Hispanic Heritage Month: Ways to Celebrate Southern California’s Families, Communities & History
September 15 to October 15, 2026
From left: Raíces y Sueños, Santa Barbara Public Library, GSHA-SC Viva La Familia Fiesta — San Marino, Authors Reyna Grande & Leslie Priscilla, Calle Principal: Mi México en Los Ángeles, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
A Month to Honor Heritage and Family
Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose roots reach back to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The observance begins September 15, the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and includes Mexico’s Independence Day on September 16 and Chile’s on September 18. What began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 was expanded to a month-long observance by Congress in 1988.
Southern California’s Hispanic Heritage Runs Deep
For Southern Californians, Hispanic heritage is deeply woven into the region's history. Long before California became a state, Indigenous peoples lived throughout the area, followed by Spanish and Mexican settlement, the establishment of missions and pueblos, the rancho era, and generations of families whose lives shaped the communities that became Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire, San Diego, and the Central Coast.
That history is also family history.
Where History Becomes Personal
Genealogists know the broad story of a place becomes more meaningful when we discover the names, photographs, documents, and stories of the people who lived it. A mission record, a census entry, a family photograph, a military record, or an old neighborhood can connect our own ancestors to the larger history of Southern California.
Hispanic Heritage Month is therefore an invitation not only to celebrate, but to remember, discover, and preserve. It is a time to honor the families and communities whose stories have been passed from one generation to the next—and to explore the records and places that can help us uncover those stories.
Celebrate, Explore and Connect
Enjoy one of these Southern California events and opportunities for learning, celebrating, and exploring Hispanic heritage during the remainder of Hispanic Heritage Month, listed chronologically.
October 1 | Santa Barbara
Raíces y Sueños: Santa Barbara Hispanic Family Histories, 1850–19704–7 p.m. | Faulkner Gallery East, Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara
Explore an exhibition produced by the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society documenting the family and individual histories of Hispanic community members in Santa Barbara County from 1850 to 1970. The October 1 reception is part of the library's Raíces y Sueños Hispanic Heritage Month programming.
October 1 | Los Angeles County and Los Angeles
A Bill of Rights for Our Future
October 1–15 | East Los Angeles, Hawthorne, San Fernando, Norwalk and Lancaster libraries
October 3
GSHA-SC Viva La Familia Fiesta — San Marino 11 a.m. | Tour of The Old Mill More information: GSHA-SC Calendar of Events
October 8 | Orange County
Trio Renacimiento
5 p.m. | San Juan Capistrano Library
And October 14, 5 p.m., Westminster Library
Authors Reyna Grande & Leslie Priscilla
6 p.m. | El Toro Library, Lake Forest
October 9 | Long Beach
Vida Latina: Ofrenda Comunitaria
October 9 | 3–5 p.m. | Harte Neighborhood Library
October 10 | San Diego
History Explorers: Día de los Muertos
11 a.m.–2 p.m. | San Diego History Center
October 13 | Los Angeles
Afro-Cuban Music with Melena Valdes
3–4 p.m. | Watts Library
A Bill of Rights for Our Future: Conversation & Reception
6–7:30 p.m. | East Los Angeles Library October 14 | San Diego and Orange County
Member Research Day
October 14 | 9 a.m.–noon | San Diego History Center
Air-Dry Clay Alebrijes
October 14 | 4 p.m. | Aliso Viejo Library
October 15 | The Final Day of Hispanic Heritage Month Ofrenda Workshop
October 15 | 5 p.m. | Garden Grove Chapman Library
Embellished Día de los Muertos Candle Workshop
October 15 | 4:30 p.m. | Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library
Paint and Sip: Alebrijes
October 15 | 6–8 p.m. | San Diego History Center
October 10 | Santa Barbara & San Diego
Your Family Story Is Part of Southern California History
Hispanic Heritage Month may end October 15, but family-history research doesn't have to.
The Genealogical Society of Hispanic America–Southern California Chapter offers programs and resources specifically for Hispanic genealogy. The Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society maintains a genealogical library and offers research assistance and classes. And for those researching early California families, the Early California Population Project provides access to information drawn from California mission sacramental records.
The California State Parks system also maintains resources on Spanish and Mexican heritage sites in California, offering another way to connect family research with the places where earlier generations lived and worked.
At the Los Angeles Public Library, the Shades of L.A. collection is an especially interesting resource for family historians. It contains thousands of photographs contributed by Los Angeles-area residents, including photographs documenting Latino families, businesses, celebrations, and everyday life.
Keep the Story Going
Our family histories are part of the history of the places we call home. Hispanic Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to celebrate those connections—and perhaps to begin uncovering a few more of our own.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from the Southern California Genealogical Society!
What a wonderful celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month! I’m curious, what specific traditions or stories from Southern California resonate most with you? I’ve always found local histories to be so rich and inspiring. It reminds me of fnaf 1, where every detail can add another layer to the story!