Children in Puerto Rico begin to prepare for the celebration of el Dia de los Reyes Magos (The Three Kings or Epiphany). Since the kings are riding horses and camels (not reindeer), the children gather grass to feed the kings’ animals. The children put the grass in shoe boxes under their beds on the evening […]
A bright light of good news in the final days of the very difficult year of 2020: Congress approved funding for the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino. The approval was part of the COVID-19 relief package that was passed on December 23, 2020. Before you rush off to visit the Mall in Washington, […]
If you’re Panamanian, today’s the day to call the wonderful women in your life and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is celebrated in Panama on December 8 of each year. The day commemorates the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ; the holy day was inaugurated […]
Today, we’re blending the practical North American tradition of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) with the spiritual South American tradition of DOTD (Day of the Dead). During the DOTD, or Dia de los Muertos, Americans honor friends and family members who have passed from this world by building “ofrendas” or altars. According to the city of San Antonio’s […]
The Mayan Calendar is a series of complex mathematical cycles of stunning precision and breathtaking cosmology. This hieroglyph fragment was on a panel that flanked the main stairs of the Temple of the Sun in Palenque, Mexico, records a birth in mythical time that corresponds to the completion of the 13th k’atun in historical time, […]
The Feast of Italian Saint Francis of Assisi is celebrated throughout Latin America. The Italian saint is a particular favorite in Mexico and Puerto Rico, where he is said to assist with harvest rituals. While the true biography of Saint Francis of Assisi is shrouded in legend, the essential story is that he was the son […]
Within the beautifully carved walls of a Mayan royal residence, the future ruler, Radiant Snake Jaguar, was born in Palenque, Mexico, on September 18, 524 in the Western Calendar. Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico, with ruins that date from 226 BC to its fall in about 1123 AD. Chan Bahlam, as he was […]
August 11, 3117 BCE. Yes, you read this date correctly, 3117 BCE, Before Christian Era. That’s over 5129 years ago. This date is the beginning of the most recent cycle of the Mayan Calendar, which completed on December 21, 2012. As noted, the world did not end, so hopefully, you did not tell off your […]
March 20 is World Story Telling Day, celebrating the ancient human tradition of oral story telling. This tradition has lived for centuries in Mexico and South American countries, known as the National Day of Story Tellers. (Image by Shalako Indian Art Store) El 20 de marzo es el Día Mundial de la Narración de Cuentos, […]
Happy Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is celebrated throughout the Americas, and is known as Día del Amor y la Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship) in Central and South America. Gentlemen and caballeros, if you have not gotten a gift or remembrance for your loved one or amante, this is a friendly reminder. For further […]
Feast Day of the Patron Virgin of the Dominican Republic, known as Our Lady of Altagracia or Our Lady of High Grace. This is a portrait of the Virgin Mary painted on a cloth 13 inches wide and 18 inches long, during the early 1500’s in Spain. Two Spanish brothers brought the portrait to Santo […]
El Dia de los Reyes Magos is celebrated in many countries throughout the Americas. Puerto Ricans celebrate with a caroling block party called alsaltos navideños or parrandas. While the caroling starts at the beginning of Advent and lasts throughout the season, January 6 is particularly celebrated with song. Carolers go house to house, enjoying holiday […]
Welcome to the Latino Hispanic Almanac, where we celebrate Latinas and Latinos every day of the year! During the year, you’ll discover the Latinx culture and people that have been part of the United States of America for centuries and on the continents of the Americas for thousands of years. We appreciate your interest, and […]
New Year’s Eve is celebrated throughout the Americas, with parties, fireworks, traditional food and family dinners. In Spain, Spaniards gather in the central plaza at Puerta del Sol, and eat one grape for each chime of the clock at midnight (this is actually a little more difficult than it sounds, particularly if your grapes are […]
The Feast of the Holy Innocents is celebrated in Mexico each year on December 28 in Mexico. The holiday is based on traditions from the Canary Islands, near the coast of Spain. The day is devoted to fun — children play at being adults, and pranks (as in April Fool’s Day in North America) are part […]
After all of the late night celebrations, partying and dancing for Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), Christmas Day in South and Central America is a quieter celebration with family and friends. In North America, traditions and celebrations intertwine. In the words of Cuban American author, Gustavo Perez Firmat, “The older Cubans, mostly men like my father and […]
Nochebuena, as Christmas Eve is also known in the Americas, is joyously celebrated with family, a religious service, and a traditional dinner menu. The traditions are varied among cultures and celebrations are often elaborate. In Puerto Rico, the Nochebuena meal can include roast pork, pigeon peas, sausages, and a variety of side dishes. Parrandas, essentially […]
“If Christmas can come to the jungle, you can come home.” This beautiful and unusual message was delivered to fighters in the terrible civil that raged in the Colombia for decades. As described in the TED Talk, “Colombia is a country of exceptional beauty and promise, and it’s also a country where the F.A.R.C. guerrilla […]
With the irresistible beat of Latin Jazz, the Havana International Jazz Festival opens in Cuba on December 15, 2013. Chucho Valdés and the Cuban Institute of Music warmly invite you to visit Havana for the music and fun. (Please see October 9, 1941 for more on Chucho.) The Festival is usually hosted in early January and features […]
Today is the Feast day of the Virgen de las Mercedes (Virgin of Mercy) and the day to honor the Santeria god Obatalá. The Virgin is honored throughout South and Central America and in Spain and Portugal. Obatalá is honored in Cuba and Brazil, and is also considered as part of the Yoruba religion. For […]
September 15 is the official start of our nation’s annual celebration of Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month, which continues through October 15. Hispanic Heritage Week was initially approved by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and in 1988 President Ronald Reagan extended the week to a month of celebration. September 15 was selected since five Latin […]
September 8 is the annual Feast of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Virgin of the Charity of Copper). The Virgin is nicknamed “Cachita” and she is highly revered in Cuba. During colonial times, the Virgin is believed to have intervened on behalf of native Cubans, saving them during a violent storm as they fled […]
The curtains opened on July 11, 2013, as stages throughout the Americas were illuminated by the 28th annual International Hispanic Theatre Festival (IHTF) of Miami. IHTF is presented by Teatro Avante, and offers renowned theater companies in performances in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Mexico City (Mexico), Quito (Ecuador), and Pais Vasco […]
May 1 is celebrated as May Day, International Workers Day, and Día del Trabajo in many countries around the world. It is an official holiday in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela – among other South and Central American countries. On May 1, 2006, Latino, Catholic, and immigrant rights groups organized the […]
Obviously, the world did not end on December 21, 2012. Instead, another complex mathematical cycle of thousands of years passed in the Mayan Calendar. The day was celebrated in the Mayan world, and in the night skies over places such as Antigua, Guatemala, glowing kites majestically soared in the dark air. The rich heritage of the […]
December 9, 2012 was the day the music died for millions of Latino fans of Dolores Janney Rivera, when the young, beloved entertainer was killed in a fiery airplane crash. Known as Jenni Rivera, the Mexican American singer, songwriter, television producer and entrepreneur was born in Long Beach, California in 1969. Rivera became pregnant at […]
The US Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) celebrated the 2012 National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week award winners on December 6, 2012. The annual awards recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and entities that made a major impact on the growth of minority business enterprises. Among the recipients was Congressman Silvestre Reyes, a […]
To applause and laughter, “El Show con Tony Benitez” premiered on GENTV in Miami on December 3, 2012. The premier included Tito Puente, Jr., son of the legendary mambo musician, and a special performance by the cast of the Broadway Musical STOMP. A director and co-creator of the show summarized its comedic mission as, “Our […]
Puerto Rico as the 51st State of the United States? For the first time in its history, a majority of the people of Puerto Rico voted in favor of becoming a State of the Union. The referendum was held on November 6, 2012. Puerto Rico became a US territory in 1898 and is now a […]
Southwest Airlines and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities announced the names of the students who earned the annual “Lanzate/Take Off” Education Travel Award on October 22, 2012. More than 400 students from around the country completed online entries and essays for the competition, detailing how the travel award would help them achieve their […]
To thunderous applause, the Festival Internacional Cervantino began its annual program of theater, music and culture in the beautiful city of Guanajuato, Mexico on October 13, 2012. The Festival started in the mid-20th century, when short plays by Miguel de Cervantes called “entreméses” were performed in the city’s plazas. (Cervantes is the famous Spanish writer […]
As 7000 people applauded, President Barack Obama dedicated the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument on October 8, 2012. This is the first national monument to honor a contemporary Mexican American. The Monument is located on a 187-acre site, known as Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz (Our Lady Queen of Peace), which was a center of […]
The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) announced that Javier Miyares was appointed as President of UMUC on October 1, 2012. Miyares was born in Cuba, and escaped to the US as a teen-ager. Miyares joined UMUC in 2001 as vice president for institutional effectiveness. Previously, he served the USM office as assistant vice chancellor for […]
The exhibition “Not Lost in Translation: The Life of Clotilde Arias” premiered at the US Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Arias was a Peruvian immigrant who arrived in New York in 1923 during the Great Depression, at the age of 22. Arias became an accomplished composer, musician, journalist, activist and educator. Her musical composition, […]
On September 18, 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF) announced a new campaign to combat racial profiling during police traffic stops in North Carolina. The ACLU spent years investigating reports of racial profiling and racially biased policing in traffic stops across the state. A recent report from a University of […]
On August 3, 2012, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio celebrated the 19th anniversary of the “Tent City”, a camp that he established in Maricopa County to imprison undocumented people and criminals. The tents are unheated in winter and uncooled in summer—inside temperatures have been recorded as high as 145 degrees. To humiliate these human beings seeking […]
The US Navy continued its program to honor diversity among our troops. The Navy’s Facebook page for week of July 30, 2012 featured Commander Debra Yniguez, who began her career as a Student Naval Aerospace Physiologist in 1995. Yniguez is a Latina in a traditionally male field, and posted as Deputy Diversity Officer for the […]
With a flutter of her eyelashes and a giggle, supermodel Valentina Guerrero made her catwalk debut in Miami, Florida. The then 10-month-old swimwear model, who has Downs syndrome, was selected as the representative model for DC Kids, a charming collection of children’s clothing. Please visit Valentina on her Facebook Page, and say Hello. (Photograph by […]
The US Navy honored the diversity of its forces with the launch of its “Beyond the Call” diversity campaign on July 18, 2012. The campaign highlights servicemen and servicewomen who have extended themselves beyond the call of duty professionally and personally, and are making a positive impact in the communities where they serve. These Navy […]
Family is family and familia es familia – sometimes we all need to be reminded of this principle of the human heart. On July 8, 2012, twenty-one of the US’ leading Hispanic organizations announced their endorsement of an unprecedented education campaign, “Familia es familia”. The campaign’s mission is to build support within the Latino community […]
On July 6, 2012, the annual Festival of Latin American Youth Theater opened in Quito, Ecuador. The Festival annually showcases young talent from Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia. The program includes workshops for aspiring artists. El 6 de julio de 2012 se inauguró el Festival Anual de Teatro Juvenil Latinoamericano en Quito, Ecuador. El Festival presenta […]
On June 3, 2012, three beautiful, talented Latinas dazzled the USA as they competed for Miss USA 2012: Miss Mississippi Myverick Garcia, Miss Colorado Marybel Gonzalez, and Miss New York Johanna Sambucini. Garcia was a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi and earned a degree in biological sciences. She is the first member of […]
On May 11, 2012, the fourth annual Pachanga Latino Music Festival opened in Austin, Texas. The Festival featured international, national and local artists such as Los Lonely Boys, Chico Trujillos, Ana Tijoux, Alejandro Escovedo, Forro in the Dark, Ruben Ramos and The Mexican Revolution, La Santa Cecilia, and Girl In A Coma. Niños Rock Pachanga […]
On April 25, 2012, the US Supreme Court heard the case brought by the US Department of Justice against the State of Arizona’s SB1070 anti-immigrant law. The controversial law has been heatedly debated throughout the nation. The following is the opening statement, as prepared for delivery, by US Congressional Representative Luis V. Gutierrez: “The Obama […]
Hispanicize 2012 opened on April 10, 2012 in Miami, Florida. Their web site describes the event as: “Hispanicize 2012 brings brands, media, marketers, celebrities, filmmakers, innovators and bloggers together in a unique creative environment focused on creative ideas and best practices. The conference is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, […]
On January 24, 2012, President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address. US Congressman Francisco Canseco delivered the Spanish-language Republican Address to the nation following the President’s address. Canseco was elected in 2010 to serve the 23rd District of Texas. A native of Laredo, Canseco is the son of immigrants from Mexico. Congressman […]
The Guardian, a well-established newspaper based in the United Kingdom (UK), reported on December 26, 2011 that the nation of Brazil had triumphed over the British and replaced the UK as the world’s sixth largest economy. The CEO of the Centre for Economics and business Research (CEBR) noted, “Brazil has beaten the European countries at […]
The annual national conference of LATISM went live in Chicago on November 9, 2011. LATISM, a nonprofit organization, is the largest organization of Latinos engaged in social media. LATISM is dedicated to advancing the social, civic and economic status of the Latino community. LATISM also works to raise awareness among corporate brands, NGOs and government entities […]
Reflecting in a distant mirror the courageous civil rights activists who preceded them, five young Latinos wearing graduation caps and gowns staged a sit-in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in Los Angeles, California on October 12, 2011. The five students were brought to the US by their families as children. The young […]
Richard Alfred Tapia is a highly respected American mathematician who has championed minority students in the sciences. On September 28, 2011, US President Barack Obama awarded Tapia and 11 other scientists the National Medal of Science. Tapia created four day workshops on computational science for teachers from schools with high minority enrollments. He has also mentored […]
The Mexican Museum in San Francisco, California, opened the Tequila Don Julio Collection on September 23, 2011. This art collection reflected the modern, dynamic artistic expression of Mexican and Mexican-American people. The Mexican Museum was founded in 1975. The mission of The Mexican Museum is to voice the complexity and richness of Latino art and culture throughout the […]
Mexican actor and Hollywood star Gael Garcia Bernal interviewed with NPR (National Public Radio) News to discuss “The Invisibles”, a series of short documentaries on Central American people traveling through Mexico to reach the US. The Central Americans are victimized by criminal and drug gangs in Mexico, and many who cannot pay ransoms or secure […]
With music, song and art, the first biannual Celebración Artística de las Américas (CALA) Festival was celebrated in Arizona on September 14, 2011. The CALA Alliance is an Arizona community-based organization dedicated to educating and inspiring all Arizonans about the richness of the Latino cultural heritage. The Festival includes performances, exhibits, in-school activities, food, and events […]
With a stellar concert line-up and a donation of 75,000 pounds of food to local charities, Goya Foods launched its nationwide 75th anniversary party on August 19, 2011. The concert line-up included Latino stars Marc Anthony, Ana Gabriel, and Marco Antonio Solis. Now a billion dollar enterprise with over 3,000 employees, Goya Foods was founded […]
As glasses clinked and guests smiled, Hector V. Baretto introduced the newly produced tequila spirit, Tributo a Mi Padre (Tribute to My Father), at the 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa Premiere Food and Wine Tasting Event on July 8, 2011. The honored padre was Hector Barreto Sr., an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico. Arriving in […]
On June 28, 2011, Assistant Senate Majority Leader U.S. Senator Dick Durbin chaired the first US Senate Hearing on the DREAM Act before the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration. The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) provides conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented individuals of good moral character who graduate from US […]
June 24, 2011 was the release date of the movie “A Better Life”. The film was directed by Chris Weitz and is based on a story by Roger L. Simon. The poignant drama centers on a father trying to make a life in America for himself and his son. The father is a Mexican immigrant […]
On June 22, 2011, Pulitzer Prize winning writer Jose Antonio Vargas revealed his story, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” in the New York Times. Filipino American Vargas had immigrated to the US when he was 12 years old. In his essay, Vargas revealed that his grandparents had not told him that his green card […]
On June 16, 2011, Tucson’s ethnic studies program was declared illegal and anti-American. In 2010, the Arizona state legislature signed a law that bans classes from kindergarten to 12th grade that, among other grave errors, are designed primarily for a single ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity. The Tucson school district was threatened with an end […]
June 16, 2011 was the first day of issue for the US postal stamp honoring Dr. Severo Ochoa. In 1959, Ochoa won the Nobel Prize in physiology for his discovery of the process to make RNA (ribonucleic acid) in a test tube. Ochoa was born in Luarca, Spain. He emigrated during the Spanish Civil War, […]
On June 13, 2011, Hispanicize, a leading Latinx social media content and marketing services platform, announced that it had negotiated a new business with two of the nation’s most influential Latina bloggers, Piera Jolly of JollyMom and Eva Smith of Tech.Food.Life. The new venture is the Latina Mom Bloggers network (www.LatinaMomBloggers.com). The goal of the […]
On June 8, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton released the news that the Obama Administration planned to bring a lawsuit against Arizona’s controversial immigration law, SB 1070. Among other provisions, the law decreed it a misdemeanor crime for an “alien human being” to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents. (Hmm … […]
On May 31, 2011, President Barak Obama appointed Dr. Alicia Abella to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Abella is the Executive Director of the Innovative Services Research Department at AT&T, where she manages research on data mining, user interfaces, IPTV, mobile services, and SIP/VoIP technology. Abella earned her PhD and MS […]
On May 19, 2011, Frankie Maybee of Green Forest, Arkansas, was convicted by jury of five counts of committing a federal hate crime. In June 2010, Maybee and his accomplice targeted five Hispanic men in a gas station parking lot. Though Maybee did not know the men and the five did not do or say […]
On March 30, 2011, the nation of Peru welcomed back to Peru over 45,000 Incan artifacts that were “taken” over 100 years earlier from the famed citadel of Machu Picchu. The artifacts were at Yale University; the government of Peru held that they were on loan, not a gift, and wanted back their heritage. The […]
On March 17, 2011, the Arizona Senate rejected five bills that would have barred illegal immigrants from buying or driving cars or getting marriage licenses, continuing the bitter disputes over immigration that instigated SB 1070. Clarissa Martinez of the National Council of La Raza commented that “After what happened last year [passage of SB 1070], […]
In honor of the bicentennials (200 year anniversaries) of the nations of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and of the shared history and values of the US and South America, the symposium “Creating Freedom in the Americas, 1776-1826” was celebrated in Washington, DC on November 19, 2010. The symposium was co-hosted by the Bureau of […]
Sometimes, you just cannot have too much of a good thing, particularly when you’re trying to set a Guinness World Record. This dictum also applies to a favorite Mexican immigrant, the burrito. The largest burrito on record was prepared on November 3, 2010 in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The burrito was made from a […]
To jubilant cheers and heartfelt tears, the horrific mine accident crisis in Copiapó, Chile came to a happy conclusion as the last of 33 miners resurfaced from deep in the earth. The 33 men were trapped for 69 days, over 2300 feet underground and about 3 miles from the entrance to the mine. As the world watched the dramatic rescue, mining […]
Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, and journalist Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) was announced as the winner of the Nobel prize for literature on October 7, 2010. Llosa is regarded as one of Latin America’s most inspiring and significant authors, with international reputation and regard. Llosa began his acceptance speech in praise of literature and reading, “Once […]
The Mexican Naval Infantry made a dark discovery on August 25, 2010, when they found 72 corpses near the US Mexican border. The victims were believed to be migrants from Central and South America, murdered by a drug cartel. This grim incident was the largest single body count since Mexican President Felipe Calderón made his […]
On July 7, 2010 the new South American currency, the Sucre, was used for the first time in an international trade transaction. The Sucre (Unitary System of Regional Compensation) is the currency developed by the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), enabling member states to trade internally without the US dollar. As […]
On June 25, 2010, Charo, a Latina singer, guitarist, and comedian, volunteered with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to protest against bullfighting as an inhumane sport. Charo addressed a rally in Los Angeles, urging tourists not to attend a bullfighting festival, Gran Corrida, in Mexico. Charo was born in Murcia, Spain, and […]
On April 29, 2010, Puerto Rican pop superstar Marc Anthony received Billboard’s Spirit of Hope Award, and the iconic Mexican group Los Temerarios earned Billboard’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. Anthony was awarded the Spirit of Hope Award for his philanthropic efforts, including his work for the Children’s Health Fund, Make-a-Wish Foundation and ING’s Run for Something […]
