Part of me gets it. The Dodgers have a large Latino fan base and they are acknowledging the culture of some of their most strident supporters. I\u2019ll even admit that the calavera-themed bobbleheads associated with the Sept. 8 event were cute.<\/p>\n
What wasn\u2019t so cute was fans needing to purchase a special upcharged ticket to get access to the bobbleheads. <\/p>\n
Those goofy little dolls are often free with the price of admission, but it seems like the Dodgers couldn\u2019t help but exploit Latino culture and prey on the pride of its fans. Where fans saw heritage, the Dodgers, one could argue, saw dollar signs. Also D\u00eda de Muertos takes place in November, not during Hispanic Heritage Month. The team couldn\u2019t even bother learning that those are two different things. <\/p>\n
But it shouldn\u2019t be that surprising, L.A.\u2019s favorite sports team recently celebrated their 2025 World Series victory at the White House<\/a> alongside President Trump; it tried to prohibit singer Nezza from performing the Spanish-language version<\/a> of the national anthem at a home game last season; one of its owners previously had millions of shares<\/a> invested in private prisons \u2014 which included Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers; and another co-owner has donated millions of dollars<\/a> to political action committees funding Trump-aligned politicians. <\/p>\n When it comes to its Latino fans, the Dodgers are more than happy to acknowledge them for the right price.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, they aren\u2019t unique when it comes to appealing to Latinos around the time of Hispanic Heritage Month, which kicked off on Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15. <\/p>\n Spotify, which ran ICE recruitment ads on its platform<\/a> in 2025, put together Hispanic-themed music and podcast playlists, plus audiobook recommendations<\/a> for the monthlong celebration last year. And, of course, Home Depot \u2014 which has consistently been labeled by immigrant advocacy groups as complicit in ICE raids<\/a> conducted in their parking lots and whose co-owner was a major Trump donor<\/a> \u2014 is \u201ccommitted to creating opportunities<\/a> to learn about and celebrate Hispanic and Latino culture.\u201d <\/p>\n The co-opting of Hispanic Heritage Month by companies like these have soured me on the celebration for years now. They\u2019ve turned Latinidad into a marketing ploy. Our identity is a branding opportunity.<\/p>\n I\u2018m good on the performative Latino allyship.<\/p>\n Perhaps some of my cynicism stems from having grown up in the L.A. area, where I saw Latinidad celebrated pretty much everyday. Maybe it\u2019s because my parents are from Mexico and I can\u2019t help but always feel deeply connected to my roots. It could also be that I\u2019ve reported on the constant attacks the Latino community has faced over just the last two years, so I don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s much to celebrate at this moment in the country\u2019s history. <\/p>\n Or perchance, I\u2019m just a natural hater.<\/p>\n Part of me thinks that as Latinos we\u2019ve moved beyond the point where we need this month \u2014 or two half months stitched together, if we\u2019re being completely honest. It made more sense decades ago when we made up a smaller percentage of the population and there was, in general, less representation in government and pop culture. <\/p>\n To be clear, I don\u2019t hate everything about Hispanic Heritage Month. <\/p>\n I like that the month has roots in L.A.<\/a> It was first conceived back in 1968 when Mexican American U.S. Rep. Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles sponsored the bill for Hispanic Heritage Week. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the week in 1968 and President Reagan made it a national monthlong event in 1988. <\/p>\n To get a different perspective on the month of celebration, I reached out to L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who previously served as the chair of L.A.\u2019s Latino Heritage Month festivities. <\/p>\n \u201cMy relationship to Hispanic Heritage Month is one that has grown deeper over time, and I\u2019ve learned to appreciate it more over time,\u201d she told me. \u201cIn moments where attacks are coming to our community, the occasion is important. Having Hispanic Heritage Month has felt like an opportunity to tell different stories of our culture by us, when oftentimes they\u2019re being told for us.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Hernandez was not blind to the reasons why someone like myself would raise an eyebrow at this month\u2019s celebration.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people are feeling jaded, if they are feeling disconnected in different ways because of what has happened to us in this moment, I would say go with that feeling because the only reason why corporations say they care about our identities is so that they can make money off of it,\u201d the 36-year-old politician said. <\/p>\n Ultimately, the council member believes that the event can be about whatever a celebrant wants it to be. Hernandez views it as her opportunity to educate community members on the great work Latinos are doing across the city.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a chance for me to take up as much space as possible to tell the stories of my people, to bring them into City Hall, bring in danzantes<\/a>, bring in local restaurant owners,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are moments to [invite] promotoras [community health workers] to City Hall and celebrate their work or to talk about the grind of the paletero in a moment where our paleteros are being kidnapped.