Help us Bring Yiddishland to its new Home: La Paz, MX

Yiddishland California is beginning an exciting new chapter! We are preparing for our move to La Paz, Mexico, where our traveling cultural center will have a permanent home. This relocation is more than a physical move – it’s a mission to preserve and share the beauty of Yiddishkeit while expanding our cultural programs for communities in Mexico, the United States, and beyond.

Since leaving La Jolla, CA, our beloved collectio – antique furniture, rare Yiddish books, paintings by Jewish artists, and precious Judaica – has been safely stored in Ramona, California. These treasures are more than artifacts. They carry memory, identity, and resilience, having survived generations of upheaval. Now, they are ready for their next chapter: becoming the heart of a new Yiddish cultural center in La Paz, Mexico.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we made the most of this transition year. We hosted special in-person programs in San Diego, California, and offered virtual events celebrating Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) heritage. Our traveling talks reached audiences across the United States, Spain, Poland, and Mexico. From Phoenix to Marbella, we introduced Yiddishland to new friends and inspired cultural conversations worldwide.

After a year of searching, we found the perfect location in downtown La Paz. Our new home will be more than a physical space—it will be a sanctuary for mame-loshn (the mother tongue) and a vibrant hub for cultural programs. We will welcome locals, tourists, and virtual guests, preserving and celebrating Yiddish culture while expanding our Sephardi and Ladino initiatives. We will also continue our traveling programs across the United States, Europe, and Mexico.

Our new home in downtown La Paz will be more than a physical space. It will be a sanctuary for mame-loshn (the mother tongue), and a vibrant center delivering cultural programs in person for locals and tourists, as well as virtually. It will be a place where Yiddish culture is not only preserved—but lived, loved, and shared. We are also looking forward to expanding our Sephardi and Ladino cultural involvement, learning from the local community. We will simultaneously maintain our traveling programs across the United States, Europe, and Mexico.

But before the doors can open, we must move the whole Yiddishland!

We are asking for your support to cover:

✅ Safe international transport and handling of fragile items
✅ Customs and legal fees for moving cultural property across the border
✅ Initial exhibition infrastructure to make our collection accessible to the public again

Goal: $6,500 USD to move and reinstall the entire collection in August!

With your help, we will build a new Yiddishland that is sunny, multilingual, welcoming, and grounded in history.

Make a gift today, and become part of this historic transition. Whether it’s $18 or $1,800, every donation is a gesture of love for our shared heritage. Together, we carry the legacy forward.

The Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) is a registered nonprofit in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the IRC as Yiddish Arts and Academics of N America INC. Our EIN is 85-2064877. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

*Donations on GoFundMe are fee-free; enter “0” for the tip.

A groysn dank! Mersi muncho! Muchas gracias! Thank you!