On April 12, 2010, Alejandra Castillo was appointed by the Obama Administration as National Deputy Director of the US Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The MBDA serves minority entrepreneurs across America who are building and growing businesses. Castillo writes, “My advice to young Hispanics just starting out would be to pursue your dreams, follow your passion […]
José Alberto “Pepe” Mujica Cordano, the President of Uruguay, was inaugurated on March 1, 2010. The politician and former Tupamaro guerilla fighter spent 14 years in a military prison and was wounded by police (unlike North American politicians, who usually are imprisoned after their careers in politics). A 2009 article by The Economist characterized him […]
Porfirio Lobo Sosa, President of Honduras, was inaugurated on January 27, 2010. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami and was granted a doctorate by Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. Lobo’s administration has received mixed reviews, with criticism from Human Rights watch for political oppression and praise from the […]
The renowned keeper of our spoken stories, StoryCorps, launched “Historias” on September 24, 2009. Historias is a new program to preserve the experiences of Latinos in the US and Puerto Rico. The program, which already exists in English, records informal conversations between family members or close friends who share their life experiences and stories with […]
Juanita’s Foods, a leading producer of prepared and homemade style Mexican cuisine, opened its Back to School promotional sweepstakes on August 31, 2009. The program helped parents and educators struggling to feed their students during The Great Recession, with 50 prizes of $1,000 nationwide. “One of the primary reasons for the growth of the US […]
On August 8, 2009, the first Latina Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Sonya Sotomayor, was sworn in to office. Chief Justice John G. Roberts administered the Constitutional Oath. Sotomayor’s mother attended and held the family Bible for the ceremony. (Image by UPI/ Steve Petteway) El 8 de agosto de 2009, la primera jueza […]
CNN reported that a family in Azle, Texas, posted a sign outside their home that many residents preferred that they hadn’t, reading “Hispanics Keep Out”. While there were no documented reports of documented or undocumented Latinx attempting to enter their home, the family felt compelled to display the racist message as a preemptive strike. Many […]
In the cool hours of the dark desert night on May 30, 2009, three Arizonans in the self-proclaimed Minutemen American Defense broke into the home of the Flores family. In cold blood, they shot and killed 29-year-old Raul “Junior” Flores and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia. They tried to murder the child’s mother and Raul’s wife, […]
On May 26, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama as a Supreme Court Justice. Sotomayor was the first Latina woman to receive this nomination and appointment. Sotomayor was raised in a housing project in the Bronx, New York, with a mother determined to educate her children. Sotomayor recalled that, “…we were the […]
The Mobile Giving channel, which enabled viewers to use their mobile phones to make donations, was launched during a telethon in the US for the first time on December 5, 2008. The telethon was broadcast on Galavision, a leading Spanish language cable network that reached over 8 million Latino households. Fundacion Teleton MexAmerica initiated the […]
What could be more democratic and more American than electing and selecting your very own sports reruns on a major network? To celebrate its fifth anniversary, ESPN Deportes launched ESPN Deportes Replay, a multimedia campaign that gave its fans the opportunity to program the network for three consecutive weeks. Voters selected candidates from the most memorable […]
On November 21, 2008, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) Worldwide Channels announced the launch of CBeebies, its first wholly-owned, Spanish-language channel in the US. This British invasion is dedicated to preschoolers. Darren Childs, BBC’s Managing Director, stated, “The introduction of a Spanish version of CBeebies into the U.S. Hispanic market is a momentous achievement for BBC […]
For the first time in its history, the Latin Grammy Awards were held in Houston, Texas. Houston is not known for being a mecca of Latin music, but one of the show’s organizers, Gabriel Abaroa, noted that “We decided to take the show where our people are.” Abaroa has a refreshingly broad view of “our […]
On August 15, 2008, Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez was inaugurated as President of the nation of Paraguay. Lugo was a Catholic bishop, and resigned from the Church to pursue politics. His election marked the end of six decades of right wing rule by the military dictatorship, and was bitterly opposed by the regime. Lugo campaigned […]
On June 11, 2008, the legendary baseball player David Americo Ortiz took the US Oath of Citizenship. Ortiz was born in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz is considered one of the top clutch hitters in major league history. In 2005, he helped lead the Boston Red Sox to its first World Series victory in 86 years. […]
The story of life-long love was retold on the silver screen, as “Love in the Time of Cholera” was released on November 16, 2007. The Hollywood film is based on the story by Nobel prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, about childhood sweethearts who are forcibly separated by the girl’s parents. Despite 50 years of separation […]
“…Nothing less than a miracle … the future of music for the whole world.” These heady words of praise from the leader of the Berlin Philharmonic appeared in the London Observer Magazine on July 29, 2007. The praise was for “El Sistema”, the program illuminating the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The orchestra’s conductor, […]
As the County meeting rooms overflowed with worried residents in the hot, angry Virginia night, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors passed its controversial anti-immigration ordinance. The legislation targeted undocumented immigrants by prohibiting their access to public services and increasing immigration enforcement by local police. The resolution was fiercely contested in a lengthy public […]
On January 10, 2007, Jose Daniel Ortega Saavedra was inaugurated as President of Nicaragua for the second time. Saavedra was a pivotal leader in the Cold War politics of Central America in the 1980s; viewed as a freedom fighter by the left and as an untrustworthy communist by the right. Upon taking office in 2007, […]
Two of South America’s greatest talents, singer Shakira and writer and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-2014), launched the foundation for Latin America in Solidarity Action on December 12, 2006. The foundation’s mission is to nurture at-risk children from pregnancy through age 6. One of the foundation’s programs provides health and nutritional assistance to […]
On October 26, 2006 US President George W. Bush signed The Secure Fence Act of 2006 into law. Bush stated “This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform.” The focus of the bill was to authorize construction of 700 […]
“Musicals are my greatest love, without question,” choreographer and director Kenny Ortega declared in an interview with a leading Australian magazine in September 2006. His earliest memories are of his parents’ laughter as they danced in their family living room. Ortega’s parents were Spanish and Cuban; he was born in Palo Alto, California. In his […]
Yes, they are still here. On September 2, 2006, members of the World Order of the Ku Klux Klan rallied at the Battle of Gettysburg National Military Park, the site of a decisive Civil War battle. Apparently, the Klan has not quite gotten over the official abolition of slavery in the US. While continuing to […]
The US Marines are looking for a few good men – and found a few good women. On August 2, 2006, Major General Angelina Salinas was the first Latinx woman to earn the appointment of a general officer in the US Marine Corps. Two days later Salinas assumed her command at the Marine Corps Recruit […]
On May 6, 2006, Latinx Jimmy Smits won the ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Award for outstanding actor in the television series, “The West Wing”. ALMA honors programming that shows positive images of Latinos in the arts. In “The West Wing”, Smits played the role of Congressman Mike Santos, who ran for President in the […]
On March 11, 2006, Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria was inaugurated as the first woman President of Chile. She was elected as President as a Social Democrat by 53.5% of the vote, with a platform that included increased social benefits and reducing the gap between rich and poor. Bachelet worked as a pediatrician and epidemiologist, and […]
On January 22, 2006 Evo Morales was inaugurated as President of Bolivia. Morales is of Spanish and Aymara descent; Aymara is one of the First Nations. He is committed to reducing poverty and illiteracy in Bolivia, and his policies are characterized as leftist and socialist. He has implemented land reform and the redistribution of gas […]
The American Music Award honored Colombian born musician and singer Shakira as America’s favorite Latina artist on November 22, 2005. Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll’s father was a Lebanese immigrant to Colombia, and her dual Latino and Middle Eastern heritage has greatly influenced her work. “Shakira” translates as “woman full of grace” in Arabic, and her […]
June 1, 2005 is the release date of the popular film, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”, starring Latina actor America Ferrera. Ferrera plays Carmen Lowell, who spends her summer coming to terms with the new, very norteamericano family into which her father is marrying. Carmen struggles with finding her place with her new family […]
On May 17, 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa was elected as the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles, California, in over 100 years. His Mexican immigrant father was an alcoholic who abandoned the family, and Villaraigosa had a troubled adolescence. He was expelled from high school for fighting, and later was charged with assault against a man […]
“Selena Vive!” aired live on April 7, 2005, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Jennifer Lopez starred as Selena. According to Nielsen ratings, the show earned a 35.9 Hispanic Television index rating, which translates into 3.9 million viewing households. It was the highest rating ever for a Spanish-language TV special. “The […]
Hispanic Business Magazine, a leading English language publication, announced on April 4, 2005, that attorney Brigida Benitez won their 2005 Woman of the Year (WOY) Award. Benitez was one of the principal attorneys for the University of Michigan in the affirmative action cases that were heard by the Supreme Court in 2003. These affirmative action […]
On February 22, 2005, California State Senator Joe Dunn introduced the “Apology Act for the 1930s Mexican Repatriation Program” (SB 670) in the California State Legislature. The bill’s purpose was to “express the apology of the State of California to those individuals who were illegally deported and coerced into emigrating to Mexico and would require […]
In 2004, New York Governor George Pataki declared February as Dominican Heritage Month in the state of New York. Dominicans celebrate their independence on February 27. Activities include culture, music, and art shows, essay contests, sport presentations, and lots of really great food. This Heritage Month continues to be celebrated annually. If you’re ever in […]
On February 8, 2004, Christina María Aguilera won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her song, “Beautiful”. In addition to her stellar contributions as a performer, Aguilera is active in humanitarian and social causes. In late 2007 Aguilera became a spokesperson for “Rock the Vote” to encourage young people to vote […]
Latinx protested discrimination in New York City’s bureaucracy on July 23, 2003. The demonstrators marched to support Intro 38, the Equal Access to Health and Human Services Act, which would provide language access to city services for people with limited English proficiency. The proposal was signed into law by New York City Mayor Bloomberg in […]
With the resounding crack of a bat, Major League Baseball star Miguel Cabrera made his debut in the majors on June 20, 2003. The 20-year old hit a game-winning home run for the Florida Marlins that day. His talent was evident at an early age; his mother noted in an interview, “It was like he […]
On May 15, 2003, Arturo “Arte” Moreno became the first Latinx to own a Major League Baseball team, the Anaheim Angels. Moreno is a fourth generation Mexican American born in Tucson, Arizona. He and his ten brothers and sisters were raised in a two-bedroom, one bathroom home. Moreno made his wealth the old fashioned way […]
The Hollywood film, “A Beautiful Mind”, was awarded Best Picture at the 2002 Academy Awards. The film portrayed the heart breaking struggles of Noble Prize winning physicist John Nash, and his wife, Alicia, with John’s dangerous paranoid delusions and mental illness. Alicia Larde is a native of El Salvador, and graduated with a degree in […]
January 23, 2002 was the premier of the new series, “American Family: Journey of Dreams”, created and produced by Gregory Nava (please see reference on January 11 – Nava is a busy guy). American Family was the first family drama series featuring a Latinx cast to air on broadcast television. PBS (Public Broadcasting System) later […]
January 14, 2002 marked the launch of TeleFutura, a Spanish-language broadcast network, by Univisión. Telefutura became America’s second largest Spanish-language prime time network. TeleFutura’s programming includes Noticias 41 Al Despertar, its news and public affairs program, talk shows, children’s programming and of course, telenovellas, or soap operas, which demonstrate the same amount of intelligence and […]
In solidarity and compassion, New York City Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg traveled to the Dominican Republic, to meet with grieving families who lost relatives when an American Airlines flight crashed in New York earlier that month. About 70% of the 260 passengers who died were Dominican. Bloomberg arrived in his private jet, and received a welcome motorcade […]
The people of Austin, Texas spoke loudly at the voting booth on November 6, 2001, and elected Gus Garcia as mayor of their city with 60% of their vote. Garcia was born in Zapata, Texas, to a family rich in a heritage of public service but poor financially. Garcia joined the US Army, which enabled […]
Latinx shared our nation’s tragedy as 258 Latinx were killed in New York on September 11, 2001, when two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center. Among the 177 men and 81 women were 21-year old Marlyn C. Garcia, a college student who aspired to work at the United Nations, and 28 year old Mario […]
The TV film, “For Love or Country”, premiered on October 18, 2000. Real-life musician Arturo Sandoval was the hero of the film, with his role played by handsome actor Andy Garcia. Sandoval was born in Cuba, and was a huge fan of North American jazz musicians, particularly Dizzy Gillespie. Sandoval formed his own band and […]
On August 14, 2000, one of our most famous and talented 21st century Latinx emerged onto the public stage: Dora the Explorer! Dora Marquez became a regular series that year on the Nickelodeon cable channel. Dora is the inspiration of Valerie Walsh Valdes, Chris Gifford and Eric Weiner. Dora is eight years old, and embarks […]
May 29, 1999 was a momentous day for the space shuttle Discovery, when it docked with the International Space Station for the first time. Latina Ellen Ochoa was on board and working during the event as mission specialist and engineer. Her responsibilities included coordinating the transfer of nearly two tons of supplies from one vessel […]
On February 2, 1999, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was inaugurated as President of Venezuela. Chávez is the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and he has implemented socialist reforms. He continually annoys the US establishment by directing Citgo Petroleum Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), to donate free heating […]
On January 25, 1999, Hispanic Magazine and Nordstrom Inc. announced that Dr. Ed Avila won the 1999 Teacher of the Year Award. Avila directed the Endeavour Academy, an engineering and applied science preparatory school, where he developed the curriculum and teaches classes. He contributed to the development of the Youth Aerospace Discovery Program, a weekly […]
On January 5, 1999, the Clinton administration (Bill, not Hil) approved direct charter flights from New York and Los Angeles to Cuba. Secretary of State Madeline Albright made the announcement, which was heralded as the most significant change in policy toward Cuba in decades. Travel was restricted to humanitarian-aid workers, athletes, scholars, teachers, and researchers, […]
The Nobel Academy in Sweden announced that Mexican writer, poet, diplomat and humanist Octavio Paz won the Nobel Prize for Literature on October 11, 1990. Paz was born in Mexico City, and followed in his family’s tradition of activist political journalism. He also served his country as diplomat, but resigned in protest over the Mexican […]
August 10, 1998 marked the inaugural opening of the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives. The mission of the center is to disseminate and advance understanding and knowledge of the contributions of Latinas and Latinos to the culture, society, history, arts, and sciences of the US. The Center’s web site features a Virtual Museum, online collections, […]
On April 26, 1998, Monsignor Juan José Gerardi Conedera was beaten to death, two days after releasing a four-volume report on atrocities by the Guatemalan military during the decades of the Guatemalan Civil War (1960 to 1996). Conedera was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights defender, who was viewed as a moderate reformer. […]
Pedro Martinez signed a $75 million, six-year contract with the Red Sox on December 12, 1997, making Martinez the highest paid player in baseball at that time. Martinez’ life story is woven from the American Dream. He grew up in a poor rural village in the Dominican Republic, and was a sensitive child who studiously […]
On August 11, 1997, Publisher’s Weekly announced that Josefina Montoya, the latest American Girl in the Pleasant Company collection of historical dolls, would debut in September. Maria Josefina Montoya is a nine-year old Latina living in northern New Mexico in 1824. Josefina and her three sisters live on a rancho near Santa Fe, and are […]
After thirty-six long years of brutal and bloody civil war, the nation of Guatemala was finally able to declare peace on December 29, 1996. The civil war was part of a larger global power struggle for resources and for political influence, and the US-based United Fruit Company and the CIA supported different factions throughout the decades […]
The day of the Mac attack! On September 7, 1996, Los Del Rio’s hit song ”Macarena” climbed into the top 100 of The Billboard 200. Antonio Romero and Raphael Ruiz, the two Spaniards in the Del Rio group, were pleasantly surprised by their song’s success. It quickly became a cultural fixture, played at weddings, family […]
The Puerto Rican Senate declared November 9, 1995 as “El Dia de Olga Tañón” (Olga Tañón Day) in honor of the Grammy Award winning singer. Tañón was born in Santruce, Puerto Rico, and began her singing career performing with merengue groups. (Merengue originated in the Dominican Republic, and is characterized by a fast 2/4 beat. Please, not to be […]
Happy Birthday to writer Luis Alberto Urrea, born on August 20, 1955 in Tijuana, Mexico. His father was Mexican and his mother was New Yorker; Urrea was born in Mexico and raised in San Diego from the age of 3. He earned his BA at the University of California at San Diego, and his MA […]
“My Family”, the award winning film about three generations of Mexican Americans, was released on May 3, 1995. The film was directed by Gregory Nava, and featured Latinx stars Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, Jennifer Lopez, and Esai Morales, among other talents. The emotionally complex drama begins with the life of the eldest brother, who […]
Former US President George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, declared April 16, 1995, as “Selena Day”, two weeks after the death of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Selena born in on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her father recognized her talent at age 6. She won her first Grammy in 1993 for Best […]
President Ernesto Zedillo was inaugurated as President of Mexico on December 1, 1994, with an election that was marked by fairness and high voter turnout. Zedillo was raised in a lower middle class family, and received a scholarship to Yale University in the US. He studied economics, and returned to Mexico to continue his public […]
By a close vote of 234 to 200, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on November 17, 1993. The goal of NAFTA, according to its advocates, was to eliminate barriers to trade and investment among the US, Canada and Mexico. Its critics contend that […]
The film, “The House of the Spirits”, based on the classic novel of the same name by Chilean writer Isabel Allende, premiered in Germany on October 17, 1993. The film is the story of a complex Chilean family during the rise of the military dictatorship in Chile. English actor Jeremy Irons stars as the family […]
On July 23, 1993, scientist Angeles de Leira Alvarino was awarded the Great Silver Medal of Galici a by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia of Spain. Alvarino, who was born in Spain, specialized in fishery research biologist and marine science. In her decades long career, she made tremendous contributions to knowledge about marine […]
On May 23, 1993, 18-year-old Dayanara Torres from Puerto Rico was crowned as the 42nd Miss Universe. Torres then launched her career as a singer, actress, writer, and model, and has appeared in several US television series and movies in the Philippines. Torres authored the self-help book, “Married to Me” after her divorce from Latino […]
From the dark silence of the dusty pages of hidden archives, the voices of the tortured dead began to speak once more. While looking for documents on the fate of an individual prisoner, lawyer, human-rights activist and former prisoner Dr. Martín Almada and Judge José Agustín Fernández uncovered the files that became known as the “Archives of Terror” […]
The Academy Award winning documentary, “The Panama Deception”, was released on July 31, 1992. The 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was termed “Operation Just Cause” by the Bush Administration; according to the documentary’s director, Barbara Trent, the invasion was far from a just cause. Trent alleged that US troops killed up to 4,000 […]
Happy Birthday to Selena Gomez, an all American singer and actress, born in Grand Prairie, Texas, on July 22, 1992. Gomez’s father is a New Mexico native of Mexican descent and her mother is Italian-American. Gomez was named for popular Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla Perez. Gomez’s first big break was in the Disney TV series, […]
March 1, 1992 is the release date of the movie, “The Mambo Kings”, based on Oscar Hijuelos’s 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. The film and movie are about the lives and loves of two brothers who are refugees from Cuba. The film features Antonio Banderas, a Spanish actor, and […]
Another first for Latinx was earned by Ed Pastor (1943–2018), when he became the first Latinx from Arizona to be elected to US Congress. Pastor was born in a small mining town in Arizona. He earned his BA at Arizona State University and his law degree from Arizona State College of Law. After serving as […]
On February 20, 1991, the talented Mariah Carey won the Grammy for “Best New Artist”, the first of many national awards that she earned. Carey is of Afro-Venezuelan and Irish heritage, a multiracial heritage that was challenging for her. Today, Carey is one of the world’s most successful living singers and artists, selling over 200 […]
Happy Birthday to Stefanía Fernández Krupij, born in Venezuela on September 4, 1990. Fernández was crowned as Miss Universe in 2009. While she is 100% Venezuelan and Latina, her heritage is Ukrainian, Polish, Russian and Spanish. Feliz cumpleaños a Stefanía Fernández Krupij, nacida en Venezuela el 4 de septiembre de 1990. Fernández fue coronada como […]
A very young Latinx cowboy from Penasco, New Mexico, poses for a photographer from the Office of War Information Photograph Collection in July 1940. Hispanic Americans were the first Europeans in the state of New Mexico, as the Spanish in Mexico expanded their empire northwards. The photos were taken as part of an extensive pictorial […]
