garden: Poinsettia Flower Pencil
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Did you know that plants can be used to create color? Learn about the process of using plant matter as a natural dye! Recreate a flower out of vibrantly colored corn husks dyed using the petals of the flor de nochebuena, also known as Poinsettia.
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English: Poinsettia Flower Pencil
Spanish: Lápiz de flor de Nochebuena
César Chávez Day
Culinary Arts: Spring “César Salad”
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Do you know who harvests the food on your table? Farmworkers! Rain or shine, during wildfires, and even during a pandemic, farm workers continue to harvest the foods we eat. In celebration of César Chávez Day, learn to make a Spring “César Salad” using alternative ingredients, to commemorate the history of boycotts organized by the United Farm Workers.
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English: Spring “César Salad”
Spanish: “Ensalada César” de Primavera
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Symbols of Farm Worker Rights – Organic UFW Flag
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Let’s take a closer look! Symbols can communicate powerful messages and can be used to bring attention to a cause. Follow along with us as Paul Chávez, President and Chairman of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, reads Lado a Lado/Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and César Chávez by Monica Brown. Together we’ll explore the history of the United Farm Workers and the leadership of Dolores Huerta and César Chávez in fighting for farmworker rights. Gather your art materials and create your own version of the United Farm Workers logo using natural materials at home!
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Symbols of Farmworker’s Rights: Organic UFW Flag
Spanish: Simbolos de los derechos de los trabajadores agrícolas: Bandera Orgánica de la UFW
LA Plaza 10-year Anniversary Celebration
LA Plaza’s Education Department: 10-Year Anniversary
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LA Plaza turns 10 years old! And what better way to celebrate a birthday than with fun culinary, garden, and art workshops that celebrate LA Plaza, Los Angeles, and stories of your community! This event includes a special read along with one of LA Plaza’s founding board members, the Honorable Gloria Molina (ret.) reading Mi Papi Tiene Una Moto/My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero.
Culinary Arts: LA’s Favorite Street Food: Fruta Picada
Edible Teaching Garden: LA Flora and Fauna: Garden Journal
Leyendo con LA Plaza: A Special Place in My Community Painting
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English: 10-Year Anniversary
Spanish: Decimo Aniversario
Día del los Niños
Culinary Arts: Homemade Cookbook
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El Día de los Niños celebrates children of all nationalities and cultures. Celebrated annually on April 30 in Mexico, this day highlights the importance of literacy across linguistic backgrounds and cultures. Explore literacy by creating your own homemade cookbook to collect and document recipes, cooking stories, and food traditions! This activity is inspired by “Family Cookbook as Cultural Heirloom,” an activity developed by the UCLA History-Geography Project. Click here for a family guide.
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Homemade Cookbook
Spanish: Libro de Recetas
Edible Teaching Garden: Garden Bookmark
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The celebration of Día de los Niños continues! What better way to celebrate than share in the joy of reading? Join us to learn how to identify and classify common leaves found in your home and around your community, then create a bookmark using a leaf-rubbing technique!
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English: Garden Bookmark
Spanish: Marcapáginas
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Pop-up Card: Favorite Book Scene
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Wrap up Día de los Niños with an exploration into the world of reading! Books help children imagine, learn, and understand the world around them! Join us for a special musical read along with 123 Andrés. This musical duo will read Diez Pajaritos/Ten Little Birds by Andrés Mauricio Salguero and illustrated by Sara Palacios. Imagine yourself in your favorite book and create your favorite book scene as a pop-up card. Diez Pajaritos coloring page courtesy of 123 Andrés.
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Pop-up Card
Spanish: Tarjeta Pop-Up
Cinco de Mayo
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Talavera de Puebla
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Do you know Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated in the United States? This date commemorates the Mexican victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Join us to learn more about the Mexican state of Puebla and its iconic art style, known as the Talavera Poblana, which reflects the history and culture of the state. Create your own using air-dry clay and paint!
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Talavera Poblana
Spanish: Talavera Poblana
Culinary Arts: Mango Poblano Chile Salsa | Saturday, May 15 | 10:30am
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Do you know the use of chile peppers differs from region to region? Continue to learn more with us about the Mexican state of Puebla and Cinco de Mayo through the rich history of the Poblano pepper and its contribution to some of Puebla’s signature dishes! Learn to make a Mango Chile Poblano Salsa.
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Mango Poblano Chile Salsa
Spanish: Salsa con Mango y Chile Poblano
Edible Teaching Garden: Poblano Pepper Planting
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Did you know that Poblano peppers, which originate from the Mexican state of Puebla, can be grown at home using the seeds directly from the chile? End a month-long celebration of Cinco de Mayo by continuing to learn about Puebla’s staple ingredient. Join us in learning how to sow your own pepper seed by repurposing materials and food scraps!
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Poblano Pepper Planting
Spanish: Sembrando Chiles Poblanos
Summer Fun
Culinary Arts: Mango Peach Ice Cream
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How do you stay cool in the summer? Learn how to use science to create your own healthy ice cream made from fruits!
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English: Mango Peach Ice Cream
Spanish: Helado de mango y durazno
Edible Teaching Garden: Soil Painting
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How can we create art using the outdoors? Join us in learning about the importance of healthy soil through an art activity! Learn about the various types of soil, their textures, and create a painting using the different soils from around your home or community garden!
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Soil Painting
Spanish: Pintura de tierra
Leyendo con LA Plaza: Jugando Lotería
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Schools out and summer fun is here! Join us and follow along as local Angelino, La Marisoul from music group La Santa Cecilia reads Playing Loteria by author René Colato Laínez. Together we will explore the history, tradition, and importance of lotería. Share with us your favorite summer fun activities by creating your own lotería playing cards.
Download Activity Procedure:
English: Playing Lotería
Spanish: Jugando Lotería
View a complete playlist of this series on YouTube, by clicking here!