The history, culture and practices of Central America are inadequately addressed in teacher preparation and professional development across the United States, and especially in California based on the author's analysis of teacher preparation. Information about the histories, cultures and practices add to the linguistic and pedagogic knowledge-base of bilingual and non-bilingual teachers of Central American immigrant students. To this end, this article documents the experiences of Central American immigrant families residing in the Los Angeles area and includes analyses from focus group data, participant observations and interviews collected at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) and with Central American families living in this area of Los Angeles. Selected folklore and writing by Central American youth in the Los Angeles area are interspersed within this article. Implications for practice conclude this study. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables and 4 footnotes.)