On January 17, 1990, Ellen Ochoa (born May 10, 1958) was selected by NASA for training, and she was the first Latina astronaut in space. Ochoa received a doctorate in electronic engineering from Stanford University, and after graduation, she worked in research at the Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California. Ochoa flew her first mission […]
January 3, 1990, the former president of Panama, Manuel Noriega surrendered to the US Army. Panama was invaded by US forces on December 20, 1989. President George H.W. Bush cited Noriega’s involvement in drug trafficking as one of the leading reasons for the invasion. This viewpoint was challenged later in the Academy Award winning documentary, […]
As word of the US invasion of Panama reached international organizations, many people expressed their outrage at what they believed was deplorable US aggression. On December 29, 1989 the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to condemn the US invasion. The vote was 75 to 20, with 40 nations abstaining. Resolution 44/240 stated that the […]
In the silent hours after midnight in the dark night of the tropics, more than 27,000 undocumented US troops illegally stormed into Panama on December 20, 1989. Their target was General Manuel Noriega, a former ally of the US. Noriega was suspected of drug trafficking and had recently overturned the democratic election of the new President of […]
In an exciting, high velocity game, the US and El Salvador vied for supremacy at the sports stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri on November 5, 1989. The teams were playing for a place in the 1990 FIFA Soccer World Cup. After a well-matched competition, the teams tied 0-0. En un emocionante juego de alta velocidad, […]
On August 29, 1989, the first Latina woman to serve in the US Congress began her first term. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born in Havana, Cuba on July 15, 1952, and immigrated to the US with her family when she was 7. She earned a BA and MS from Florida International University, and began her career as […]
Happy Birthday to America’s Olympic medal winner and boxer, Marlen Esparza. Esparza was born on July 29, 1989 in Houston, Texas. Early in her life, Esparza was plagued with poor grades and trouble at school, until she agreed to a strict program with her boxing coach. By age 16 Esparza was one of the youngest […]
On June 10, 1989, tennis fans applauded as Spanish star athlete, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, defeated the almost invincible Steffi Graff in the French Open. The women battled for three hours, and the game was marked by long rallies of 30 to 40 shots. A determined and tenacious player, Vicario briefly held the number one spot […]
Happy Birthday to Emily Clara Rios, a Mexican-American actor and model born in Los Angeles, California, on April 27, 1989. Rios has starred in numerous television and film roles. She played the lead role in the acclaimed indie movie, “Quinceañera”, a story of a young Latin American woman’s coming of age in our turbulent, cross-cultural […]
The Chilean political opposition to dictator and General Augusto Pinochet triumphed on October 5, 1988, as the center-left Concertación party defeated Pinochet in his re-election bid. A general election was held in 1989. Concertación and its Presidential candidates won each year onwards, until a conservative candidate was elected in 2010. La oposición política chilena al […]
On September 20, 1988, Lauro Fred Cavazos was sworn in as Secretary of Education in President Ronald Reagan’s Administration. Cavazos was the first Hispanic to serve in the US Cabinet. Cavazos is a sixth-generation Texan born in Kingsville, Texas. Cavazos’ father strongly encouraged his education, and after he served in World War II, Cavazos earned a […]
Happy Birthday to singer and actress Alexa Vega, born on August 27, 1988 in Miami, Florida. Vega’s father was from Colombia and her mother is a norteamericana and former model. Even at her young age, Vega already has a long career in television, beginning with Burt Reynolds’ TV series, “Evening Shade”. Vega has sung on […]
On August 9, 1988, US President Ronald Reagan nominated Lauro Fred Cavazos as Secretary of Education. Cavazos was the first Latinx to hold a cabinet post, which was really big. He earned a BA in zoology, an MA in cytology, and a Ph D in physiology. Cavazos also served as college president and professor and is […]
March 18, 1988 is the release date of “The Milagro Beanfield War”, a film set in the fictional rural town of Milagro and filmed in Truchas, New Mexico. The fictional town was predominantly Catholic and Latinx, with less than 500 residents. The drama centers on the issue of water rights as small bean farmers challenge […]
March 11, 1988 was the release date of “Stand and Deliver”, an inspiring Hollywood movie based on the true story of the students at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and their dedicated math teacher, Bolivian-American Jaime Escalante. Despite the difficult challenges of their tough environment, Escalante persisted in teaching them advanced levels of […]
On October 13, 1987, the Nobel Academy announced that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize. Arias worked tirelessly to reconcile the warring nations that neighbored his peaceful country. In his acceptance speech later that year in Sweden, Arias stated, “Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not […]
August 21, 1987 was the release date of the comedy, “Born in East LA”, written and directed by Cheech Marin of the Cheech & Chong comedy team. The film centers on a US citizen, Rudy Robles, mistakenly deported to Mexico in an immigration raid. Rudy struggles through Mexican, unable to speak Spanish, using his only […]
The city of San Francisco, California declared June 6, 1987 as “Santana Day”, honoring musician and composer Carlos Santana. Santana was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1947, and began playing guitar when he was 8. By age 11, he was performing at nightclubs in Tijuana. His family moved to San Francisco, and Santana worked as […]
Happy Birthday to NFL quarterback Mark Travis John Sanchez, born on November 11, 1986 in Long Beach, California. The 6′ 2″ tall Sanchez is a third-generation Mexican-American. His father was a strong influence in his life, and Sanchez began playing football in 8th grade coached by his papi. He played college football for the University […]
The passion and artistry of Spain graced the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City, as “Flamenco Puro” (“Pure Flamenco”) opened on October 19, 1986 for a run of 40 performances. The creating artist, Pablo Pena, had a lifelong love for the unique dance form. In an interview, Pena stated, “Flamenco at its purest … emerged […]
Agonized screams filled the streets of Santiago, Chile, as protestors Rodrigo Rojas de Negri and Carmen Gloria Quintana were burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Rojas’ mother was a political exile, and he had lived in the US and attended Woodrow Wilson High School. Quintana was an engineering […]
As the NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis launched into the night sky from the Kennedy Space Center on November 26, 1985, Latinx Rodolfo Neri Vela was among the crew. Neri is a Mexican scientist and astronaut who served as Payload Specialist for the mission. (A Payload Specialist is the technical expert on the carrying capacity of an […]
After persevering through a number of campaigns, Xavier Louis Suarez was finally elected as Mayor of the city of Miami. He was sworn in on November 13, 1985, and was the first Cuban born citizen to win this office. Suarez was born in Las Villas, Cuba, and immigrated to the US in 1962. He graduated […]
The mile high airwaves of Denver, Colorado, were rocked with a new sound, as the first bilingual radio station in Denver made its debut on August 29, 1985. The station was the fulfilled dream of Florence Hernández-Ramos , the first Latina female president and general manager of a public radio station. The station has a jazz format; […]
On August 27, 1985, audiences cheered as 14 year old Mary Joe Fernandez won a main draw match at the women’s US Open in the first round. Fernandez was born in the Dominican Republic, and immigrated to the US as a child with her family. Fernandez continued this dazzling start to her career, placing as […]
On July 15, 1985, to cheers, tears and applause, Puerto Rican actress and TV host Deborah Fátima Carthy-Deu was crowned as the 34th Miss Universe. Carthy-Deu was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and is the second Puerto Rican woman to achieve this title. She graduated with high honors from the University of Puerto Rico with a […]
To cheers and applause across the globe, the Live-Aid Concert began on July 13, 1985. The dual-venue concert was held in London, England and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to raise money for the human beings impacted by a terrible famine in Ethiopia. The event was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts to date: […]
On June 2, 1985, Mexican-American Nancy Lopez won the 31st LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Championship. Among her stellar accomplishments, Lopez is able to balance work and home life. In an interview with the New York Times, she stated, “I like being a wife and mother more than I like professional golf.” Lopez and her […]
On May 13, 1985, beautiful, talented Laura Elena Martinez-Herring was crowned as Miss USA, the first Latina to win the honor. Martinez was born in Los Mochis, a city in western Mexico. Her family later settled in Texas, the state that she represented in the Miss USA competition. Martinez studied at Aiglon College, a Swiss […]
With the whisper whip of a speeding baseball cutting through the air on April 28, 1985, Mexican American Fernando Valenzeula pitched the conclusion of five shutouts during an eight-game winning streak to start the season. “Fernandomania” became a national epidemic. The 20-year old Valenzeula is left-handed, with an incredible screwball pitch that confounded the pros […]
In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on October 2, 1984, Nicaraguan Presidential candidate Daniel Ortega charged that “intelligence information from various sources” indicated that the US was planning a two-stage invasion of Nicaragua. The invasion would be timed to force the Sandinistas to cancel the national balloting scheduled for November 4, 1984. […]
June 9, 1984 is the birthday of Kaleth Miguel Morales Troya, a singer and songwriter born in Valledupar, Colombia. Troya wrote his first musical composition at age 13. He was regarded as the king of vallenato or New Wave Music, a Caribbean – Columbian style of folk music. Vallenato music originated in northeastern Colombia and […]
On May 10, 1984, the International Court of Justice in the city of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that the US should cease its blockade of Nicaraguan ports and stop laying mines in the Nicaraguan harbor. The court held that, “The right to sovereignty and to political independence possessed by the Republic of Nicaragua, […]
Happy Birthday to America Georgina Ferrera, the Latinx actor best known for her lead role in the television comedy series, “Ugly Betty”. California-born Ferrera is the daughter of Honduran immigrants. In an interview with Back Stage West, she related that her mother had immigrated “for the sole purpose that my siblings and I could get […]
On April 10, 1984, the US Senate formally condemned the mining of the harbor of Nicaragua. As part of their effort to assist the Contras, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) placed explosive mines in the Nicaraguan harbor in a covert operation, without permission from the US government. (As a certain former Texas Governor would […]
February 29, 1984, is the birthday of Nuria Martinez, a Spanish-born basketball player for the US Women’s National Basketball Association. Martinez played in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008 for Spain, and played guard for the Minnesota Lynx. In 2017, Nuria returned to Spain to play for Uni Girona Club de Basquet. El 29 de febrero […]
January 11, 1984 is the release date of the independent film, “El Norte”. The film is a compassionate, tragic, and sometimes humorous portrayal of the journey of a brother and sister from Guatemala to the US (“El Norte”). There, they search for work and begin their personal quest of the American Dream. The film was […]
The multi-faceted political, social, economic, cultural, military and spiritual movement of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) was founded in Chiapas, Mexico on November 17, 1983. Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, with a large concentration of indigenous people comprising the Mixes-Zoques, the Mayas and the Chiapa. The movement is named after Emiliano Zapata, the agrarian […]
US President Ronald Reagan announced his appointment of Katherine Davalos Ortega on September 12, 1983 as US Secretary of the Treasury. “She is symbolic of the values the Hispanic community represents, and I am honored that she is to become a part of this administration,” stated Reagan. Ortega was born in Tularosa, New Mexico, and […]
On December 8, 1982, Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (1927 – 2014) delivered his Nobel lecture, entitled “The Solitude of Latin America”, when he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Marquez has written novels, short-stories, screenplays, and articles, woven with magical realism, a style that highlights the worlds beyond those ordinary and seen. His […]
In an uneasy transition from decades of dictatorship to democracy, Felipe González was inaugurated as President of Spain on December 2, 1982. González was the Presidential candidate of the Spanish Socialist Worker Party (PSOE). The PSOE won 46% of the vote, a parliamentary majority. González’s conservative brand of socialism, sometimes termed Felipismo, has been criticized by […]
Another bloody chapter opened in the 36-year civil war in Guatemala on March 23, 1982. Ruling general Fernando Romeo Lucas García was overthrown in a military coup. García was condemned by human rights groups for his brutality against civilians. In 1980 during his regime, police raided the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City, which was occupied […]
On December 22, 1981, the last military dictators took power in Argentina’s Dirty War against its own citizens, as General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli assumed the Presidency. Galtieri attended classes at the infamous US Army School of the Americas in 1949, when the School operated in the Panama Canal Zone, and spent six months studying […]
The screams of terror and the flow of tears continued throughout the day and night as the people of El Mozote, El Salvador, were massacred by the battalion known as the “Angels of Hell”. The villagers were raped, tortured, bayoneted and shot at point blank range. When the last of their blood had soaked into […]
US baseball’s prestigious Cy Young Award had never been awarded to a rookie player – until Fernando Valenzuela sparkled on the diamond. (Please note, a rookie in Major League Baseball is a player with fewer than 130 times at bat or 50 innings pitched in the majors, or less than 45 days on the active rosters of an MLB […]
In an angry dark night as the Civil War raged throughout Guatemala, a North American priest from Oklahoma City was gunned down in the impoverished village where he ministered. Father Stanley Rother served in Santiago Atitlan from 1968 until 1981. He left temporarily because of the death threats that he received for his opposition to […]
In recognition of his contribution to music and the arts, guitarist Andre Segovia was ennobled by King Juan Carlos I of Spain on June 24, 1981. Segovia is the most celebrated classical guitarist in the world, and is universally acknowledged as the founding father of modern classical guitar. Segovia was born in Andalusia, Spain in […]
A violent, fiery plane crash into a mountain on May 24, 1981 ended the life of Jaime Roldós Aguilera, then President of Ecuador. Aguilera was an educator, author, and politician. At 39 years old, he was the youngest President elected in the Western Hemisphere. He took office following a difficult nine-year period of military and […]
Henry Cisneros was elected as mayor of San Antonio on April 4, 1981, the first Latinx mayor since Texas joined the US. He earned a BA from Texas A&M University, an MA from Harvard University, and a Ph D in public administration from George Washington University. In 1975, he was selected as a White House […]
To the cheers of roaring fans, Latinx athlete Alberto Salazar was the first to race across the finish line of the 11th New York City Marathon on October 26, 1980. Salazar won with a time of 2:09:41 (two hours, nine minutes and forty-one seconds). This win was the first of three straight victories in the […]
On June 2, 1980, Cuban born Roberto Crispulo Goizueta was promoted to president of the Coca Cola Company, 26 years after he had answered a newspaper ad to work for the company in Cuba. The next year, Goizueta was elected by the board to as Coke’s chairman and chief executive officer. Goizueta graduated from Yale […]
On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was assassinated while celebrating Mass at a small chapel. Romero was a leader in liberation theology, in which priests and ministers preached against repressive dictatorships and human rights violations. Romero was deeply concerned about the persecution of the poor, political activists, and the priests and […]
On February 10, 1980, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated as Brazil’s 35th President, an office that he held through 1994. Popularly known as Lula, he promoted programs to alleviate poverty and hunger in Brazil. A self-made man, Lula worked as a peanut seller and shoe shine boy in his youth, and did not […]
On January 31, 1980, a number of Guatemalan indigenous people and their allies occupied Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City. The people were protesting the killing of civilians by the Guatemalan Army. The protestors selected the Spanish embassy, since the Spanish were sympathetic to their cause. The Guatemalan police raided the embassy later that day, and […]
Happy Birthday to Scott Gomez, the first Latinx player in the National Hockey League. Gomez’s paternal grandparents were from Mexico; Gomez was born in Anchorage, Alaska, to a hockey loving papi who encouraged his son’s athleticism. Gomez earned recognition as rookie of the year at age 20, and has since played professionally for the New […]
On October 24, 1979, Edward Hidalgo was sworn in as the first Latinx US Secretary of the Navy. Hidalgo was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and immigrated as a young child with his family, an early “DREAMer”. Hidalgo earned a BA at Holy Cross University and law degrees from Columbia and the University of Mexico. […]
Happy Birthday to actor, director and documentary producer Gael Garcia Bernal, born in Guadalajara, Mexico on November 30, 1978. Bernal studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Bernal is a star in Mexican and Spanish cinema; his starring roles in Hollywood films include “The Motorcycle Diaries”, “Babel”, and “Letters to Juliet”. Bernal has […]
Happy Birthday to Maria Joselina García Cobos, born October 31, 1978, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 1997, the beautiful and talented García won the Miss Honduras beauty pageant, and competed for Miss Universe that year. Although she did not win the crown, she placed second in the competition for “Best Native Costume”. García Cobos earned a […]
Fabulous music filled the night air with the debut of “Evita” on June 20, 1978, at Prince Edward Theatre in London. The rock opera was created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The musical centers on the life of Argentina’s Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story depicts Evita’s […]
Happy birthday to Carlos Iván Beltrán, a leading baseball outfielder from Puerto Rico. Beltrán has played for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants. He was the eighth player in Major League Baseball history to have a 3 2-run HR game (2011). With his hard earned […]
Happy Birthday to Puerto Rican American Ramón “Raymond” Luis Ayala Rodríguez, born on February 3, 1977. His stage name is Daddy Yankee. Rodríguez had dreamed of playing Major League Baseball, until he was permanently injured when he was caught in the crossfire of a barrio gunfight. The unstoppable Rodríguez is one of the biggest reggaetón […]
The island nation of Trinidad and Tobago became an independent republic on October 26, 1976. The nation is comprised of two islands near the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean; Trinidad is the larger island. Christopher Columbus invaded the island in 1498, when the Taino nations resided there. The islands remained under Spanish control until […]
Happy Birthday to Big Papi, as Major League Baseball player David Américo Ortiz Arias is known. Born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was encouraged by his father to play baseball and learn English. His father’s intuition was correct, and Ortiz is regarded as one of the top clutch hitters in MLB history. (A […]
Happy Birthday to Major League Baseball player Plácido Enrique Polanco, born on October 10, 1975 in the Dominican Republic. Polanco attended Miami-Dade Community College, where he starred on the team. Polanco is regarded as “a consummate professional” and has won numerous awards for his sports performance. In 2006, he led the Detroit Tigers to their […]
To the surprise of cheering fans, Manuel Orantes upset leading US tennis player Jimmy Connors to win the US Open. Orantes’ win was regarded as one of the greatest Grand Slam matches in tennis history. Orantes was born in Granada, Spain, and has a reputation for being a true gentleman. In 2012, he was inducted into […]
Happy Birthday to children’s book author and baseball superstar Alex Rodriquez, born in New York City. When Rodriquez was 4, his father moved the family to his home in the Dominican Republic. After Rodriquez ‘s return to the US, talent scouts spotted him early, and at age 18 Rodriquez was playing in a professional league, […]
Happy Birthday to Enrique Iglesias, born May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, to a Spanish father and Philippine mother. Iglesias grew up in Miami and studied at the University of Miami. He cites his musical influences as artists such as Dire Straits, John Mellencamp, and Fleetwood Mac. Iglesias has sold over 100 million records worldwide, […]
On April 22, 1975, General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro took power in an overthrow of the government in Honduras. His predecessor was implicated in a bribery scandal with the United Fruit Company, a US corporation. Castro was a graduate of the US School of the Americas, which has educated a number of less than stellar […]
March 15, 1975 is the birthday of Eva Longoria, a “Texican” American actress known for her gorgeous looks and her commitment to charities and organizations supporting Latinos. Eva’s ancestors arrived in Texas long before it was Texas, emigrating from Spain in 1603. In 1767 the King of Spain granted almost 4,000 acres along the Rio […]
US television history was made on September 13, 1974, with the premiere of the comedy series, “Chico and The Man”. This was the first US television series set in a Mexican American neighborhood. The series featured Jack Albertson as the grumpy owner of a repair garage in East Los Angeles, and Freddie Prinze (born Frederick […]
August 21, 1974 is the effective date of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA), a federal law that prohibits discrimination against faculty, staff and students, including racial segregation of students, on the basis of race, color, gender, or national origin. The law requires a school district to take action to overcome barriers to students’ equal […]
On July 1, 1974, Isabel Martínez de Perón was inaugurated as President of Argentina. Perón was the third wife of another former President, Juan Perón. When her husband died in office, Perón served his term. She was the first non-royal woman head of state and head of government in the Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, during Argentina’s […]
Jockey Angel Cordero, Jr., riding the racehorse Cannonade, burst over the finish line on May 4, 1974, winning the 100th Kentucky Derby. Cordero is a native of Puerto Rico, and the only jockey from The Island inducted into the US Racing Hall of Fame. Cordero is regarded as one of thoroughbred racing’s lead competitors. Nicknamed […]
Happy Birthday, Penélope! On April 28, 1974, Penélope Cruz Sánchez made her debut in Madrid, Spain. Her mother recognized her talent, and enrolled her in dance classes at age five. Since her acting debut at age 16, the talented actress, dancer and singer has starred in film and television for a worldwide audience. Cruz is […]
On January 21, 1974, the US Supreme Court decided on the case Lau v. Nichols, a landmark in civil rights for the education of students. The Chinese American community in San Francisco argued that since their students with limited English skills were not receiving meaningful language assistance for their education, they were discriminated against according […]
