Description

Update: This event has been postponed to a later date. A new date will be announced soon. Please check back for updates.

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Experience an unforgettable evening with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council as we celebrate the rich cultural heritage and vital contributions of Latin American communities that continue to shape Los Angeles and California’s global identity.

Hosted in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico at the Consul General’s residence in Hancock Park, this dynamic program will bring together leading voices, including Ambassador Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico, and Consul General Alejandro Letona Alvarado of El Salvador, for a conversation on democracy, trade, cultural diplomacy, and the enduring impact of Latin American diaspora communities across Los Angeles. The discussion will highlight the region’s vital role in strengthening trade ties, fostering cultural exchange, and building bridges between consulates, business, and civic leaders.

The evening will conclude with a Festival of Cultures reception featuring Latin American appetizers, beverages, and an array of vendors and companies offering samples of their signature snacks and dishes. This outdoor celebration will be enhanced with heaters for your comfort, but please dress warmly.

This event is proudly sponsored by Kaiser Permanente — our sincere thanks for their generous support.

By attending a Los Angeles World Affairs Council event, you acknowledge that photos and video recordings may be taken and used for promotional and marketing purposes.

Biographies:

Consul General Amb. Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez

Consulate of Mexico in Los Angeles

As of February 26, 2024, Ambassador Carlos Gonzalez serves as Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles. He was ratified to this role unanimously by the Mexican Senate in December 2023. As a career diplomat since 1987, he has specialized in the Mexican communities in the United States, the country where he has served in all of his appointments outside of Mexico. 

In the late nineties, he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City, in the Program for Mexican Communities Abroad, and in 2003 he became the first Executive Director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME), an agency responsible for strengthening ties and collaboration between Mexico and its diaspora. 

He has had five assignments abroad. Early in his career, he was Consul for Community Affairs at the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles. Later, from 1999 to 2003, he was appointed Counselor for Latino Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington D.C. In 2009, Amb. Carlos Gonzalez was appointed as Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento, where, in addition to his regular activities, he was in charge of monitoring public policies implemented in the state that could affect Mexico or Mexican communities in California. After six years in Sacramento, Ambassador Gonzalez was transferred to the capital of Texas, serving as Consul General of Mexico in Austin, once again being responsible for monitoring state public policies, as well as providing the traditional general services of a Consulate General, such as documentation, protection, and community development. In September 2011, the President of Mexico conferred him the rank of Ambassador. In 2019, he began his duties as Consul General in San Diego, California, where he served until the end of February 2024.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico and a Master's degree in International Relations from the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of several publications on the Mexican population in the United States. The Ambassador is married to Alina, and they have two daughters: Marina and Camila.

Consul General Alejandro Letona Alvarado

Consulate of El Salvador in Los Angeles

Alejandro Letona is a ten-year career diplomat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador. Mr. Letona has a B.A. in Social Communication from Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas". He has been posted in the Embassy of El Salvador in Seoul, Republic of Korea; Consulate General of El Salvador in Toronto; Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland; and the Consulate General of El Salvador in Los Angeles. 

Prior to joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was a journalist for La Prensa Gráfica, one of the biggest circulation newspapers in El Salvador, with a history of over 100 years. Mr. Letona was also an ESL teacher for underprivileged youth in San Vicente and Sonsonate, two of the fourteen departments of El Salvador.

Moderator:

Professor Jodi Finkel, Loyola Marymount University

Jodi Finkel is a Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University who specializes in political institutions and democratic governance in Latin America. Her current research focuses on the role of high courts in defining the right of prior consultation—the legal principle ensuring indigenous communities have a voice in decisions affecting their ancestral lands.  Professor Finkel is the author of Judicial Reform as Political Insurance: Argentina, Peru, and Mexico in the 1990s, and has contributed chapters to two volumes published by Mexico’s National Supreme Court of Justice. Her scholarship also includes work on Mexico’s ombudsman’s office, featured in Human Rights Review.  Beyond academia, she is the founder of Women for Justice (MuJER), a literacy and empowerment organization supporting sex workers in Guatemala. Her commitment to human rights and mentorship has been recognized with the American Political Science Association’s National Award for Mentoring Latino/a Undergraduates, UC San Diego’s Visionary Alumni Award, and Loyola Marymount University’s Distinguished Teaching Award.