National Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the history, traditions and cultural diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae meets Lalo Alcaraz, an award-winning artist and editorial cartoonist behind the first nationally syndicated and politically themed Latino daily comic strip “La Cucaracha.”

Alcaraz shares how he experienced anti-immigrant bias and racism, starting at an early age, but also saw the beauty of his heritage and culture when he visited Mexico. 

“It was a different universe, and it blew my mind to see, after being told that Mexicans are nothing and were not valuable, to see all the civilization that Mexicans had made in Mexico City and beyond,” said Alcaraz. 

Alcaraz is also a writer and producer for film, television and animation. He was a cultural consultant on the Oscar-winning animated Pixar film “Coco.”

“I think it’s important that also little kids, especially first generation kids, realize that they have everything to be proud of. Their parents are immigrants. They come from another country. Wherever they’re from, they should be very proud of it,” said Alcaraz. “And just because you’re living in the U.S., doesn’t mean you have to erase your identity.”

McRae also sits down with Marissa López, associate professor of English and Chicana/o Studies, who launched a new app called “Picturing Mexican America.” It displays archival images of 19th century Mexican Los Angeles, related to the current location of the app user. 

“I wanted to create something that would not just tell people about how California used to be part of Mexico, but to give them opportunities to think about it on their own terms in their own time,” said Lopez.

Sen. Alex Padilla joins “In Focus SoCal” to discuss his current priorities, including immigration. According to a new report by the League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest Latino civil rights organization in the country, efforts to pass stricter immigration laws by state legislators have significantly increased in the last four years. 

“The role and responsibility of the state governments is not border security. It is not immigration or foreign policy, but they can make life easier or harder for immigrants, and California is a prime example,” said Padilla. “We know it’s smart when we include the immigrant population in public health policy. We know it’s good for our future when we invest in education of children of immigrants and of course provide economic opportunity and upward mobility.”

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. on Sundays.