The US Supreme Court heard arguments for the case of Lau v. Nichols on December 10, 1973. During this landmark case on bilingual education, the Court promulgated one of its first interpretations of the term “appropriate action.” The ruling held that a school district based in San Francisco violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by […]
An art exhibition created by “Los Four” opened at the University of California at Irvine on November 10, 1973. The four Latinx/Chicano artists were Carlos Almaraz, Roberto de la Rocha, Gilbert Sanchez Lujan and Frank Edward Romero. The art and photography of these bicultural artists explores themes that range from family and childhood to political and historical, […]
In the terrible blast of bullets and artillery that raged through the Presidential Palace on September 11, 1973, democratically elected President Salvadore Allende was finally defeated. In 1970 Allende was elected as President of Chile with a leftist coalition called Unidad Popular,or Popular Unity. Allende and his coalition planned dramatic social, economic and political reforms. In […]
On August 17, 1973, Mexican American golfing superstar Lee Trevino hit his first hole-in-one on a professional tour. Growing up in Texas, his impoverished family lived in a house with no running water or electricity – but it was at the back of a field next to a golf course. Trevino made his first golf […]
Inner peace through electric guitar was the message from musician and spiritualist Carlos Santana, in the release of the album “Love, Devotion, Surrender”. Inspired by Indian guru Sri Chinmoy and homage to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, the jazz fusion album was created with British musician John McLaughlin. For Santana, the album was also a reflection […]
On March 21, 1973, the US Supreme Court decided the case of “Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez”. The ruling concerned a lawsuit brought on behalf of schoolchildren in low income neighborhoods; the school district was 90% Hispanic and 6% African-American. The Supreme Court majority held that a school-financing system based on local property taxes […]
On March 20, 1973, Major League Baseball star Roberto Clemente was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemente, a Puerto Rican, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for his entire 18-year baseball career (1955–72). He won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1966, and was selected to participate in the league’s All […]
Happy birthday to Mexican American boxer Oscar De La Hoya, born on February 4, 1973. De la Hoya is known as “The Golden Boy” for achieving the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games soon after his high school graduation. De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and won ten world titles in six […]
Happy birthday to Cameron Michelle Diaz born on August 30, 1972, in San Diego, California. Her father is Cuban American and her mother has a heritage of German, English, and Native American ancestry. Diaz had planned to study zoology, but life intervened in the form of a Hollywood party, where as a dazzlingly beautiful teen-ager […]
Happy Birthday to singer and actress Ariadne Thalia Sodi y Miranda born on August 26, 1972, in Mexico City, Mexico. Thalia, as she is known to her legions of fans worldwide, began her career at age 4. She has starred in a host of entertainment formats: singing groups, stage musicals, movie and video, TV-variety shows, […]
Happy Birthday to the stunningly beautiful, witty, and talented Sofía Margarita Vergara, born a natural blonde on July 10, 1972 in Barranquilla, Colombia. As a young student, Vergara studied dentistry, and was close to graduation when she was spotted by a photographer – and you’ll never guess what happened next! She soon launched a modeling […]
The three-day Latinx Woodstock began on April 1, 1972, as over 30,000 music fans rocked the Mar y Sol (Sea and Sun) International Pop Concert in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Performers included Alice Cooper, Elton John, Dave Brubeck, Billy Joel, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The festival experienced the controversy and incidents that characterized other […]
March 4, 1972 is the birthday of Martha Ivelisse Pesante, known professionally as Ivy Queen, or the Queen of Reggaeton, a Puerto Rican music style. Ivy released her first album with Sony International in 1997, titled “En Mi Emperio”. Described in the Smithsonian’s American Sabor as “a socially conscious artist with supermodel looks”, Ivy has […]
February 29, 1972 was the birthday of Pedro Pablo Zamora, a Cuban American AIDS activist and reality TV star. Zamora was one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to star in mainstream media. He brought awareness to the prejudices and issues for HIV/AIDS in international media. He starred in The Real World, a […]
As she raised her hand to take the oath of office on December 17, 1971, Romana Acosta Bañuelos was sworn in as the US Treasurer. Bañuelos was the first Latina in this position, and was then the highest-ranking Mexican American in the US government. She served through 1974, and her signature appeared on each US […]
On August 22, 1971, Hugo Banzer Suárez took power as the President of Bolivia in a military coup. The politician, military general and dictator was another less than illustrious graduate of the US Defense Department’s School of the Americas. He was also trained at Fort Hood Armored Cavalry School in Texas and spent time in […]
Happy Birthday to tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez, born on August 19, 1971 in the Dominican Republic. Her family immigrated to Florida when she was an infant. She was swinging her first tennis racket at age 3. By age 13, she won both the US Tennis Association Championship and the US Clay Court Championship. Fernandez […]
Happy Birthday to singer and actor Paulina Rubio Dosamantes, born on June 17, 1971, in Mexico City, Mexico. Rubio’s passion for music is central to her life. She recorded her first record at age three. In 2001, she won Billboard’s Latin Album of the Year Award for “Paulina”. Hugely popular in Mexico, she produced her […]
On March 12, 1971, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger married Nicaraguan Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, later known as Bianca Jagger. After a few years as a glamorous Studio 54 girl, Bianca transformed herself into an advocate and activist for human rights. She has campaigned for the cause of peace and social justice across the world, […]
Pedro Morales beat Ivan Koloff on February 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden, to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Morales, a Puerto Rican, is the first man in wrestling history to win all three major men’s titles in the World Wrestling Federation: the WWF Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF World Tag […]
Her elegant, powerful soprano voice first soared through the distinguished Metropolitan Opera House in New York City on December 18, 1970, as Gilda Cruz-Romo performed the title role in “Madame Butterfly”. Mexican-born Cruz-Romo sang in the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, the Teatro dell’ Opera in Rome, the Vienna Staatsoper, the […]
The shots cracked through the hot dry summer air, and three men were killed, including Ruben Salazar, a noted Los Angeles Times columnist and local TV station manager. An anti-war demonstration against the unpopular Vietnam War was raging in Laguna Park in East Los Angeles on August 29, 1970. The protest organized by the National […]
After a close election with a former military dictator, Misael Pastrana Borrero, a lawyer and former business executive, began his term as President of Colombia on August 7, 1970. A lawyer and business executive, Borrero began his public service as a diplomat to the Vatican, and also served as Colombia’s Ambassador to the US and […]
Happy Birthday to Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini, born on May 16, 1970. As amateur in 1984, Sabatini was youngest player ever to win a round at the US Open. That same year, she was ranked as the top Junior player in the world. She turned pro in 1985 at the age of 14, and set another […]
“Had I been sprawled just a foot more to my left on the morning of March 7, 1970, while receiving hostile fire from somewhere within the canopied, high-land growth of Phuoc Long [Vietnam], my name would be black-marbled on … the Vietnam War Memorial, along with more than 58,000 other names.” This begins the account […]
As protests against the unpopular Vietnam War swept the nation, the National Chicano Moratorium Committee organized a rally of 2,000 peace activists on December 19, 1969. The demonstrators met in Obregon Park in East Los Angeles. The Committee continued to organize protests, until a serious riot in which several people were killed, including prominent journalist […]
Happy Birthday to Cesar Millan, known worldwide as “The Dog Whisperer”. Millan was born on August 27, 1969 in Culiacan, Mexico. He first began working with dogs while farming with his grandfather. His goal was to become the best dog trainer in the world and to go to Hollywood, grand goals considering that he had […]
She’s achieved the iconic one word celebrity handle: J-Lo. Jennifer Lopez was born in New York City, USA, on July 24, 1969, to parents of Puerto Rican heritage. Her parents had hoped her career path would be college and law school, but Jennifer chose song, dance and theater. Her breakout acting role was in the film […]
On June 7, 1969, Panamanian jockey Braulio Baeza, riding the horse Arts and Letters, raced across the finish line to win the 101st Belmont Stakes. Belmont is a grueling mile and a half long race, and is the final race in the coveted Triple Crown. Baeza won over 4,000 races in his long career; more […]
On May 10, 1969, the United Farm Workers issued their Boycott Day Proclamation: “We, the striking grape workers of California, join on this International Boycott Day with the consumers across the continent in planning the steps that lie ahead on the road to our liberation…. If this road we chart leads to the rights and […]
March 1, 1969 is the birthday of Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem, a Spanish actor. Bardem won an Academy Award for his role in “No Country for Old Men.” Bardem has also won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA, five Goya awards, two European Film Awards … and I’m running out of […]
Happy Birthday to Major League Baseball (MLB) star Sammy Sosa, born on November 12, 1968 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. His father died when he was a child, and Sousa worked selling oranges and shining shoes to help support his mother and siblings. At age 16, he negotiated a $3,500 signing bonus with […]
On October 30, 1968, the Nobel Committee announced that its Prize for Physics was awarded to Luis Walter Alvarez, a native Californian whose grandfather had emigrated from Spain. Alvarez earned his B Sc, M Sc, and Ph D from the University of Chicago. According to the Committee, Alvarez achieved the Nobel Prize for his “decisive […]
After the election of Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid as President of Panama, the Panamanian National Guard staged a coup against Arias on October 11, 1968. The coup was led by then Lieutenant Colonel Omar Torrijos, which was the starting point of Torrijos’ career as a politician. Under the military’s control, Panama initiated land redistribution, encouraged self-sufficiency for […]
On June 6, 1968, gunshots raged through a Los Angeles hotel, and Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. At his side in his final moments was his admiring supporter, Juan Romero. Mexican-American Romero worked as a busboy at the hotel. In an interview with the LA Times decades after the event, Romero recounted that […]
The Poor People’s March on Washington, DC on May 12, 1968. The march was planned and organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.) Latino activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez (1928 –2005) joined the march, and issued his manifesto, “Demandas de la Raza” (Demands of […]
During intense enemy fire on May 2, 1968, US Army Sergeant Roy Perez Benavidez valiantly rescued his fellow soldiers at Loc Ninh, Vietnam. (The Vietnam War was from 1955 to 1975.) Benavidez was severely wounded during the rescue, and courageously continued to carry soldiers to safety and to destroy classified documents, preventing their capture by […]
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Civil Rights Act of 1968 on April 11 of that year. This Act, also known as the Fair Housing Act and the Indian [Native American] Civil Rights Act, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing for race, religion and national origin. (Gender and physical disabilities […]
On January 2, 1968, US President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908 – 1973) signed the Bilingual Education Act. The Act provided assistance to students with limited English language skills. Johnson taught Mexican children in Texas early in his career, and remembered later, “I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little […]
Happy Birthday to Alberto Daire, former President and COO of Liberty Power, born in Miami, Florida on October 22, 1967. Daire’s parents were from Cuba; his grandfather emigrated from Lebanon. Daire earned a BS from the University of Miami in Florida and an MBA from the University of North Carolina. Daire co-founded Liberty Power in 2001. Liberty […]
On August 11, 1967, editor and civil rights activist Ana Maria Perera became a US citizen. Perera was born in Cuba, and earned her masters and doctorate at the University of Havana. She began her professional career on the technical staff of the Organization for American States, and later worked at the United Nations. She is […]
Happy Birthday to Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez, known as Benicio del Toro, born on February 19, 1967. Toro is of Puerto Rican and Spanish heritage. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic (2000). He […]
On February 5, 1967, Anastasio Somoza Debayle won the presidential election in Nicaragua. Somoza’s family had been in power since 1936. Somoza was a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. Human rights groups protested his administration for human rights abuses. He was overthrown by the Sandinistas (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, or […]
The Cave of Swallows, one of Mexico’s many beautiful natural tourist attractions, was discovered by humans on December 27, 1966. The cave is the largest known cave shaft in the world, and could easily accommodate a New York City skyscraper. It is also home to white-collared swifts and green parakeets that burst into the light […]
Happy Birthday to actress Maria Canals Barrera born on September 28, 1966 in Miami, Florida. Canals’ heritage is Cuban and Catalonian. She has starred in numerous television series and several films. Canals is best known for her roles in the “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Camp Rock” and its sequel. She won ALMA (American Latino […]
Happy Birthday to Maria de la Soledad O’Brien, born on September 19, 1966 in Saint James, New York. O’Brien’s parents were both immigrants; her mother is Afro-Cuban and her father is Irish-Australian. Her complex interracial heritage has influenced her profession. O’Brien said of her work at CNN, “One of the things that has been a […]
Happy Birthday to beautiful and talented Salma Hayek, born in Veracruz, Mexico on September 2, 1966. Her mother is Spanish and her father is Lebanese, part of the Lebanese diaspora that has graced Latin America in the 20th century. Hayek’s initial inspiration for acting was the Hollywood movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Since then […]
Happy Birthday to Honorary Latina Sandra Bullock, a talented actress and comedienne committed to supporting positive roles for Latinos in media and entertainment. Bullock was born in Washington, DC, on July 26, 1966, and is a graduate of East Carolina University. Her charisma and screen presence have made her a box office sensation. During her […]
On March 16, 1966, Alfred Rascon, a Latino US Army medic, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts. Rascon was assigned as a medic to the 503rd Infantry in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). During a deadly barrage of enemy gunfire and grenades, he rescued and aided his fellow soldiers. He was awarded the […]
Happy birthday to Major League Baseball outfielder Ruben Sierra, born on October 6, 1965 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. His life had a rough start; his father was killed in a car accident when Sierra was 4, and his mother worked as a janitor to support her family. He signed with the Texas Rangers when […]
With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the US Congress placed a limitation on the number of immigrants allowed in from the Western Hemisphere, for the first time in our history. This Act abolished the national origins quota system that had ruled US immigration policy since the 1920s, replacing it with […]
On March 7, 1965, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and freedom fighters across the US rallied in Selma, Alabama, to march for civil rights, open and fair voter registration, and an end to segregation. The day became “Bloody Sunday” as the 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with […]
Many beautiful, talented women have debuted at the annual Deb Star Ball at the Hollywood Palladium, including Latinx actress Jo-Raquel Tejada. Raquel Welch, as she later became known, graced the Palladium dance floor on 21 November 1964. Tejada’s father was a Bolivian engineer and her mother was of English and Scottish heritage. Tejada was born […]
Happy Birthday to musician, composer and conductor Sonia Marie de León de Vega, born on October 16, 1964, in San Antonio, Texas. Vega was inspired at an early age while listening to her first symphony by the famous German composer, Ludwig Von Beethoven. Her father, also a musician, bought her a piano for $50 when she was five […]
On September 29, 1964, Mafalda made her two-dimensional debut in printed comics. Mafalda is a precocious six-year old Argentinian girl, who continually plagues her parents with questions on weighty world affairs. Compassionate Mafalda is genuinely concerned about the fate of humanity and world peace. The comic strip was very popular in South America and Europe. […]
On August 5, 1964, Navy pilot Everett Alvarez was the first US aviator shot down during the Vietnam War. He endured 8 years and 7 months of brutal captivity as an enemy combatant by the North Vietnamese. Alvarez served on the President’s Task Force to improve Health Care Delivery for our Nation’s Veterans. He earned […]
Happy Birthday to John Leguizamo, a talented, highly regarded actor, singer, playwright, and producer who works in theater, film and television. Leguizamo has appeared in over 20 movies, and was the first Latinx to have his own TV comedy/ variety show and one man show on Broadway. Born in Colombia to Puerto Rican and Colombian […]
Happy Birthday to Benjamin Bratt, a Hollywood mega star and producer for film and television. Bratt’s father was German American and his mother was Quechua-Peruvian. Bratt graduated from the University of California and attended the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. As a Latino, he struggled with stereotyping; as he said in an interview, “On […]
On August 9, 1963, civil rights leaders marched through downtown Los Angeles, California to protest the city’s failure to integrate its schools. Among them was superstar Rita Moreno, a Puerto Rican actress, singer, dancer and political activist. This was not Moreno’s first contribution to the civil rights movement; she also supported campaigns led by the […]
Happy Birthday to Republican Governor Brian Edward Sandoval, born on August 5, 1963, in Redding, California. When he took office in 2011, Sandoval was the first Latino elected to this post in Nevada. Sandoval was also the first Latino in Nevada elected as Attorney General and appointed as a US district judge. Sandoval earned a […]
Happy Birthday to movie star Demián Bichir Nájera, born on August 1, 1963 in Mexico City, Mexico. His family is in the entertainment business, and Nájera first traveled to the US with an acting troop at age 14. While he has been a celebrity in Mexico, his first big splash in el Norte was the […]
Happy Birthday to teacher, artist, and children’s book author Hector Viveros Lee, born in Calexico, California to Mexican immigrant parents. Lee earned his BA at St. John’s College and his BFA at the Academy of Art College. Lee has written and illustrated for children’s books and magazines. He said of his heritage and his work, “On […]
Day 13, the final day of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother, personally delivered the President’s letter to the Russian ambassador in Washington. The formal agreement was to refrain from attacking or invading Cuba, and the US nuclear weapons in Turkey were quietly dismantled in the following months. […]
October 27, Day 12 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. As the world continued to wait and worry, American planes and ships continued to fly into Cuban skies and seas. On October 27, a US Air Force spy plane was shot down over Cuba, and the pilot was killed. As then US Secretary of Defense, […]
Day 9 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Russian leader during the Crisis was Nikita Khrushchev, and he responded directly to President Kennedy’s ultimatum to remove the Russian missiles in a letter of October 24, 1962. Khrushchev had a much different perspective than Kennedy as to the rights of sovereign nations, including the rights […]
Day 8 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The US and Russian governmental delegations argued over the crisis at the United Nations. The blockade of Cuba had started, with US ships and planes encircling the island. President Fidel Castro of Cuba responded on television to Kennedy’s broadcast from the previous day. Many voices called for sanity, […]
Day 7 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In a dramatic televised address to the nation, President John F. Kennedy spoke to the American people about the crisis. Kennedy and his advisors had decided to blockade Cuba until the Russians removed the nuclear missiles that they had positioned in Cuba. People feared for the worst, […]
Day 1 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The US CIA had invaded Cuba in 1961, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government. The following year, the Russian government, which was an ally of the Cubans, decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter further US invasions. The fact that the US had […]
On September 30, 1962, Mexican-American labor leaders César Chávez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. The first meeting was held at Edison Social Hall in Fresno, California. Ms. Huerta’s tagline, !Si, Se Puede! was later re-purposed in the 2012 Obama Presidential Campaign. Throughout its history, […]
Spanish language television history was made on August 8, 1962, with the debut of “Sabado Gigante” (Giant Saturday) on Chilean television. The creation of Chilean native Don Francisco (born Mario Kreutzberger Blumenfeld), this television show is one of the most popular in the world. The variety show features comedy, dance, music, and audience contests. In 1986, […]
Happy Birthday to civil rights activist and public servant Cecilia Munoz, born on July 27, 1962, to Bolivian immigrant parents. Her father attended the University of Michigan to study automotive engineering and Cecilia Munoz also graduated from this University. Munoz earned her MA degree at the University of California at Berkeley. She served at the […]
Celia Cruz’s legendary voice rang through Carnegie Hall for the first time on June 18, 1962. Cuban born Cruz was the first Latina to grace this famous stage. The talented Cruz introduced North Americans to a repertoire of Latin music, singing afros, rumbas, guarachas, sones, tangos, boleros, mariachis, flamenco, guaguancó, and santeria chants. Immensely popular, […]
On May 14, 1962, Princess Sophia of Greece married King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and the couple reigned in Spain until 2014. Juan Carlos and Sophia have governed during turbulent times. The King managed the transition from Franco’s dictatorship to a constitutional government in the mid-1970s. The couple has three children and eight grandchildren. […]
In the dark tropical night of April 17, 1962, 1,400 Cuban Americans landed at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón), Cuba, in a disastrously unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro (another example of the US “meddling” in foreign elections). The Cuban Americans were political exiles trained and armed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). […]
On March 21, 1962, North American Glen Bell founded Taco Bell in Downey, California, and the North American public has confused its offerings with Latinx food ever since. Taco Bell serves fast food tacos, burritos, and other menu items to more than 2 billion consumers annually in 5,800 restaurants in the US. Over 80% of […]
