Aurora Carrillo-Vincent, 5, and Matthew Carrillo-Vincent, 35, read together during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Chris Homandberg, 35, of Los Angeles chats while holding 11 books he plans to buy at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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People seek out shade while reading comics during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Chris “The Glove” Taylor speaks during the “Hip-Hop as Storytelling” discussion with West Coast music pioneers during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Chris Homandberg, center, 35, of Los Angeles navigates the crowd at a book-sellers tent during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Jason Ham, 23, of Los Angeles rests his head on Baily Pham’s legs while they read books during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Author Dave Eggers, left, talks with Joel Arquillos, executive director of the nonprofit group 826LA, at the Bovard Auditorium during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton” star and author of “Failing Up: How to take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning,” speaks during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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The USC Trojan Marching Band performs at the USC Stage during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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People gather and listen as the USC Trojan Marching Band performs at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
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Actor and blogger Wil Wheaton, left, speaks with science fiction author John Scalzi during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A packed crowd attends actor-blogger Wil Wheaton’s talk with science fiction author John Scalzi during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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“Islandborn” author Junot Díaz speaks at the Bovard Auditorium during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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People walk along Hellman Way during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Sunday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Austin Peay, 20, of Laguna Niguel, reads “A Higher Loyalty” beneath the shade of trees at the USC alumni park.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Amy Hu, 9, and Adix Hu, 12, read on a grassy knoll while their father Xiao Hu naps during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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Christine Vazquez, 17, of Whittier, makes a postcard to put on a display wall during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Author Junot Díaz signs a copy of his book, “Islandborn,” for Riley Smith, 10, of Hesperia at the Reading by 9 Children’s stage during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams talks with Scott Goldman, executive director of the Grammy Museum, at the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex at USC during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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“Down the River Unto the Sea” author Walter Mosley visits the Ronald Tutor Campus Center during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Maya Chen, 4, looks at a book during the first day of the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
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People pack the walkways at USC during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 21, 2018.
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Linda Arkin, 75, of Valencia, looks over the Festival of Books section of the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, April 21, 2018.
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Journalists David Kipen, left, and Jorge Ramos speak on a panel during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 21, 2018.
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Attendees write on the “What book changed your life?” wall during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Esmeralda Oieda, 15, of Bakersfield, looks at books during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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People browse books for sale during the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC on Saturday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Nobel Poet Juan Felipe Herrera, author of “Jabberwalking,” talks at the Reading By 9 Children’s stage.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Austin Peay, 20, of Laguna Niguel, reads “A Higher Loyalty” beneath the shade of trees.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Elisa Sifuentes, 16, and Kaitlyn Bin, 16, browse displays of books Saturday on the USC campus.
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Nobel Poet Juan Felipe Herrera, author of “Jabberwalking,” is among the featured speakers during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
President Trump’s immigration policies, L.A.’s homeless crisis, the women’s movement and the culture of food were just a few of the topics covered during the first day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC campus.
The 23rd annual festival, which celebrates reading and storytelling, is an opportunity for thousands of Southern California residents and others to connect with some of their favorite writers. The two-day event features lectures, workshops and discussions with authors, journalists and celebrities.
Authors participating in this year’s festival, which continues Sunday, include Junot Díaz, Walter Mosley, Reza Aslan, Maria Shriver and Leslie Odom Jr. There were also musical performances and food trucks.
On Saturday, panel discussions included Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez and photographer Francine Orr discussing their coverage of the city’s homeless crisis, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams talking about her craft and writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o conversing about his book “Wrestling with the Devil,” a prison memoir.
Trump was also part of some discussions.
Hundreds of Latinos – many of them immigrants and the children of immigrants – filled the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, waiting to hear the familiar voice of Jorge Ramos, the Spanish-language news anchor for Univision who for years has reported on illegal immigration.
Ramos has been a fixture in the lives of Daisy López and her mother, Susana Arriaga, who emigrated from Mexico in the early 1980s. On Saturday morning, López got the opportunity to share that — and some Mexican candy — with Ramos at the festival, where he was talking about his book “Stranger: The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era.”
“In your book, you say you feel like a stranger, but I want to tell you that in my house, you were never a stranger,” López said, alternating between Spanish and English. “You were a constant.”
In his book, Ramos recounts being kicked out of a news conference by then-presidential candidate Trump in 2015, who told him to “go back to Univision.”
David Kipen, left, speaks with journalist Jorge Ramos during a panel Saturday at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times )
One of those waiting in line Saturday to see Ramos was Carolina Gamero, 28,who was a volunteer with Libros Schmibros Lending Library in Boyle Heights for about six months. Ramos was scheduled to be part of a conversation with David Kipen, who founded the library.
“I’m a fan of Jorge Ramos,” said Gamero, whose parents are immigrants from Peru. “I think his reporting brings a lot of gravity and understanding to our times, especially for what we’re facing right now, like attacks to immigrant communities.”
Throughout his discussion with Kipen, Ramos talked about his experience as an immigrant, while some audience members listened through headphones to a Spanish translation of his remarks. Ramos talked about Trump and the hate he seems to inspire in some of the president’s supporters.
“That’s why I feel like a stranger. I wish I wouldn’t feel like a stranger, but I’m sure many of you feel like strangers in your own country,” Ramos told the audience. “When you have a candidate who tells you, ‘Go back to Univision,’ he didn’t really say that. What he really said was, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ right?”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
“When the president of the United States makes racist remarks, that is not normal. It is a racist remark to say that Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists,” Ramos said.
He added that “neutrality at this moment should not be allowed.”
“As journalists we have the responsibility to report reality as it is, not as I wish it would be,” Ramos said. “When human dignity is at stake, I think we have to take a stand. And as a journalist, if we don’t do that then who is going to do it? The most important social responsibility that we have is to question those who are in power.”
As the first day of the festival drew to a close, a crowd gathered to listen to rhythm and blues trio Kinglii perform. Some danced along with the music, while others snapped photos.
The festival continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is free; advance tickets to events have a $2 processing fee. To get tickets, visit events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/.