\u201d<\/p>\n Hernandez noted she\u2019s been especially heartened by how engaged many Latinos have become in light of increased ICE activity within L.A. over the last two years. <\/p>\n \u201cA part of our community hid, but another part of our community stood up … What was happening was that the government was trying to make it scary to be Latino, but we can\u2019t hide our skin,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt does feel like people are hella loud, hella proud and I think that\u2019s very powerful. Joy is resistance.\u201d <\/p>\n Hearing from Hernandez was simultaneously validating and challenging. Yes, she understood my curmudgeon outlook, but she also provided some solutions to my cynicism. <\/p>\n Maybe it wouldn\u2019t be so bad to bask in the light of being liked, if even only for a month.<\/p>\n But also: Bah! Humbug! <\/p>\n (Jackie Rivera \/ For The Times; Martina Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez-Baldor \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n 100 years of La Opini\u00f3n La Opinion front page with Roosevelt Derroto a Hoover<\/p>\n (My Code)<\/p>\n Wednesday marked the 100-year anniversary of the Spanish-language daily newspaper La Opini\u00f3n. <\/p>\n To commemorate the occasion, my colleague Ruben Vives wrote about the paper\u2019s history, legacy<\/a> and how it \u2014 like many other news outlets across the country \u2014 is currently operating with a much smaller staff than in past decades. <\/p>\n La Opini\u00f3n has chronicled the lives of L.A.\u2019s growing Mexican community for generations. It reached huge levels of influence in the 1980s and 1990s as immigration from Mexico and Central America reshaped the region in profound demographic and political ways.<\/p>\n Once operating with a staff of hundreds, La Opini\u00f3n\u2018s staff has dwindled down to 50 full-time employees and freelancers. <\/p>\n \u201cI would say the paper had a dual mission: One was to represent our community and the growing influence it was having,\u201d said Monica Lozano, who formerly served as the paper\u2019s chief executive and publisher. <\/p>\n \u201cBut to also defend and make clear that we needed to be seen as an immigrant community that came with aspirations and dreams to provide for our families, contribute to the country and to be considered a fundamental part of the fabric of society.\u201d<\/p>\n La Opini\u00f3n is now the largest Spanish-language paper in the country and the second-most read in L.A., behind only The Times. <\/p>\n City and company officials say the former site of La Opini\u00f3n at 302 N. Los Angeles St. will be featured in the city\u2019s online inventory of historic places, HistoricPlacesLA Revealed: Latino Los Angeles<\/a>, a city initiative that highlights places that reflect the history and heritage of the city\u2019s Latino population.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need for outlets like this has become even more critical, people are searching for content that they can trust and is community focused,\u201d Lozano said.<\/p>\n You can read Vives\u2019 full story here<\/a>. <\/p>\n NBC4 news helicopter crash An aerial of the NBC4 news helicopter crash near the Lizard Production building on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chatsworth, Calif. An NBC4 news helicopter crashed Tuesday night in Chatsworth while covering a Metro city bus and motor vehicle accident.<\/p>\n (Kayla Bartkowski \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, three people were killed after an NBC4 news helicopter crashed and went up in flames<\/a> in the L.A. neighborhood of Chatsworth.<\/p>\n Veteran KNBC and Telemundo reporter Eliana Moreno and helicopter pilot George Marciniw were killed in the incident. A 29-year-old pedestrian, Edy Guti\u00e9rrez Mejia, also died at the scene.<\/p>\n The helicopter crashed in a driveway between two warehouses, smashing into a pair of truck cargo containers while the news crew tried grabbing video footage of a serious collision involving a Metro bus that also left two people dead. Four nearby vehicles also caught fire. Neither of the warehouse buildings were hit.<\/p>\n Both the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.<\/p>\n Moreno grew up in Orange County and received her bachelor\u2019s degree in broadcast journalism and political science from Chapman University. A veteran aerial reporter, she delivered news from helicopters in both English and Spanish for several news outlets beginning in 2010. <\/p>\n Moreno was 38.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was just such a light, such a spark plug. She\u2019s teeny tiny. Tiny, but she had the biggest heart and enthusiasm,\u201d Lynette Romero, NBC Los Angeles\u2019 morning news anchor, said of Moreno<\/a>. \u201cIt was really contagious.\u201d <\/p>\n Moreno was also a longtime member of the L.A. chapter of the National Assn. of Hispanic Journalists.<\/p>\n \u201cEliana had a unique presence in Los Angeles journalism. Reporting from the air, she brought breaking news directly to our communities in both English and Spanish,\u201d NAHJ L.A. wrote in a social media statement<\/a>. \u201cHer work reached audiences across languages and reflected the vital role bilingual journalists play in keeping our diverse communities informed.\u201d<\/p>\n Stories we read this week that we think you should read<\/p>\n Unless otherwise noted, stories below were published by the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n Politics and immigrationArts and entertainmentSouthern California ![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789752853_847_.gif\")
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