President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) and his entourage landed in Puerto Rico on December 15, 1961, the first stop in his visit to Latin America. As the first Catholic President and the first US President to visit Puerto Rico, the charismatic Kennedy received a warm welcome. As he stated in his opening remarks, “Puerto Rico serves […]
Happy Birthday to Irene Lailin Sáez Conde, the politician, governor and presidential candidate born on December 13, 1961 in Caracas, Venezuela. Sáez’s first international election victory was at age 19, when the judges of the Miss Universe Pageant voted her as the winner in 1981. After her reign, she studied political science at the Central […]
Happy Birthday to Graciela (Chela) Quintana, the first Venezuelan woman to win a professional golf tournament in the US. Quintana won the Morgan Town Classic in 1992. She won the Venezuelan Amateur Championship eight times, and was a tour player on the US-based LPGA and the European and Futures circuits. Injuries curtailed her career, and […]
Enrique Barbosa “Henry” González (1916 – 2000) was the first Hispanic Representative elected from Texas. González took office on November 4, 1961, and served in Congress longer than any other Latinx (as of 2017). His parents emigrated from Mexico, and he was born in San Antonio, Texas. González studied at the University of Texas and […]
On October 6, 1961, US President John F. Kennedy advised Americans to build fallout shelters to protect them from nuclear radiation. The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization published a 32-page guide to building a cozy Do-It-Yourself family shelter that was really supposed to protect people from nuclear devastation. The Latinx Almanac coverage of the […]
On May 1, 1961, Fidel Castro (1926-2016) officially abolished multiparty elections and declared that Cuba was a socialist state. Castro stated that, “The revolution has no time for elections. There is no more democratic government in Latin America than the revolutionary government.” Really?! A BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) journalist reported that Castro’s revolution seems to […]
Happy Birthday, dear George, Happy Birthday to you. The very talented writer, producer, movie and television star George Lopez was born in California on April 23, 1961. He was the leading comedy man in the “George Lopez” show from 2002-2007 on ABC and the late-night talk show host of “Lopez Tonight” from 2009-2011. Lopez had […]
The time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic was years of tears, blood, torture and murder. Over 50,000 people were killed during his 30 year reign of terror. Among the few courageous souls who opposed the brutal regime were the Mirabel sisters. The sisters were from a comfortable, upper class family, and had […]
Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Avellán Veloz, an American film producer born in Caracas, Venezuela on November 8, 1960. Her family moved to Houston when she was a child, and Avellán attended Rice University. A leader of the film production scene in Texas Hollywood (the city of Austin), Avellán was a co-founder of Troublemaker Studios. With […]
Happy Birthday to politico, lawyer, and human rights activist Janet Murguia. All American Murguia was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and currently served as president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Applauded by most and demonized by some, NCLR is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan Latino civil rights and advocacy […]
Happy Birthday to the talented Antonio Banderas, actor, singer, producer, and director, born on August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Spain. He began acting in street theaters at age 14. As he recounted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “I remember I couldn’t even (afford to) take a bus, so I had to walk six miles […]
On July 19, 1960, Juan Marichal debuted in the Major Leagues by pitching a one hitter with 12 strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dominican-born Marichal played with the New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. El 19 de julio de […]
July 12, 1960 was the birthday of Anna Maria Arias, a trailblazing Latina entrepreneur and media mogul, born in San Bernardino, California. Arias was the founder of Latina Style magazine, the first North American magazine for professional Hispanic women. Arias’ mission was to provide a positive image of Hispanic Americans, focusing on their accomplishments and […]
Happy Birthday to Loretta Sanchez, US Congresswoman, entrepreneur, and small business owner. Sanchez was born on January 7, 1960. Sanchez represented the 46th district in California. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants; her father was a machinist and her mother was a secretary. Sanchez earned her BA with a scholarship to Chapman University and […]
Happy Birthday to NASA astronaut and US Marine Corps officer Carlos Ismael Noriega, born on October 8, 1959, in Lima, Peru. Noriega earned a BS at the University of Southern California and two MS degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School. During Noriega’s career at NASA, he accomplished two spaceflight missions, logging over 481 hours in […]
On February 16, 1959 Fidel Castro (1926-2016) became the Premier of Cuba after the dictator Fulgenicio Batista was overthrown on January 1. The CIA and US government attempted to overthrow and undermine Castro for decades through blockades, trade embargoes, and invasion, but Castro and his family ruled Cuba through April 2018. El 16 de febrero […]
Happy Birthday to Rigoberta Menchú, a Quiché Indian woman, born on January 9, 1959 in Guatemala. Menchú is a civil rights activist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1992 for her work on behalf of the indigenous people of Guatemala. The struggle for indigenous rights has continued since 1492. Please click here to read […]
Happy Birthday to musician and singer Alicia Armendariz, one of the first women in California’s punk music scene to star as the lead singer of a punk rock group. Known professionally as Alicia Bag, Armendariz was born in East Los Angeles, California; her parents were Mexican immigrants. Her musical expression is described as “estilo bravio” […]
Happy birthday to Madeline Stowe-Mora, born on August 18, 1958 in Eagle Rock, California. Her mother emigrated from Costa Rica. Mora graduated from the University of Southern California film school, intent on being a film director. She starred in miniseries such as “The Gangster Chronicles” and “Blood and Orchids”; her breakout role was 1992’s “Last […]
Happy Birthday to Alberto Salazar, one of the USA’s most talented marathon runners, born in Havana, Cuba on August 7, 1958. His father fought in Castro’s rebel army, but became disillusioned with Castro and Che Guevera, and immigrated to Florida in 1960. Salazar trained at the University of Oregon, where his coach instructed him to […]
Happy Birthday to Cristina Garcia, a Cuban born journalist and novelist, whose family immigrated to the US when she was 2 years old. Garcia earned her BA from Barnard College and completed graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. She started as a journalist with Time Magazine. Her first novel, “Dreaming in Cuba”, was nominated for […]
The Little Schools of 400 were dedicated in a formal ceremony on June 23, 1958, initiated by Felix Tijerina and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). The goal of the schools was to teach local Spanish-speaking children a list of approximately 400 basic English words, to give the students a head start at […]
Happy Birthday to outspoken journalist, writer, and highly successful news anchor, Jorge Ramos. Ramos was born on March 16, 1958 in Mexico City, Mexico. After a dispute over censorship on social issues in Mexico, he immigrated in 1983 to the Republic of California. He has built his career working for prestigious companies such as Univisión. […]
As the curtain finally closed, cheers and applause rang through New York’s Winter Garden Theatre as the beloved musical “West Side Story” premiered on Broadway. The play is homage to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, set in the 1950s with New York street gangs. Tony, a gang member, falls in love with Maria, the brother of a […]
Happy Birthday to singer, songwriter, and actress Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan. Known to the nation as the Queen of Latin Pop, Estefan and her happy family are the song of the American Dream. Born in Havana, Cuba, she immigrated to Miami with her family at a young age. The family endured the […]
Happy Birthday to Gilberto Hernandez, a Hispanic American graphic novelist, comic book writer and illustrator, born on February 1, 1957. His work includes “Palomar”, set in a fictional Central American town, and “Love and Rockets”, an exploration of contemporary Latino culture in the US. Hernandez is a USA Rasmussen Fellow. Hernandez and his brother were […]
January 6, 1957 is the birthday of Mexican-American golfer Nancy Lopez. Lopez began playing golf at age 8, and was the women’s champion in her home state of New Mexico by age 12. She won five professional tournaments in a row, a feat unrivaled in women’s golf, and won 48 LPGA Tour events during her […]
Happy Birthday to professor, poet and writer Lorraine López, born on September 6, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. López earned her BA at California State University and her MA and Ph D at the University of Georgia. Known for her insightful cross cultural literature, her works include ‘Soy la Avon Lady and Other Stories‘ and […]
Happy Birthday to Monica Cecilia Lozano, born in Los Angeles on July 21, 1956. Lozano earned a ranking among the 100 most influential Hispanic women by Hispanic Business Magazine in 1987 and 1992. The newspaper editor and social activist has received numerous awards for her contributions and public service for human rights. She has been […]
Archbishop Patrick F. Flores was first ordained as a priest on May 26, 1956. Flores’ parents were Mexican immigrants and migrant farm workers living in Ganado, Texas. He was the first Mexican-American Catholic Archbishop in the US. Flores helped to establish the National Foundation of Mexican American Vocations and the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund. He […]
On April 12, 1956, Andy Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the US with his family at age 5. The acclaimed actor grew up in Miami, learning English as a second language. He studied acting at Florida International University and performed in regional theater productions until he moved to Hollywood in 1978. […]
The amazing voice of Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor, was first heard on April 2, 1956, during his birth in Aries, Panama. His mother was an Italian actress and his father was a Spanish bullfighter. The famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, was his godfather, and North American writer Ernest Hemmingway was a family friend. […]
Happy Birthday to singer, songwriter, and social activist Tish Hinojosa, born in San Antonio, Texas, on December 6, 1955. Hinojosa began her singing career with a $20 Mexican guitar, a gift from her mother that she still treasures. Hinojosa’s music reflects her bicultural heritage in the borderlands of Texas and Mexico. Her music is described as […]
Happy Birthday to Alberto Gonzalez, born on August 4, 1955, in Houston, Texas. Gonzalez and his seven brothers and sisters grew up in a two-bedroom house without hot water or a telephone. Gonzalez graduated from Rice College and received his law degree from Harvard University. Gonzalez worked at a law firm in Texas, and began his meteoric […]
Happy Birthday to the talented Jimmy Smits, born on July 9, 1955 in New York City. His mother was Puerto Rican and his father was Surinamese (check your map, that country is located in South America). Smits grew up in Brooklyn, though he spent a few years in Puerto Rico as a child. The Emmy […]
Happy Birthday to writer, scholar, professor and activist Vicki Lynn Ruiz. Ruiz was born in Atlanta, Georgia on May 21, 1955, to a Mexican mother and a North American father, whose parents disowned him for marrying a Mexican. Ruiz earned her master’s degree and doctorate in history from Stanford University. Her doctoral dissertation studied Mexican […]
Happy Birthday to acclaimed writer Sandra Cisneros, born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother was Mexican American and her father was an immigrant from Mexico who was often nostalgic for his home country. As a result, Cisneros and her family moved between Mexico and Chicago on numerous occasions. The sense of displacement […]
Happy Birthday to educator, lawyer, social activist and politico Norma Cantú, born on November 2, 1954 in Brownsville, Texas. Cantú earned a double major BA from the University of Texas and then a law degree from Harvard by age 22. She worked as an attorney with MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund). In 1993 […]
Happy Birthday to Cesar Rosas, guitarist, singer, and member of the iconic Mexican American rock band, Los Lobos (The Wolves). Rosas and his fellow band members met in high school, and their band has entertained and inspired audiences for over 30 years. Their music is a unique blend of Mexican folk and American rock, blues, […]
With a shake and splash of rum, the famed national drink of Puerto Rico, the piña colada, was officially created on August 16, 1954. The momentous event occurred at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico by cocktail artist and bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero. Monchito had been tasked with creating a new signature […]
Happy Birthday to politician Lincoln Díaz-Balart, born in Havana, Cuba on August 13, 1954. When he was four years old, his family fled from Cuba in 1959. Unlike today, Balart and his family were welcomed in El Norte; no paperwork for DACA, DAPA, or DREAMers was required. Balart was educated in Europe and the US, earning his […]
Happy Birthday to Sonia Sotomayor, born on June 25, 1954. Sotomayor was appointed by President Barack Obama as the first Latina Supreme Court Justice. Her Puerto Rican parents lived in the Bronx; her father died when she was 9 years old. Her mother was determined to give her and her brother an education. Sotomayor believes […]
“Operations Wetback” began on June 17, 1954. Over a 1,000 Border Patrol agents and 750 agricultural agents rounded up tens of thousands of Mexican laborers across the southwest, and deported them by bus, train and boat. Hundreds of thousands more left voluntarily. Allegations and reports of abuse, harassment and beatings were widespread. “Espalda Mojada operaciones” […]
Happy Birthday to Carolyn Curiel, born on June 9, 1954 in Hammond, Indiana, to Mexican immigrant parents. Her father was a steelworker and her mother was a housewife. Curiel graduated from Purdue University, and worked as a sports reporter. She expanded her career into political journalism with notable publication such as United Press International, the […]
March 14, 1954, was the release date of the classic movie, “Salt of the Earth”. The movie was based on the long, difficult strike in 1951 against the Empire Zinc Company in New Mexico. The actual miners and their families starred in the film. The producers, director, and the movie were blacklisted during the 1950’s […]
On January 11, 1954, arguments were heard at the US Supreme Court for the landmark case, Hernandez v. Texas. The case centered on Pedro Hernandez, a Mexican agricultural worker, who was convicted of murder. Hernandez’s legal team argued that the jury could not be impartial unless members of non-Caucasian races were allowed to participate. The […]
Happy Birthday to Luis Gutiérrez, born in Chicago, Illinois on December 10, 1953, to Puerto Rican parents. Gutiérrez graduated from Northeastern Illinois University, and worked as a teacher and social worker for 10 years. He served on the Chicago City Council for a number of years. In 1992, Gutiérrez won his Congressional race with 78% […]
With happy shouts of farewell and the roar of a motorcycle engine, one of the best known road trips of the 20th century began. Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Alberto Granado left Argentina on July 7, 1953. They traveled over 5,000 miles in four months, through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El […]
Happy Birthday to Alfred Molina, a British born American actor with a Spanish father. One of Molina’s greatest bursts of artistic inspiration was fellow Brit Anthony Hopkins. In an interview with “Back Stage West”, Molina recalled that, “the way he [Hopkins] worked, his demeanor onstage–he looked like a regular guy. And I thought, People like […]
Happy Birthday to Maria Robledo Montecel, born on January 14, 1953. Montecel is a dedicated educator who has devoted her life to improving educational opportunities for minorities and the poor. Montecel works to address the steep high school dropout rate among young Latino students. She earned an M Ed from Antioch College, and a Ph […]
January 13, 1953 was a momentous day in history, as popular US President and war hero Dwight Eisenhower was sworn into office. But according to the New York Times, more Americans tuned in to watch the birth of “little Ricky” (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) on the even more popular “I Love Lucy” show than President Eisenhower’s […]
Happy birthday to Puerto Rican writer Judith Ortiz Cofer, born on February 24, 1952 (1952-2017). Cofer’s writing focuses on the experience of Latinas in the US. She writes poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young-adult fiction. One of her books, The Meaning of Consuelo, won the 2003 Americas Award. She was awarded a PEN/Martha Albrand […]
On October 14, 1951, the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed a treaty creating the Organization of Central American States (Organización de Estados Centroamericanos, ODECA). The purpose of ODECA was to promote regional cooperation, integrity and unity in Central America. ODECA evolved into the Central American Integration System (SITA), with the ratification […]
Happy Birthday to novelist Oscar Jerome Hijuelos, born in New York City on August 24, 1951. Hijuelos is the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which he was awarded for his story, “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.” This book was adapted as a movie in 1992 and as a Broadway […]
Happy birthday to US astronaut, Sidney McNeill Guitierez, born June 27, 1951, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Guittierez is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and received an MA from Webster College. He accomplished two space flights and has logged over 488 hours in space. After retiring from the Air Force, Guittierez returned to his […]
Happy Birthday to the boxing sensation, Roberto Durán, born in Chorillo, Panama on June 16, 1951. Known as the “Hands of Stone”, Durán is one of the few boxers in the world to win four world championship boxing titles — one each of the lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight, and middleweight titles. He was the only […]
The first Pan American Games were held on February 25, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. To the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators, thousands of athletes throughout the Americas participate in the Pan Am Games in diverse sports that include archery, basketball, water polo, volleyball, and triathlons. The games are held every four years. […]
Benigno Ayala Felix, known as Benny Ayala to Major League Baseball fans, was born on February 7, 1951 in Puerto Rico. Ayala’s 10 season career ran from 1974 to 1985. He played outfield, first base, and designated hitter for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. Ayala played in the […]
The beat began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on December 18, 1950, when rock musician Randy Castillo made his day of birth debut. His father was a mariachi musician who encouraged his talent, and Castillo was selected for Arizona’s All-State symphonic band during his senior year of high school. After playing in the local Arizona music […]
Happy Birthday to artist, art professor, and museum director Lorraine Garcia-Nakata, born in Yuba City, California, on November 14, 1950. Garcia- Nakata’s grandparents immigrated to the US in 1914 during the Mexican Revolution. Garcia-Nakata has served the American public and the arts for over 30 years. Her professional roles include Commissioner with the San Francisco […]
On September 30, 1950, the 65th Infantry Regiment, an infantry regiment of soldiers who were all from Puerto Rico arrived at Pusan, Korea, to fight for their country in the Korean War. Puerto Ricans volunteered in huge numbers for the war. The Puerto Rican regiment fought in nine major campaigns over three years, earning medals and […]
Happy Birthday to politician and public servant Stephanie Gonzales, born on August 12, 1950 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gonzales’ father emigrated from Mexico; her mother’s family has been in the state for over 400 years. Gonzales graduated from the Loretto Academy for Girls in Santa Fe. Gonzales has served in State Government for over […]
Happy Birthday to documentary film producer and anthropologist Paul Espinosa, born on August 8, 1950, in Alamosa, Colorado. Espinosa earned a BA from Brown University and an MA and Ph D from Stanford. He has created numerous award winning documentaries and films, funded by organizations such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment […]
On June 8, 1950, the US Senate approved the Public Law 81-600, allowing Puerto Rico to establish its own constitutional government. Antonio Fernós-Isern served as president of the Constitutional Convention, which formulated the status of Commonwealth or Estado Libre Asociado. A referendum was later held in Puerto Rico, with 76.5% of voters approving of the […]
Happy Birthday to Sônia Maria Campos Braga, born on June 8, 1950, in Maringá, Brazil. Her father was Afro-Portuguese and her mother was Euro-Native American; the result is a stunning mix of beauty and talent. Her father died when she was 8, and Braga worked as a typist at age 14 to support her impoverished […]
On June 8, 1950, the US Senate approved the Public Law 81-600, allowing Puerto Rico to establish its own constitutional government. Antonio Fernós-Isern served as president of the Constitutional Convention, which formulated the status of Commonwealth or Estado Libre Asociado. A referendum was later held in Puerto Rico, with 76.5% of voters approving of the […]
Happy birthday to Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, a Costa Rican-born engineer, physicist, and NASA astronaut. Díaz immigrated to the US when he was eighteen, and learned English during his senior year of high school. His goal was to become an astronaut. He earned a BA in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a Ph […]
Happy birthday to writer, poetry and essayist Julia Alvarez. Alvarez was born in New York City on March 27, 1950; her parents were political refugees from the Dominican Republic. Her more prominent novels include “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents” (1991), “In the Time of the Butterflies”(1994), and “Yo!” (1997). Alvarez’s work centers on […]
Happy Birthday to an officer and a gentleman, and a doctor, Richard Carmona. Carmona was raised in Spanish Harlem, and dropped out of high school. He joined the US Army, where he earned his GED high school equivalency. His Army career included service in the Vietnam War, and he was honored with numerous awards for valor, including […]
Happy Birthday to scientist and education activist Diana Garcia Prichard, born in San Francisco, California on October 27, 1949. Prichard’s mother was an immigrant from Nicaragua and her father was a Texan of Mexican and Native American heritage. After raising her two children, Prichard returned to school, earning a BS in chemistry/ physics at California State University […]
Happy Birthday to brilliant and iconoclastic Spanish film maker Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, born on 25 September 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain. Almodóvar stated that his strong-willed mother influenced his art, and his female characters are strong and eccentric. He began shooting with a super-8 film camera that he’d saved up for, and started building […]
On February 16, 1949, Mexican American soldier and World War II hero Felix Longoria was finally laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Felix Longoria was killed in action in the Philippines. According to his widow, Beatrice, the local funeral home director in Texas refused to allow services for Longoria on his premises, because “the […]
Happy birthday to actor, singer, politician, poet and social activist Ruben Blades, born in Panama City, Panama on July 16, 1948. After achieving a degree in law and economics, his love of music inspired him to take a job in the mailroom of a record company in New York. In true American style, his big […]
Happy Birthday to Antonia Hernández, born on May 30, 1948 in Coahuila, Mexico. Hernández immigrated to the US with her family when she was 8 years old. Her mother stated in an interview with Parent magazine that, “In my time, women didn’t have the freedom that women have today, but I wanted my daughters to […]
