Hispanic Heritage Month 2026

LACMA. Photo from 9 Aug 2026.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from 15 September to 15 October each year. Most years I have a post associated with my connection to the culture (see 15 Sept 2025). This year I'm highlighting two art pieces that are near each other at the new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA, one a painting of an indigenous woman with marigolds from 1876, and a photo by George Rodriguez titled Boyle Heights from 1970.

George Rodriguez. Boyle Heights, 1970.

There's a strong juxtaposition between the two even though these are not placed in the same room in the museum, these are near enough, and my mind instantly linked the two. The painting depicts a pregnant indigenous woman, perhaps not unlike an early ancestor from the colonial period, and in the photo, the woman is wearing bullets next to a Viva La Raza poster. I see the photo, and my mind goes to Liga Protectora Latina, the organization my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano was part of in 1915. I'd like to think the girl in the photo is a two or three times great-granddaughter of the woman in the painting. They are not, but seeing the two closely sets up Hispanic Heritage Month.