We asked the cast of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast to tell us a little more about their characters.

The podcast is based on the award-winning book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. More information at the website finamendozamysteries.com.

Journalist Susan Valot interviews writer/producer Kitty Felde about the creative choices behind THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES. 

The podcast is based on the award winning book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. More information at the website finamendozamysteries.com.

Fina Mendoza, the 10-year-old detective who lives on Capitol Hill, is stuck at home with her older sister Gabby and her father, a U.S. Congessman. Fina's class assignment is to keep an audio diary as a primary source for future historians, recording what it was like to live through the coronavirus pandemic. Fina checks in by phone with her favorite dog Senator Something and solves the mystery of the missing TV remote control. We also learn about what Congress is doing. 

Free curriculum and a downloadable worksheet for keeping your own coronavirus diary is available at the website finamendozamysteries.com.

The podcast is based on the award-winning book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde.

A mysterious break-in, a congressional lobbying effort about voting, and a sneaky way to get kids excited about the upcoming election...without the nastiness of politics.

In this special bonus episode of THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES, our young detective is attending classes via Zoom. She and her classmates take on a genius project, researching a recent amendment that would allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote. She and her classmates ask, "Why stop at 16? Why not let them vote?"

They put the question to real-life Congressman Mark Takano (D-California) who approves of lowering the voting age to 16.

Meanwhile, Fina has another mystery to solve: who keeps breaking into their vacant classroom and trashing it? She checks in with her detecting partner, a canine called Senator Something, and visits the scene of the crime.

There is free curriculum for this episode.

It’s a new school year for Fina Mendoza, another year of distance learning. Her teacher assigns a Genius Project, letting students pick the topic they’d like to research and present to the class. Since it's an election year and Fina’s congressman father is back in California campaigning for re-election, Fina decides to research voting. Specifically, letting kids younger than 18 cast a ballot.

Real-life Congressman Mark Takano of Riverside, California zooms  with the class to answer questions about youth voting. 

There is also a mystery to be solved: who broke into their classroom, ransacking the backpacks and rifling the teacher’s desk. Fina consults with her detecting partner, a giant orange dog named Senator Something, and talks her sister into accompanying her on a field trip to see if her hunch about the culprit is correct.

There is FREE curriculum for this episode.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are  written and produced by Kitty Felde

Our cast includes:

Amy Solano as Fina Mendoza

Monica Vigil as Gabby

 Susan Valot appears as Ms. Greenwood

India Scalione plays Becka

Eddie Pike plays Michael and

Myka Scalione plays Margaret

Laura Stegman appears as Congresswoman Mitchell

And Steve DeVorkin is Senator Something

Hannah Matzecki is our associate producer. Our music is by composer and musician Andrew Barkan. Our logo designer is Imelda Hinojosa. 

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on the book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. You can get an autographed copy of the book at our website finamendozamysteries.com.

It’s a new school year for Fina Mendoza, another year of distance learning. Her teacher assigns a Genius Project, letting students pick the topic they’d like to research and present to the class. Since it's an election year and Fina’s congressman father is back in California campaigning for re-election, Fina decides to research voting. Specifically, letting kids younger than 18 cast a ballot.

Real-life Congressman Mark Takano of Riverside, California zooms  with the class to answer questions about youth voting. 

There is also a mystery to be solved: who broke into their classroom, ransacking the backpacks and rifling the teacher’s desk. Fina consults with her detecting partner, a giant orange dog named Senator Something, and talks her sister into accompanying her on a field trip to see if her hunch about the culprit is correct.

There is FREE curriculum for this episode.

THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES is based on the award-winning book "Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are  written and produced by Kitty Felde

Our cast includes:

Amy Solano as Fina Mendoza

Monica Vigil as Gabby

 Susan Valot appears as Ms. Greenwood

India Scalione plays Becka

Eddie Pike plays Michael and

Myka Scalione plays Margaret

Laura Stegman appears as Congresswoman Mitchell

And Steve DeVorkin is Senator Something

Hannah Matzecki is our associate producer. Our music is by composer and musician Andrew Barkan. Our logo designer is Imelda Hinojosa. 

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on the book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. You can get an autographed copy of the book at our website finamendozamysteries.com.

This Sunday and Monday, the first and second of November, are the Mexican holiday known as Dia de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead. It’s a celebration we include in The Fina Mendoza Mysteries as Fina and her older sister Gabby try to come to terms with moving across the country from California to Washington after the death of their mom. To honor all of our moms and other loved ones who are no longer with us on this earth, we’re sharing this short scene from the podcast.

By the way, we have a curriculum sheet for Dia de los Muertos at our website, finamendozamysteries.com. You can also get an autographed copy of the book that inspired the series: WELCOME TO WASHINGTON FINA MENDOZA. 

I’ll bet you didn’t get to ride in a parade or spend Thanksgiving with your congressman dad answering questions at a Veteran’s hall. That’s how Fina's spending her Thanksgiving on a return visit to California.

www.finamendozamysteries.com