May 18, 1948 is the birthday of Frank del Olmo, writer, editor, and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Olmo earned a BS in journalism from California State University. He raised awareness of Latino issues and advocated increased hiring of Latino reporters. Olmo received an Emmy Award for The Unwanted (1975), a documentary about the […]
Happy Birthday to author, editor and documentary filmmaker Esmeralda Santiago, born on May 17, 1948 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Santiago immigrated to the US with her family when she was 11 years old. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and earned her MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. Santiago’s writings capture the emotional, psychological […]
On April 9, 1948, populist politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was assassinated in Colombia, igniting riots in the streets and 10 years of political unrest known as “La Violencia”. Ayala was a former Education and Labor Minister, and was elected Mayor of Colombia’s capital city of Bogota. Gaitán earned national prestige through his congressional investigation […]
April 3, 1948 is the birthday of Carlos Salinas de Gortari. He was born in the small town of Agualeguas, Mexico, about 25 miles south of the US border. In the mid-1970s Salinas studied at Harvard, where he earned a doctoral degree in political economy and government. Salinas was elected President of Mexico in 1988, […]
On March 26, 1948, Dr. Hector P. Garcia founded the American GI Forum, with the motto, “Education is Our Freedom and Freedom should be Everybody’s Business”. Dr. Garcia formed AGIF to address the needs of Mexican American veterans of World War II (1939 – 1945), who were not receiving medical treatment. AGIF expanded its mission […]
Happy birthday to Mercedes Ruehl, a Cuban-American theater, television and film actress born on February 28, 1948. Ruehl won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for her memorable role as the buoyant, witty businesswoman in “The Fisher King”. She has also won the American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics […]
On January 28, 1948, a plane crashed at Los Gatos Canyon, California, carrying 28 deportees and 4 North Americans from California to Mexico. Famous American folk musician Woody Guthrie wrote a protest song about the event, concerning the racist mistreatment of the deportees. The song was covered by many artists, including Dolly Parton and Judy […]
Happy Birthday to Dilma Vana Rousseff, the first woman elected as President of Brazil. Rouseff was born on December 14, 1947 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Her road to political success was difficult. As a young woman, she joined a political activist group and was jailed for three years, and tortured while in prison. In 2002, Rousseff […]
Happy birthday to Congressman, Governor, college instructor, diplomat, and baseball player Bill Richardson, born in Pasadena, California on November 15, 1947. His mother was Mexican, and he spent his early years with his family in Mexico City. Richardson graduated from Tufts University with a BA and an MA. Richardson’s career has been in public service. […]
Happy Birthday to sculptor, painter, and professor María Brito, born in Havana, Cuba, on October 10, 1947. At age 13, Brito and her brother were smuggled out of Cuba to Miami as unaccompanied minors a US government sponsored program known as “Pedro Pan”. Brito earned two arts degrees, in art education from the University of […]
Happy birthday to Lydia Villa-Komaroff, an award winning molecular biologist born on August 7, 1947, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Villa is of Spanish and Mexican heritage. Villa earned her Ph D in cellular biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has taught and conducted research at several prominent hospitals, including Harvard Medical School and […]
The US Circuit Court decided on Mendez vs. Westminster on April 14, 1947. The historic case was brought by Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez, Mexican-American parents whose children were not allowed to attend a segregated school in Orange County, California. In the 1940’s, discrimination and segregation against Mexican-Americans was widespread, and 80% of Mexican-American students attended […]
Happy birthday to Edward James Olmos, a Mexican-American actor and director born on February 24, 1947. Olmos’ work includes Battlestar Galactica, Miami Vice, Stand and Deliver, Selena, and Blade Runner. He was a key actor in the series American Family Journey of Dreams. In an interview with PBS, Olmos characterized his role as Jess as […]
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzáles (1928 –2005), made his professional debut on January 23, 1947. Gonzáles was a Mexican American boxer, poet, and political activist. In 1966, Gonzáles founded La Cruzada Para La Justicia (The Crusade for Justice), to encourage Hispanics to get involved in politics to improve their lives economically and socially. His epic poem, Yo […]
Puerto Rican playwright Miguel Pinero was born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico on December 19, 1946. As a youngster, he immigrated with his family to the US. He attended school in New York City, and earned his high school equivalency. After a stint in prison, he published his gritty, realistic work, “Short Eyes”, about the killing of a […]
Happy Birthday to the wonderfully talented Linda Ronstadt, whose stellar singing voice has ranged from rock to country to mariachi to operetta. Ronstadt was born on July 15, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona, where her father, a hardware store manager, loved to play and sing Mexican music. Ronstadt was raised during a decidedly anti-Hispanic heritage era […]
Happy Birthday to Cheech Marin, a third-generation, native English speaker born in LA, California on July 13, 1946. The talented actor in his fabulous counterculture comedic roles has entertained norteamericanos for decades. A straight “A” student who worked his way through college as a dishwasher and janitor, Cheech graduated from California State University. He met […]
On March 29, 1946, the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México was founded with the mission of creating a society that was more free, more just, and more prosperous. ITAM is one of the Mexico’s leading universities, offering specializations in accounting, economics, applied mathematics, and international relations, among other subjects. ITAM is located on two campuses in […]
On February 19, 1946, Giants outfielder Danny Gardella (1920- 2005) was the first major league player to announce that he was joining the Mexican League, a professional baseball league based in Mexico. The Mexican League offered substantially better wages of $10,000 / year versus the $4,500 / year that Gardella was offered from the New […]
Happy Birthday to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, born in La Libertad, Nicaragua, on November 11, 1945. Ortega’s father was a citizen-soldier for of Augusto Cesar Sandino, after whom the Sandinistas are named. Ortega has a lengthy career in public service, starting as a citizen-soldier leader against the US-backed Somoza dictatorship. He was a central […]
US Marine Corps veteran and Congressman Frank Tejeda was born in San Antonio, Texas on October 2, 1945. After serving in the Marines and being wounded in action in the Vietnam War, Tejeda returned to school to earn a BA from St. Mary’s University, law degrees from the University of California and Yale, and an […]
Happy birthday to Rodney Cline Carew, considered one of modern baseball’s greatest hitters. The Major League Player also excelled as a first baseman, second baseman and coach. Carew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Carew’s mother was Panamanian, and he was born on a train traveling through the Panama Canal […]
Rodrigo Reyes was a journalist and social activist during the enlightening and tumultuous 60s and 70s in San Francisco, California. His parents were migrant farm workers from Mexico and he was born September 24, 1945 in Weslaco, Texas. Reyes was one of the founders of the Gay Latino Alliance (GALA), which became an important organization […]
For many North Americans, the Christmas song “Felize Navidade” by Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano was your first introduction to Latino music. Born in Puerto Rico on September 10, 1945, Feliciano was a trail blazer for Latinx music. In 1968, he won Grammy awards for best new artist and best contemporary male pop vocal performance […]
On August 23, 1945, Medal of Honor winner Silvestre Santana Herrera rolled his wheelchair across the White House lawn to receive his award from President Harry Truman. Herrera was a soldier in the US Army, and received the medal for his heroic actions during World War II, in France. He charged an enemy position and […]
On March 12, 1945, the state governor of New York signed in to law the Ives-Quinn Anti-Discrimination Bill. New York became the first state to enact legislation prohibiting the practice of discriminating against job applicants and employees on the basis of race, religion, or creed. This law was modeled on the policies of the Fair […]
On March 6, 1945, Federico Garcia Lorca’s play “La Casa de Bernarda Alba” premiered in Argentina. Lorca was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director who traveled in the US and South America. His book of poetry, ”Gypsy Ballads”, was selected by Le Monde, a leading French newspaper, as one of the 100 books of […]
Happy Birthday to Dr. Antonia Coello Novello, pediatrician and US Surgeon General, born on August 23, 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Novello is the first woman, first Latina, and first Puerto Rican appointed as US Surgeon General. At her swearing in ceremony at the White House, Novello quipped, “The American dream is alive and well […]
Happy Birthday to Richard Rodriguez (1944-2023), the controversial and compelling author and chronicler of the Latinx and gay experiences in America. Rodriguez was born in Sacramento, California on July 31, 1944, to Mexican American parents. He earned a BA from Stanford University, an MA from Columbia University, was a PhD candidate in English Renaissance literature at the University […]
Happy Birthday to Pedro Rosselló, a former Governor of Puerto Rico, born on April 5, 1944. Rosselló has enthusiastically and (so far) unsuccessfully campaigned for Puerto Rican statehood. Puerto Rico is currently a territory of the US, taken from the Spanish in the 1898 Spanish American War. Rosselló was a pediatrician by training, graduating from […]
On January 4, 1944, Rigoberto “Tito” Fuentes Peat was born in Havana, Cuba. Fuentes played second base in the Major League for 13 seasons between 1965 and 1978. Most of Fuentes career was with the San Francisco Giants. In 1981, Fuentes returned to work with the Giants as a radio announcer, launching the team’s first […]
Soccer has become a fixture in youth sports in the USA over the past few decades, but fútbol has reigned in Central and South America for much longer. This image is from the US Library of Congress, of a soccer competition in El Salvador in 1943. The image shows a player heading a fútbol ball […]
Happy Birthday to attorney and human right advocate Vilma Martinez, born in San Antonio, Texas on October 17, 1943. Growing up as a Mexican American in Texas, Martinez was discouraged by her so-called educators from entering college. Fortunately, Martinez ignored the prejudiced advice, graduated from the University of Texas and then earned a law degree […]
The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, one of the largest and most respected private universities in Latin America, was founded in Monterrey, Mexico on September 6, 1943. The Institute has 31 campuses in 25 cities throughout Mexico, as well as international programs throughout the world for diverse disciplines such as law and chemical […]
Happy Birthday to the man who inspires love or hate, admiration or exasperation, but rarely a neutral reaction. Geraldo Rivera, a lawyer, television host, and author, was born on July 3, 1943. Geraldo attended the University of Arizona, Brooklyn Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Columbia University School of Journalism. His original career […]
Happy Birthday to Tania Leon, the Cuban born, multi-talented composer, conductor, music director and musician. In Cuba, Leon studied piano, violin, and music theory, earning multiple degrees music. She was the first Music Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York, inspiring the troupe from 1969 until 1990. Her appearances as a guest […]
March 19, 1943 is the birthday of Mexican scientist Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez, who was a co-recipient of the Noble Prize for Chemistry in 1995. Henríquez is the first Mexican born scientist to achieve a Noble Prize in Chemistry. Henríquez’s contribution is in the domain of climate change and the environment; he researched and proved […]
During World War II, workers in North America were in short supply as the US labor force supported the war effort. On August 4, 1942, the US and Mexican governments signed the Mexican Farm Labor Program Agreement, to legalize and control Mexican farm workers along the border. Known as the “Bracero [manual laborer] Program”, it stipulated […]
Happy Birthday to award winning novelist and political activist Isabel Allende, born in Lima, Peru on August 2, 1942. Her father was a Chilean diplomat and her uncle was former Chilean President, Salvador Allende. Salvador Allende was assassinated in a coup widely believed to be engineered by the CIA. Isabel, then a journalist, and her […]
August 1, 1942 is the birthday of musician Jerry Garcia, a member of the iconic North American band, The Grateful Dead. Garcia was the son of a Spanish ballroom jazz musician, and was born in San Francisco, California. Garcia had a complicated life, with family tragedy and struggles with drug addiction, haloed by brilliant and […]
Happy Birthday to bicultural clinical psychologist, teacher and author Carmen Inoa Vazquez, born in Bonao, Dominican Republic, on July 16, 1942. Vazquez graduated from Queens College, Cum Laude, and earned a Ph.D. from City University’s APA Approved Program in Clinical Psychology. Vazquez contributes to numerous books, academic journals and popular magazines, offering advice and insight […]
Happy Birthday to Vicente Fox Quesada, born on July 2, 1942 in Guanajuato, Mexico. Fox made modern Mexican political history when he was elected as the first President from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional. Fox defeated the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, which had ruled uninterrupted for 70 years. Fox started his career in business, […]
Happy Birthday to Paco Peña, one of the world’s leading flamenco artists. Pena was born in Cordoba Spain on June 1, 1942. As a shy boy of six, Pena strung on a guitar, and soon realized that music was his calling to communicate. Much later in life, he created the Centro Flamenco Paco Pena, one […]
The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established during World War II on May 15, 1942, to “[make] available to the national defense the knowledge, skill and special training of the women of the nation”. Carmen Contreras Bozak was the first Latinx woman to enlist, serving as interpreter and in administrative positions to manage communications […]
Happy Birthday to Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, born on January 29, 1942, in Guantánamo, Cuba. Méndez was orphaned as an infant, and spent some of his childhood working as a shoeshine and vegetable seller. He was selected as an astronaut in the Soviet Union’s seventh Intercosmos program in 1978. Méndez was the first Latinx and the first […]
Happy Birthday to Julian Olivares — writer, editor, translator, educator, and US Navy veteran — who was born in San Antonio, Texas on December 6, 1941. Olivares earned his BA at California State University and his MA at the University of Texas. Olivares served at several universities, and won grants from institutions such as the […]
Happy Birthday to “Chucho” Jesús Dionisio Valdés, the Grammy Award winning jazz pianist and composer, born in Quivicán, Cuba. Chucho’s early life reads like a Hollywood script: his parents were musicians who were well known at the famous Tropicana Club in roaring pre-revolutionary Havana. Chucho met the great American jazz musicians performing there, including Nat […]
Among our Latinx that you may not know know are Latinx: Happy Birthday to Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona, known as Vikki Carr, born on July 19, 1941. Carr is a singer and humanitarian from El Paso Texas, who has performed in diverse genres, including jazz, pop, and country. Carr sang at the Republication […]
Happy Birthday to Lucille Roybal-Allard, born in California on June 12, 1941. Allard was the first Mexican American woman elected to the US Congress. She is a graduate of the California State University in Los Angeles. Roybal-Allard is a strong supporter of social legislation, particularly jobs, health care, education, housing, women’s rights, and the environment. […]
The electrifying voice that sang “La Bamba”, the rock and roll version of a traditional Mexican ballad, was first heard on May 13, 1941, with the birth of Richard Steven Valenzuela. Later known as Ritchie Valens, he was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose brief but brilliant career influenced a generation of musicians, including […]
Today is the birthday of Brazilian bossa nova composer and musician, Sergio Mendes (1941 – 2024), born on February 11, 1941 in Niterói, Brazil (1941 – 2024). He immigrated to New York City in 1964, and soon created the group, Brasil 66, signing with A&M records. Their first A&M release, “Sérgio Mendes and Brasil ’66” […]
January 9, 1941 is the birthday of Joan Baez, a Mexican-American folk singer, songwriter, and activist for human rights, peace, and the environment. Her father, Albert Baez, was born in Puebla, Mexico. Baez’s wonderful accomplishments include founding the US branch of Amnesty International, performing publicly for over 50 years and releasing 30 albums. 09 de […]
Happy Birthday to Mario Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, affectionately known as Don Francisco, the beloved host of the wildly successful television program, “Sabado Gigante” (“Giant Saturday”). Kreutzberger was born in Santiago, Chile, on December 28, 1940. Kreutzberger’s parents fled from Germany in the 1930s; with their Jewish heritage, they were threatened by the Nazi regime. Kreutzberger’s mother […]
El Colegio de Mexico officially opened its doors on October 8, 1940 in Mexico City, Mexico. ColMex, as the academic center is known, started as a refuge for Spanish scientists, thinkers, humanists and writers during Spain’s Civil War. It has evolved to become one of the most outstanding centers of research and teaching in the Latino […]
Happy Birthday to peacemaker, politician, writer and Nobel Prize Winner Óscar Arias Sánchez, born in Heredia, Costa Rica. Arias graduated from the University of Costa Rica and earned a PhD from University of Essex (England). He courageously worked to create peace during the bloody decades of war that raged in neighboring countries in Central America. […]
From our nation’s family photo album at the Library of Congress, Mexican Americans Chico Real and Lolo Mendoza pose with their guitars in Kingsville, Texas on September 1, 1940. The photo is from the Lomax Collection of folk musicians, proving that despite what 21st century politicians may say, Latinx were always woven into the history […]
In our series of Latinos-That-You-Didn’t-Know-Are-Latinos, August 3, 1940, is the birthday of Ramón Antonio Gerard Estévez, also known as Martin Sheen. Sheen’s father was an immigrant from Galicia, Spain. Sheen is an award-winning actor, and an activist for workers’ rights and the environment. Sheen has been arrested over 60 times for exercising his US constitutional […]
Two young Latinas pose for their portraits in July 1940 in Chamisal, New Mexico. New Mexico was home to the Pueblo nations for thousands of years, and many citizens still speak their Uto-Aztec languages. The Spanish were the first European settlers in New Mexico, and began surveying and mapping the state in 1539. New Mexico […]
Latinx dance at a traditional festival in Taos, New Mexico, in July 1940. Russell Lee, a photographer for the Office of War Information Photograph Collection, snapped their photos as part of an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944. The Taos region was initially settled by the Native American nations; in 1615 […]
A young Latinx boy poses for the Office of War Information Photograph Collection in Chamisal, New Mexico. The photos were taken as part of an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944. For more photos, please visit our country’s book of faces at the Library of Congress, www.LOC.gov. Un joven latino posa […]
Long before Facebook photos, North Americans happily posed for photographers from the Office of War Information Photograph Collection. The photos were taken as part of an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944, including the latter years of the Great Depression – Dorothea Lange’s iconic photo of the “Migrant Mother”, taken in […]
Happy Birthday to Oralia Lillie Corrales, who began her triumphant, generous and difficult journey in the world on July 5, 1940 in Midland, Texas. Corrales was a child farm worker, spending her early summers in the fields of California picking cotton, potatoes, grapes, and peaches. She and her family traveled from one migrant camp to […]
April 6, 1940 is the birthday of Homero Aridjis, Mexican writer and diplomat. Aridjis has published 41 books of poetry and prose with worldwide popularity. Many of his works are translated into over a dozen languages and have won numerous awards. Aridjis is a passionate defender of the environment; his causes include Monarch butterflies. Aridjis […]
March 9, 1940 is the birthday of Puerto Rican humanitarian, activist and actor, Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay, known as Raul Julia (1940-1994). Julia starred on Broadway, on television, and in Hollywood films, with work that ranged from Shakespearean drama to the Addams Family comedy. He earned numerous nominations and awards from the Golden Globe, […]
Happy Birthday to one of golf’s best loved talents, Lee Buck Trevino, born in Dallas, Texas on December 1, 1939. His family was poor financially but rich in spirit. Trevino recalled regularly jumping across a fence from his home into a local golf course to practice at night. He became an internationally renowned player, winning […]
The Hispanic Room at the US Library of Congress in Washington, DC opened on October 12, 1939. The Room was named for the Hispanic Society of New York. It is the focal point for the extensive resources of Luso-Hispanic materials throughout the Library of Congress. The Room is open to the public, so please stop […]
September 21, 1939 was the birthday of the controversial business and political leader Jorge Mas Canosa, born in Santiago, Cuba. Mas was educated at Presbyterian Junior College in North Carolina, and studied law in Cuba at the University of Oriente. After being arrested for opposing the Batista regime in Cuba, Mas and his family immigrated […]
Happy Birthday to lawyer, professor and statesman Antonio Colorado, born on September 8, 1939 in New York City. After completing his early education in Puerto Rico, he received a BA from Boston University and law degrees from Harvard University and the University of Puerto Rico. Colorado served as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the 102 […]
Happy Birthday to Arturo Salvador Rodriguez, born on June 23, 1939, in San Antonio, Texas. Rodriguez is the second president of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW), continuing the leadership of its legendary co-founder, Cesar Chavez. Rodriguez earned a BA at St. Mary’s University and a Masters in social work in 1973 from the University […]
Happy Birthday to Richard A. Tapia, a noted mathematician and educator, born in Santa Monica, California on March 25, 1939. Tapia’s parents were immigrants from Mexico. He earned a BA, MA, and Ph D from the University of California at Los Angeles. Among other numerous awards, Tapia was named one of the twenty most influential […]
Happy Birthday to distinguished scientist George Castro, born on February 23, 1939 in Los Angeles, California. Both of Castro’s parents were of Mexican descent. Castro’s research in photoconductors and superconductors has inspired new and improved electro photographic copying machines as well as digital information storage systems. Castro has worked for over 25 years in civic […]
Happy Birthday to philosopher, priest, writer, professor and social activist Leonardo Boff, born on December 14, 1938 in Concórdia, Brazil. Boff was educated in Brazil, Germany and the UK, and is a passionate proponent of “liberation theology”. Liberation theology calls for Christians to empower the poor and oppressed, not only on a spiritual level, but also to […]
Happy Birthday to Remedios Díaz-Oliver, who was born on August 22, 1938, in Havana, Cuba. As a well-educated young woman, Oliver had aspired to be a college professor, but that was before the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro’s rise to power. Díaz-Oliver was jailed in Cuba for protesting government mail inspections. In 1961, after her […]
Happy Birthday to Frances Josephine Garcia, born on June 4, 1938. Garcia’s parents emigrated from Mexico and settled in Hutchinson, Kansas. Garcia recalled the discrimination that she and her family faced in Kansas. They were not allowed to eat in certain restaurants, had to drink their beverages from drug store soda fountains outside, and had […]
June 24, 1937 is the birthday of iconic Chicano poet, Luis Omar Salinas, born in Robstown, Texas. Orphaned at age four, he was raised by his aunt and uncle. Salinas lived with his family in Mexico and Texas, and they eventually settled in central California. Salinas attended, and taught at, Fresno State University. He published […]
June 4, 1937 was the birthday of country singer and musician, Freddy Fender, born Baldemar Garza Huerta, in San Benito, Texas. Huerta’s parents were migrant workers, and as a child, Huerta constantly moved. At age 16, he dropped out of high school and joined the US Marine Corps, serving from 1954 to 1956. He began […]
Happy Birthday to Solomon Ortiz, born in Nueces County, Texas, on June 3, 1937. He earned his GED (high school equivalency) while serving in the US Army. In 1968 Ortiz became the first Latino elected as Nueces County Commissioner and later the first Latino county sheriff. In 1982, Ortiz won a seat in the US […]
Happy Birthday to novelist, political activist, poet and publisher Manlio Argueta, born on November 24, 1936 in San Miguel, El Salvador. Argueta studied literature and law at the national University of El Salvador, and is internationally known for his chronicling of the brutal civil war in El Salvador through his literary works. In 1972, Argueta had […]
Spain’s greatest modern tragedy began on July 17, 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The War was viewed as one of the final post-World War II struggles between freedom and the Fascism that had cruelly gripped Europe for the War years. Many idealistic young people traveled to Spain to fight against Fascism […]
On June 2, 1936, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia installed himself as dictator of Nicaragua, beginning the decades-long rule of the Somoza family. (Please do not confuse this dictator with his equally ruthless son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, whose regime was embroiled in the Iran Contra scandal during the Reagan years.) Somoza attended the Pierce School of […]
April 3, 1936 is the birthday of nurse-and-grocer-turned-media entrepreneur Dolores Sanchez. Sanchez is the first Latinx to own a newspaper chain in the US. California-born Sanchez focuses on community affairs; her Eastern Group Publications operates a chain of 10 bilingual community newspapers with a combined audited circulation of 104,000 households and businesses. In 1980, California […]
March 10, 1936 is the birthday of Alfredo Zitarrosa, a singer, songwriter, poet, and journalist from Uruguay. His birth and childhood were complicated; he was adopted shortly after he was born, but later in life lived with his birth mother and her family. He began his career as a radio broadcaster and actor, and later […]
Oscar Zeta Acosta began his turbulent, controversial life on April 8, 1935, in El Paso, Texas. Acosta was a Chicano writer, attorney, and political activist who launched his career defending Latinos in discrimination cases. He wrote “The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo” and “The Revolt of the Cockroach People” in the early 1970’s. Notorious for […]
Happy Birthday to musician and composer Leandro Barbieri (1934- 2016), born on November 28, 1934 in Rosario, Argentina. Barbieri began piano lessons at age 12, and his internationally successful career ignited when he switched to tenor sax. Known as “Gato” (“The Cat”), his Latin Jazz style evolved as he played in Argentina, Italy and the […]
Roberto Clemente, the revered humanitarian and stellar baseball player, was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on August 18, 1934. Clemente was a phenomenal athlete and a complex human being. He was a strong advocate of civil rights, and a dedicated supporter and associate of the Reverend Martin Luther King. He wrote poetry, played the organ, […]
Here’s a family photo from the USA’s original Facebook site, the US Library of Congress. The photo of two young American girls of Mexican heritage was taken in April 1934 in San Antonio, Texas, and is part of the Lomax Collection of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The Lomax Collection of photographs […]
On February 21, 1934, Nicaraguan freedom fighter Augusto Cesar Sandino was assassinated by the Nicaraguan National Guard. Sandino led the resistance against the US military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933, waging a sustained and difficult campaign of guerilla warfare against the US Marines. Unsurprisingly he was vilified as a bandit by the US government. The […]
February 11, 1934 is the birthday of Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian general and dictator who was “removed” from office during the 1990 US invasion of Panama. Noriega was recruited as an informant by the CIA when he was studying at a military academy in Peru. Noriega received training at the controversial US Army School of […]
Happy Birthday to Tina Ramirez, who danced into the world on November 7, 1933 in Venezuela. Her father was a Mexican bullfighter and her Puerto Rican great aunt founded the island’s first secular school for girls. A teacher, artist, and social entrepreneur, Ramirez founded the dance company and school Ballet Hispanico in 1970 For Ramirez, […]
Economic and political unrest rocked Cuba during the mid-20th century. On September 3, 1933, a group of sergeants, corporals and enlisted men in the Cuban armed forces met to discuss their grievances, which they hoped to present to their senior officers. When the senior officers refused to meet with the men, the conflict escalated into […]
On May 3, 1933, American poet Archibald MacLeish won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his epic work, “The Conquistador”. The poem is in the voice of Bernal Diaz, an old man who in his youth was a soldier with Cortez’s invading army in the war against the Aztec empire. To research the background for […]
On March 13, 1933, Mexican artist Diego Rivera completed “Detroit Industry”, which Rivera considered to be his greatest mural in the US. Rivera, a member of the Mexican Communist Party, was a great admirer of the city of Detroit and its industrial strength. The Detroit Institute of Arts commissioned Rivera to paint the series of […]
Santiago Iglesias Pantín Iglesias was elected to a four-year term as Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner to the US House of Representatives on November 8, 1932. Born in La Coruña, Spain in 1872, he later immigrated to Cuba. He spent seven years organizing the labor movement, was forced to flee from Cuba due to his support of […]
Happy Birthday to politician and public servant Carlos Romero-Barceló, born in San Juan Puerto Rico. Barceló is the first former Governor of Puerto Rico who also served in the US Congress. His position in Congress was as Resident Commissioner, which is the only voice in Congress for the 3.7 million citizens of Puerto Rico. Barceló graduated from […]
Perhaps it was growing up as the only son with six sisters, perhaps the art study in Madrid or the influence of the vibrant tropics in which he was raised … or each of these and more contributed to design the successful businessman, humanitarian and fashion rock star known as Oscar de la Renta. A […]
Happy Birthday to José Montoya (1932 – 2013), poet, activist, teacher and painter, born on May 28, 1932. Montoya’s grandparents from Mexico received a land grant from the US government. They settled near Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Montoya was born. Montoya earned his MFA at Sacramento State University. He helped to found the Mexican American […]
April 19, 1932 is the birthday of iconoclastic Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Known for his highly stylized figurative portraits and sculptures, Botero studied art in Madrid and Paris. His subjects range from everyday portraits of men and women engaged in everyday life to highly politicized portrayals of searing events, including the violence of Colombia’s drug […]
Happy Birthday to the fabulous entertainer and humanitarian Rosa Dolores Alverio, born in Humacao, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1931. Known on stage as Rita Moreno, the multi-talented star is the only woman and the only Latina to win the entertainment industry’s four top awards: Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Emmy. Moreno struggled with being typecast as a […]
One of the most successful Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at Coca-Cola, an iconic American company, was Cuban immigrant Roberto Crispulo Goizueta. Born in Havana, Cuba, on November 18, 1931, Goizueta earned a BS in chemical engineering at Yale University. He returned to Cuba and started as a production supervisor for Coke plants. He immigrated to […]
Happy Birthday to Manuel Phillip Berriozábal, an educator, mathematician, and humanitarian born on July 21, 1931, in San Antonio, Texas. Berriozábal’s life is a passionate commitment to developing programs to help Hispanic and other minority students to stay in school and to succeed at higher level education. His focus has been on mathematics, and in 1988, his findings […]
Happy Birthday to musician and composer Joao Gilberto, born on June 10, 1931, in Juaseiro, Brazil. As he titled himself in one of his albums, Gilberto is the “Boss of Bosa Nova”, the jazz-inflected Brazilian pop style. Gilberto began playing the guitar at age 14, and was influenced by the norteamericano big band sounds of […]
February 4, 1931 was the birthday of María Estela Martínez Cartas, known as Isabel Peron. Peron was the third wife of Argentinian general and president, Juan Peron. Her husband began his third term of office in 1972, and after his sudden death, Isabel was sworn in as Argentina’s first woman President on July 1, 1973. […]
Happy Birthday to Lupe Serrano, who first danced into the world on December 7, 1930, in Santiago, Chile. Serrano was the first Hispanic principal ballerina at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. Her debut recital was at her third birthday, when she insisted on performing for her guests. She studied with the Mexico City Ballet and in New York and […]
Happy Birthday to Luis Estevez de Galvez, the award-winning fashion designer born in Havana, Cuba on December 5, 1930. Estevez studied architecture at the University of Havana and fashion design at the Traphagen School in New York. Estevez worked with a number of leading fashion designers and theater productions. He dressed many famous women, including […]
Happy Birthday to Dolores Huerta, born on April 10, 1930. Together with Cesar Chavez, she co-founded the United Farmers Workers (UFW) of America, and is one of the most prominent and influential labor organizers of our time. Huerta was born in Dawson, New Mexico, the daughter of a coal miner, political activist father and an […]
Happy Birthday to Herman Badillo, born on August 21, 1929. Badillo is the first Puerto Rican born citizen to represent a district in the US Congress. After the death of both of his parents, he moved from Puerto Rico to New York City at age 11 to live with his aunt. He earned a BA […]
Happy Birthday to humanitarian, educator and spiritual leader Patrick Fernandez Flores, born in Ganado, Texas on July 26, 1929. Flores was the first Mexican American to rise to a high office in the Catholic Church in the US. From very humble beginnings that included cleaning a cantina (bar) to help support his family, he achieved […]
February 14, 1929 is the birthday of Matthew G. Martinez. Martinez served in Congress from 1982 to 2001, representing California’s 30th and 31st districts. He served as a Democrat during his early terms, then switched to the Republican party after his defeat in a 2000 primary. During the 1980’s Martínez opposed the Reagan administration’s interventionist […]
February 13, 1929 is the birthday of Omar Torrijos Herrera, Commander of the Panamanian and National Guard, and the unelected leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981. Torrijos attended a cadet course at the US Army School of the Americas in 1965. Torrijos is best known for negotiating the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties that gave Panama […]
The sharp burst of rifles tore through the assembled crowd, and Colombian workers screamed and fell as hot lead bullets ripped through them. The workers were striking in the central square of the town of Ciénaga, Colombia, against the United Fruit Company, a US corporation. The troops that fired were from the Colombian Army. Colombian populist Congressman […]
If you can read this, thank your educational administrator. Happy Birthday to Mari-Luci Jaramillo, born on June 19, 1928 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Jaramillo received her BA, MA and Ph D from the New Mexico Highlands University. She served as a professor of education at the University of New Mexico, and became a widely […]
June 14, 1928 is the birthday of one of the icons of the 20th century, the doctor-politician-revolutionary-author Ernesto (Che) Guevera. Born in Argentina to a family of liberal intellectuals, Che suffered from asthma as a child and was home schooled by his mother. Restless at age 19, he and a friend traveled throughout South America […]
May 12, 1928 is the birthday of Manuel Luján, Jr., born on a small farm near San Ildelfonso, New Mexico. In 1968, Luján was elected to Congress. In the 1970’s and early 1980’s Luján was one of the few prominent Latinx Republicans, and the only Republican member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He usually supported […]
Happy Birthday to Richard Alonzo Gonzales, nicknamed “Pancho”, apparently because his non-Hispanic childhood friends did not know any other Mexican names. Gonzales’ parents immigrated to the US from Chihuahua, Mexico. His father worked as a house painter and his mother as a seamstress. His mother bought him his first tennis racket for 51 cents. Gonzalez […]
May 9, 1928 is the birthday of Graciela Olivárez, lawyer, social activist, professor, and political appointee. Olivárez was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Although she initially dropped out of high school, Olivárez graduated from the Notre Dame School of Law in 1970. The then 42-year old Olivárez was the first woman to graduate from this prestigious […]
On May 7, 1928, all-American writer Thorton Wilder won the Pulitzer Prize for “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”. According to a review by Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers, the book was “a stylized fable set in colonial Peru, where a famous rope bridge over a deep chasm collapses while five travelers, all of whom […]
May 5, 1928 is the birthday of Roberto José Suarez y de Cardenas, a distinguished journalist, editor, and publisher. He was the publisher of El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish language newspaper published by the Miami Herald. Cardenas was born in Havana, Cuba, and in his youth he played basketball with Fidel Castro. He became disillusioned […]
While the Bush family can boast of two US Presidents, the Batlle family of Uruguay holds a record for winning Presidential elections, with four presidents over the Uruguayan nation’s history. The latest to win this honor is Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez, born on October 25, 1927 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Batlle faced a number of difficulties, […]
Happy Birthday to politician and public servant Eligio de la Garza, born on September 22, 1927 in Mercedes, Texas. Garza’s family traces their roots in the homeland to the 1700’s. Garza served in the US Navy and Army, and earned a law degree from St. Mary’s University. He served six terms in the Texas House of […]
March 31, 1927 is the birthday of the Latino civil rights leader, Cesar Chavez (1927-1993). Chavez, a Mexican American migrant worker and labor leader, was born in Yuma, Arizona. Together with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW). Chavez, the UFW, and millions of North American consumers launched a five year boycott against […]
Happy birthday to the legendary story teller and literary genius, Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez (1927-2014). Marquez was born on March 6, 1927 in Aracataca, Colombia, a small town on the Caribbean coast. Marquez was raised by his maternal grandparents, who encouraged his creativity with stories of local history and a supernatural view of reality. His […]
On September 21, 1926 in a one-room adobe home near Falls City, Texas, Reies Lopez Tijerina began his turbulent, brilliant, controversial life. Tijerina’s family started as sharecroppers but were reduced to migrant workers, and he spent his early life working in the fields. His experiences with discrimination inspired his life as a social activist; as […]
On April 26, 1926, Spanish singer and actor Raquel Meller (Francisca Marqués López) was featured on the cover of USA’s “Time” Magazine. Meller was born in Tarazona, Spain, and began singing in a cabaret at age 13. She rose to be an international performer throughout Europe and the Americas. In Hollywood, she friended and impressed […]
March 22, 1926 is the birthday of Guy Louis Gabaldon (1926 – 2006), a US Marine who was a hero of the 1944 Battle of Saipan in World War II (1939 – 1945). During his troubled youth, the Mexican-American Gabaldon was adopted by a Japanese-American family. Gabaldon later used his knowledge of Japanese language and […]
March 13, 1926 is the birthday of Carlos Roberto Reina, the Honduran politician, law professor, and editor who rose from political prisoner to President of Honduras. Reina was elected in 1993, and worked to keep his election promises to crack down on corruption and reduce the power of the military. As part of the latter […]
Happy birthday to Major League Baseball (MLB) star Saturnino Orestes Armas “Minnie” Miñoso Arrieta, born November 29, 1925 in Havana, Cuba. Minnie began his MLB career in 1949 with the Cleveland Indians. Minnie’s courageous life included several significant “firsts”: the first Latinx of African heritage to play in the major leagues and the first African […]
The fabulous and famous Latina singer, Celia Cruz (1924-2003), began to light the world on October 21, 1924, with her birth in Havana, Cuba. Cruz started her career singing in cabarets in Havana, and got her big break in 1950 as the lead singer for La Sonora Matancera. The group went on tour in 1959, the […]
October 5, 1924 was the birthdate of internationally renowned Chilean writer José Donoso Yáñez, born in Santiago, Chile. Donoso attended an English language day school as a youngster in Chile. A rebellious youth, he wrote that he hated his school work and compulsory sports, while his wanderlust inspired travels in South America, the US and Europe. […]
On February 28, 1924, US troops invaded Honduras, without proper documents or visas. A dispute over the country’s presidential elections had finally culminated in the Battle at Le Ceiba between government forces and rebels. General Tiburcio Carías Andino led the rebels. Andino had reportedly received the most votes and was supported by the infamous United […]
Among the Latinas that you didn’t know were Latina is Linda Christian, the first Bond girl. That’s Bond, as in James Bond. Christian, whose given name was Blanca Rosa Welter, was born in Tampico, Mexico on November 13, 1923. Her life story could have been written by an imaginative screenwriter. Christian’s aspiration as a youth was to become a […]
July 14, 1923 was the birthday of Rene Geronimo Favaloro, a pioneering heart surgeon, health care provider, and humanitarian. Favaloro graduated from medical school in Argentina, and completed post graduate studies in Buenos Aires and the Cleveland Clinic. Favaloro performed the world’s first documented heart bypass surgery in 1972. His great heart was undone by […]
April 20, 1923 is the birthday of Puerto Rican musician Ernesto Antonio Puente, affectionately known as Tito Puente (1923-2000). He was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents. He studied piano and percussion as a child, and began playing professionally in his teens. He was drafted into the Navy during World War II, and […]
August 6, 1922 is the birthday of David Cardús, a physician and specialist in cardiology and biomathematics, born in Barcelona, Spain. Cardús was renowned for his work with mathematical and computer applications for the study of physiological systems. He also designed the centrifuges to study artificial gravity. After spending his early career in Europe, he […]
Grammy nominated jazz musician, composer, and band leader Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill was born on October 28, 1921 in Havana, Cuba. His mother was Cuban and his father was Irish. O’Farrill was one of the early influencers of American bebop and swing, as he introduced Latin rhythm to the jazz scene of the late 1940s through […]
On May 19, 1921, the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 was passed. This Act limited the number of immigrants allowed to enter the US during a single year, and was the first such Act in US history. This legislation limited immigration from Europe to 3% of each European nationality present in the US in 1910. […]
The iconic mark of “Z” was first slashed on North American movie screens on November 27, 1920, with the release of the Hollywood film, “The Mark of Zorro”. The mythic tale stars a mysterious masked hero who defends the poor and exploited against the rich and oppressive (99% versus 1%). Flashing his sword, swirling his cape, and […]
One of Hollywood’s leading men of the 20th century, Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, was born on November 25, 1920, in Mexico City, Mexico. Montalbán entertained audiences across the Americas. In the US, his most famous appearances were as Mr. Roarke in the TV series “Fantasy Island” and as a truly evil illegal alien […]
Nobel Prize winner Baruj Benacerraf was born in Caracas, Venezuela on October 29, 1920. Benacerraf’s family were Sephardic South Americans (Latino and Jewish, a spiritual precursor of the Miami Jewbans). His father was born in Spanish Morocco and his mother in Algeria. Benacerraf graduated from Columbia University with a BA, and then attempted to enter […]
On May 25, 1920, schoolteacher Robert T. Meyer taught one of his fourth-grade pupils to read the Bible in the German language. (There goes the neighborhood!) An attorney from Hamilton County learned of the highly subversive incident, and charged the teacher with shockingly violating a Nebraska law that prohibited teaching foreign languages to elementary school pupils. Meyer […]
January 31, 1929, is the birthday of Richard Edward Cavazos, the first Mexican American to achieve the rank of four-star general in the US Army. During the Korean War, Cavazos earned the Distinguished Service Cross as a first lieutenant. He served with great distinction for thirty-three years, with his final command as head of the […]
January 20, 1920, is the birth date of war hero Macario Garcia, one of 17 Mexican-Americans who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage in World War II. Garcia was born in Mexico and immigrated to the US. In the battlefields of Grosshau Germany, Garcia, acting as squad leader, single-handedly assaulted two machine […]
May 7, 1919 was the beginning of the passionate, unpredictable life of María Eva Duarte de Perón, known throughout the world and in the Broadway musical as Evita. Evita was born in poverty in Argentina, and at the age of 16, she went to Buenos Aires, the capital city, to become a successful actress. After […]
A star was born! Among the Latinas that you may not know was Latina is Margarita Carmen Cansino, who achieved worldwide fame as Hollywood’s glamorous Rita Hayworth. Her father was an immigrant from Spain, where her Spanish grandfather was a renowned bolero dancer. Hayworth appeared in 61 movies over her 37 year career, and earned […]
May 29, 1918 is the birthday of Humberto Noé “Bert” Corona, a union, political and civil rights activist who spent over 70 years of his life in public service. Corona was born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents. He received a basketball scholarship to the University of Southern California, but dropped out to work […]
December 2, 1917, is the birthday of Desi Arnaz, famed as the Cuban-American bandleader Ricky Ricardo on the popular TV comedy, “I Love Lucy”. Red-headed Lucille Ball played his wife. Reportedly, CBS executives were initially reluctant to portray Arnaz as Ball’s husband, saying that a North American audience would not accept the scandalous idea of […]
Roque Cordero, famed composer and conductor, was born in Panama City, Panama on August 16, 1917. Cordero was educated at the University of Minnesota in the US. He was a guest conductor on stages in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Panama, Spain, and the US. Cordero received numerous awards for his work, including a Guggenheim fellowship. […]
On February 5, 1917, the current Mexican constitution was formally adopted by the Mexican Constitutional Congress. The Articles of the Constitution outlined progressive provisions for mandatory elementary education, the establishment of freedom of speech and expression, equality between men and women under the law, and prohibiting the use of military court martial to judge civilians. […]
January 17, 1917 is the birthday of Hector Perez Garcia (1914- 1996). A Mexican American surgeon, World War II veteran and civil rights advocate, Garcia founded the American GI Forum in 1948, to assist veterans returning from the war. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, our nation’s […]
During World War I, the Germans attempted to ally with the Mexican government to attack the US. In the Zimmermann Telegram from the German Foreign Secretary, the Germans proposed assisting the Mexicans in the re-conquest of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The then President of Mexico did not think that attacking the United States was […]
On January 1, 1917, Esquiel Cabeza De Baca (1864 – 1917) was inaugurated as Governor of New Mexico. Baca was the second elected Governor and the first Latinx Governor in New Mexico’s history. He had served as Lieutenant Governor prior to his election as Governor. He was a descendant of the original Spanish settlers. Cabeza […]
The US military declared martial law for the Dominican Republic on November 29, 1916, during the US invasion and occupation of the island. (Yes, really.) The undocumented and uninvited US Marines landed to “protect American interests”, which meant the island’s proximity to the Panama Canal. (The Panama Canal opened in 1914 with substantial financial investment from the […]
On June 21, 1916, undocumented US Army forces under the orders of General John J. Pershing crossed the border into the sovereign Mexican nation and attacked the Mexican Army. The US soldiers did not have visas, and were fighting as illegal aliens. The troops were pursuing the revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, in a punitive action […]
Happy Birthday to Raul Hector Castro, born June 12, 1916. Castro was the first Mexican-born American elected as Governor of Arizona. Castro graduated from Northern Arizona University in 1939 and later earned his JD from the University of Arizona Law College. Castro received Presidential appointments to serve as Ambassador to El Salvador, Bolivia, and Argentina. […]
Before Selena and J-Lo were known only by their first names, there was Lydia. May 21, 1916 Lydia Mendoza was born on May 21, 1916 in Houston, Texas. Accompanied by her 12 string guitar, Lydia was a pioneer of the Tejano music movement. She recorded more than 200 songs in the first 6 years of […]
On March 15, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson sent 4,800 US troops across the US – Mexican border in pursuit of Mexican revolutionary leader, Pancho Villa. The US Troops were undocumented and uninvited. The incident occurred during the Mexican Revolution, and was in retaliation for Villa’s raids in New Mexico and the reported killing of sixteen […]
Happy Birthday to folklore scholar, poet, author, professor and historian Américo Paredes, born on September 3, 1915 in Brownsville, Texas. Paredes’ life was a bridge between the two worlds of the neighboring borderlands of the US and Mexico. For over 30 years, he was a professor of English and anthropology at the University of Texas […]
On June 19, 1915, Luis R. Esteves was the first Latinx to graduate from the US Military Academy at West Point. Esteves was born in Puerto Rico in 1893. During World War I, he served in Puerto Rico, training officers for service. In 1919, he organized the first Puerto Rican National Guard, and commanded its […]
April 21, 1915 is the birthday of Antonio Rudolph Oaxaca Quinn, the son of freedom fighters in the Mexican Revolution. Later known as the Academy Award winning actor, Anthony Quinn, he was literally conceived in a battlefield. His mother’s field officer ordered the heroic pregnant soldier to return to Chihuahua, Mexico by train when he […]
On November 23, 1914, undocumented and uninvited US forces finally withdrew from Veracruz, Mexico, which they invaded and occupied for seven months. From the Mexican point of view, the US is usually very nonchalant about crossing the border into Mexico, and this invasion spurred by the Tampico Affair was another example. After Mexican authorities arrested […]
With the roaring of rushing waters through expertly engineered locks, the first ship cruised through the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914. The construction of a waterway to link the world’s greatest oceans had been considered by the Spanish, attempted by the French, and finally completed by the Americans. The building of the canal was […]
The US invaded and bombarded the Mexican port of Vera Cruz on April 21, 1914. The murky reasoning for the invasion was the arrest of nine undocumented US sailors by the Mexican government for violating Mexican law and rumors of weapons shipments to Germany. The weapons were actually being shipped through Mexico to Germany by […]
March 31, 1914 is the birthday of Octavio Paz, a Mexican writer, political activist, diplomat, poet, and Noble Prize Laureate for Literature. Paz spent extensive time in the US, including during his parents’ political exile, as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, as a lecturer at Harvard, and in the diplomatic service in […]
On April 9, 1914, one of the world’s first naval / air skirmishes was fought during the Mexican Revolution on the coast of western Mexico. Captain Gustavo Salinas Camino flew his biplane over the armed warships, and determinedly tossed bombs over the side. Although the bombs failed to hit their targets, the attack was regarded […]
She was born fighting, in San Diego, California, in December 1913. Francisca Flores was a woman of Mexican American heritage who campaigned for Latino and women’s rights throughout her life. As a young woman, she was inspired by stories of the Mexican Revolution of the 1920s and by Spanish resistance against the forces of fascism […]
Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, the second elected President of Guatemala, was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala on September 14, 1913. Arbenz lived through the turbulent period of Guatemala’s early democracy. In 1950, he was elected by 60% of the vote. Arbenz continued the agricultural reforms and land redistribution started by his predecessor, to the anger of the […]
On February 19, 1913, General Victoriana Huerta took power in Mexico through a military coup plotted with the US Ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson. Wilson was convinced that a military dictatorship was needed in Mexico, and did not approve of the democratically elected president. Known in Mexico as the Decena Tragica (Tragic Ten Days), […]
The brilliant physicist, educator, and researcher Albert Vinicio Baez was born in Puebla, Mexico on November 15, 1912. Baez earned an MS from Drew University and a Ph D from Stanford. Baez taught and conducted research at a number of prestigious institutions including MIT, Harvard, the University of California-Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, the Algerian […]
During the civil wars and political struggles that wracked Nicaragua during the early 20th century, the US invaded and occupied that nation on several occasions. During the occupation of August – November 1912, a significant battle occurred between US forces and Nicaraguan rebels. The Battle of Coyotepe was fought at a fortress on a hill […]
His last hours on earth were spent working on his lifelong passion. José Maria Velasco was considered one of the most important Mexican painters of the 19th century, and one of the greatest landscape painters in history. Veslasco was born in Temascaltzingo, Mexico, in 1840. At the age of 18, he entered the Art Academy of […]
On June 7, 1912, Pope Pius X promulgated his encyclical, “On the Indians of South America”. In his statement to the Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops in South America, Pius urged the Church leaders “to foster and promote all the good works instituted in your dioceses for the benefit of the Indians, and to see […]
June 6, 1912 is the birthday of actress and model María Móntez, born in the Dominican Republic as María Africa Gracis Vidal de Santos Silas. Her father was a Spanish diplomat, and Móntez lived in South America, France and Great Britain. She began acting in a small theatrical group in Belfast, and became a highly […]
January 8, 1912 is the birthday of José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (1912 –1992), known as José Ferrer. The Puerto Rican actor was the first Latinx American actor to win an Academy Award, which he earned in 1950 for his portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac. Ferrer was accepted at Princeton University at age […]
Many people would have given up on an adventurous, creative life after being blinded in an unfortunate accident at a young age, but not Arsenio Rodríguez. The talented musician and band leader became known as “El Ciego Maravilloso” (the marvelous blind man) as he whirled African rhythms and the sounds of conga drums through Cuban […]
Cantinflas, a celebrated comedic actor, was born Mario Moreno Reyes on August 12, 1911, in Mexico City, Mexico. Cantinflas was from a poor family, and as a child, he was a street performer to earn money. In 1937, Cantinflas married his wife and lifelong collaborator, Valentina Subareff. He worked his way to Hollywood, where fellow […]
June 30, 1911 is the birthday of writer, philosopher, and politician, Juan Bosch Gaviño. Passionately committed to the welfare of the poor, his writings and political activity focused on improving the lives of the impoverished 99% in his country of the Dominican Republic. He authored more than 50 books, including novels, collections of short stories […]
June 24, 1911 is the birthday of writer Ernesto Sábato, one of the great inspirations of 20th century Latino literature. Sábato was born the youngest of eleven children in a small town about 160 miles from Buenos Aires, the capitol of Argentina. His academic career began in science, and he earned a doctorate in physics. […]
June 13, 1911 is the birthday of Nobel Prize winner Luis W. Alvarez. Alvarez was a nuclear physicist and inventor, and the first Latinx to win a Nobel Prize. He earned his BS, MS and Ph D at the University of Chicago. During World War II, he served our country on the Manhattan Project to […]
July 10, 1910 is the birthday of the all-American medal of honor winner, Jose Mendoza Lopez, who was born in Mission, Texas, to Mexican parents. Lopez’ father was killed in the Mexican Revolution, and his mother died when he was 8. After a globe trotting tour as a boxer, Lopez joined the US Army in 1942. […]
May 20, 1910 is the birthday of the Grande Dame of New Mexico, Concha Ortiz y Pino de Kleven. Pino was born in Galisteo, New Mexico, and her ancestors in the Pino and Ortiz families were among the earliest European settlers of New Mexico. One of these ancestors, Nicolas Pino, was a leader of a […]
May 16, 1910 is the birthday of Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr. the first Puerto Rican four-star Admiral and second Latino to become a full Admiral in the modern US Navy. Rivero graduated from the US Naval Academy, ranking third in his class of 441. He served in World War II in the Pacific theater, earning […]
At the height of her luminous career, Libertad Lamarque was hailed by the London press as “the second biggest export from South America, the first being Carmen Miranda….” Lamarque was born in Rosario, Argentina, on November 24, 1908, and made her first appearance on stage at age 8. She became a star of the silent silver […]
The beautiful city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was incorporated as a US city on October 9, 1907. The area was originally settled by the Manso Native American nation until the Spanish invaded in 1598. The territory remained as part of the Spanish empire until 1821, when the Mexican government acquired the land. After the […]
Frida Kahlo began her wildly imaginative, tragic, ingenious life on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. Kahlo’s grandfather was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant and her mother was Hispanic-Native American. Her father recognized and encouraged her iconoclastic nature and intellectual curiosity. Kahlo suffered terribly from physical ailments: polio as a child, a horrific streetcar accident in […]
Jorge Luis Córdova Díaz was born in Manati, Puerto Rico on April 20, 1907. Díaz graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1928 and received an LL B (law) degree from Harvard University in 1931. He served as Resident Commissioner in the 91 and 92 Congresses in 1969-1973. Díaz was deeply committed to alleviating […]
On March 18, 1907, US troops invaded Honduras, which they occupied until June 8, without proper documents or visas. The troops were supposed to be there to “protect American interests” during a war between Honduras and Nicaragua. The undocumented troops were stationed in Trujillo, Ceiba, Puerto Cortez, San Pedro, Laguna and Choloma. El 18 de […]
President Theodore Roosevelt was keenly interested in Latin America — usually to advance US expansion and imperialism in the region (known in some circles as highly inflated white male privilege). As a young cavalry officer, Roosevelt fought in the Spanish American War in Cuba. He actively supported the Panamanian Revolution against Colombia, which “coincidentally” succeeded […]
May 25, 1906 is the birthday of Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos, born in Matanzas Province, Cuba. Dihigo was a baseball player in the Negro and Latin American leagues. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. According to the Hall of Fame, “Martin Dihigo was perhaps the most versatile player in […]
February 17, 1906 is the birthday of Galo Plaza Lasso, the Ecuadorian politician and statesman who served as President of Ecuador (1948- 1952), Secretary General of the Organization of American States, and Ambassador to the US. Lasso was a native New Yorker, born in the US while his father served as a diplomat. He was […]
August 3, 1905 is the birthday of Dolores del Rio, born in Durango, Mexico. Known as the female Valentino (or should we say that Valentino was the male Del Rio?), Del Rio was the queen of Hollywood nights, starring in more than 50 films. A world traveler who learned several languages, Del Rio spent her […]
Novelist, journalist, and political activist Alejo Carpentier was born in Havana, Cuba on December 26, 1904, to a French father and Russian mother. After spending time in Europe during his childhood, he began writing at age 15 when the family returned to Cuba. Carpentier became active in political resistance to the Cuban dictatorships of the 1920s and […]
An assassin’s bullet finally stopped the great heart of José Francisco Chaves on November 26, 1904. Chaves was born in 1833 in Los Padillas, Mexico (now Albuquerque, New Mexico). He began his education in Mexico, and studied at St. Louis University and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. A doctor, […]
Birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904 –1973), poet, political activist and diplomat, born in Parral, Chile. He was elected as Senator in the Communist Party, and was forced into hiding and exile when the party was banned in Chile. In 1952, his stay at an Italian villa on the island of Capri inspired the popular film […]
On May 11, 1904, our contemporary world became more colorful and eccentric with the birth of artist Salvador Dali in Figueras, Spain. Dali became one of the most influential and well-known painters of the 20th century – partly due to genius and partly due to his self-described exhibitionism and delight in shocking the public. His […]
On January 15, 1904, the stunningly beautiful music of famed cellist Pablo Casals (1876 –1973) graced the White House, as the talented musician played for President Theodore Roosevelt and invited guests. Casals was born in Spain, to a Spanish father and Puerto Rican mother. By the age of 21, Casals was considered a master cellist. […]
The blazing fingers of musician Carlos Montoya were first given to the light of day on December 13, 1903, in Madrid, Spain. Montoya’s passion was flamenco music, which he attributed to his Gypsy heritage. He began guitar lessons at age 8, started his professional career in the lively, elegant cafes of Madrid, and launched his […]
What would a revolution in South America be without the arrival of undocumented and uninvited US Marines from North America? With keen geopolitical interest in the Panama Canal, the US and President Theodore Roosevelt were determined to protect the Panamanian Revolution that started the previous day. Undocumented US Marines landed on November 4, and were […]
On November 3, 1903, the newly formed nation of Panama declared its independence from Colombia, to which it belonged in the period after independence from Spain. The Panamanian revolution was heavily aided by US interests, which were determined to seize the territory from the Colombian government to build the Panamanian Canal. Shortly after Panama declared independence, the […]
June 13, 1903 is the birthday of Consuelo González Amezcua, a Latina artist, poet, singer and composer. Amezcua’s art reflected her passion for religion, mysticism and magic. She immigrated to Texas from Mexico with her family at age 10. The unconventional Amezcua was particularly inspired by Mexico, Spain and Egypt. Her intricate and complex work […]
The Platt Amendment was approved by the US Congress on May 22, 1903. The Amendment stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of US troops that remained in Cuba at the end of the Spanish-American War. A key provision of the Amendment was the perpetual lease of Guantanamo Bay, a 45 square mile area of southeastern […]
April 15, 1903 is the birthday of Mercedes O. Cubría (1903-1980). Cubría was the first Cuban born woman to achieve the rank of US Army officer. During World War II, she served as codes officer in England, and during the Korean War, she served in Japan as an intelligence officer. Known as “La Tía” (The […]
On March 30, 1903, the US Marines landed in the Dominican Republic to “protect American interests” in the city of Santo Domingo during a period of political turmoil. (I can’t help but wonder how the US Army would react if the Dominican Army landed during Occupy Wall Street in 2011, to “protect Dominican interests”? Lots […]
On March 23, 1903, undocumented US troops invaded in Honduras. Their mission was to “protect the American consulate and the steamship wharf” at Puerto Cortez during a period of revolutionary activity. During the late 19th century, US multinationals such as the United Fruit Company, later known as Chiquita Brands International, had invested heavily in banana […]
Standing with every truly great man is a great woman, and the extraordinary life of Mexican Revolutionaries Francisco and Sara Madero is an inspiring example. The couple met in San Francisco, where they were both students, and married on January 26, 1903. Francisco Madero soon decided to enter politics. Sara Madero was with her husband […]
On January 19, 1903, Narciso Gener Gonzales was assassinated by James H. Tillman, the Lieutenant Governor whom he had campaigned against. Gonzales was a Cuban American born in South Carolina. With his brother, Gonzales founded The State newspaper. Tillman was acquitted of the murder. A monument honoring Gonzales stands near the South Carolina State house. […]
Panama was part of the nation of Colombia until its rebellion in 1902. The US had attempted to negotiate with the Colombian government to allow the US a perpetual lease of the valuable Colombian territory that eventually became the Panama Canal. When Colombia refused the terms of the lease, the US decided to “encourage” Panamanian […]
August 6, 1902 is the birthday of Alice Dickerson Montemayor, born in Laredo Texas (1902-1989). She graduated from high school in 1924 and attended night school at Laredo Business College, exceptional achievements for a Mexican-American from her impoverished background. Montemayor was a pioneering political activist, and was the first woman elected to several national posts […]
The Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed on June 17 of that year. For Latinos, this Act has been described as one of the most devastating laws in US history. This law dispossessed Latinx of their real estate and private property in the southwestern territories, decades after the 1846 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded these […]
January 26, 1902 is the birthday of Romney Brent, a Latinx who youmay not know was Latinx. Born Romulo Larralde in Saltillo, Mexico, Larralde was a Mexican actor, director, and dramatist. He spent most of his career on the stage in North America, performing in musicals, classics and modern works. He also starred in television […]
Uninvited and undocumented US forces invaded Colombia on November 20, 1901, and remained until December 4. The US forces were “protecting American property” in the Isthmus of Panama, which was then part of the Colombian nation (duh?). The troops kept the railway transit lines open during “serious revolutionary disturbances”. Image from Library of Congress collection, political […]
May 20, 1900 is the birthday of Lydia Cabrera, considered by contemporaries as the premiere Cuban ethnologist and Cuba’s matriarch of “letters”. (In the 20th century, people wrote thoughtful, lengthy communications by hand with pen and ink on paper, called “letters”.) Cabrera focused on Afro-Cuban history, and wrote scholarly volumes and entertaining fiction, including work […]
As gunpowder and bullets burnt through the humid air in the tropics of the Philippines on November 18, 1899, Latinx war hero Maximiliano Luna was killed in action. Luna was fighting with the American “Rough Riders” led by Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish American War (1898). Luna was a native of New Mexico, where his ancestors had […]
February 6, 1899 is the birthday of Ramon Novarro, a Mexican-American leading male actor in early 20th century Hollywood. He appeared in swashbuckling classics such as the 1925 silent film, Ben Hur, and in Mata Hari with Greta Garbo. Living in the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Novarro was a gay man who stayed […]
On February 6, 1899, the Spanish-American War formally ended when the Treaty of Paris was ratified by the US Senate. Spain turned over almost all of its colonies to the US in the peace treaty, including the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. The US established a perpetual lease at Guantanamo Bay on the island of […]
As the Spanish American war was ending in the summer of 1898, US troops launched an invasion of Puerto Rico, one of Spain’s remaining two principal islands in the Caribbean. The Puerto Ricans decided not to offer a strong resistance, and the island was captured with only a few casualties. After an armistice was signed […]
On August 13, 1898 during the Spanish American War, US forces drove the Spanish out of Manila in the Philippines. Manila had been a Spanish colony since the 16th century. According to one report, US commanders were unaware of a ceasefire that was signed with the Spanish on the previous day. A more cynical interpretation is […]
The Island of Puerto Rico was among the numerous battlefields in the Spanish American War. US forces landed (or, invaded, depending on your point of view) on July 25, 1898, ending 400 years of Spanish rule. This event is now celebrated in Puerto Rico as Constitution Day, honoring the Constitution that was adopted by the […]
On May 27, 1898, Texas native Juan Alamia volunteered for the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry in San Antonio, Texas. This unit was later known as the “Rough Riders” under the leadership of the charismatic Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. (Theodore Roosevelt served as US President from 1901-1909.) As a soldier in the Rough Riders, Alamia fought […]
February 18, 1898 is the birthday of the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín. Marin was a poet, journalist, and politician, and is regarded as the “father of modern Puerto Rico”. For his long career in public service, Marin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1962 by […]
After the Cuban revolution broke out in January 1898, the battleship USS Maine sailed into Spanish waters. On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank in the Havana harbor in Cuba, killing more than 260 US servicemen. The explosion was of unknown origin, but Congress and the public were quick to blame the Spanish […]
Under the leadership of Calixto Garcia, a Cuban freedom fighter, the Spanish forces were defeated on February 1, 1898, at Rejondon de Baguanos, Cuba. Garcia fought in three wars in Cuba to free the country from Spanish rule. Garcia joined with US forces when they landed in Cuba at the start of the Spanish-American War. […]
April 16, 1897 is the birthday of Jesús Piñero, Resident Commissioner for Puerto Rico at the US 79th Congress in the mid 1940’s. Piñero attended the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In 1940 Piñero was one of the founders of the Popular Democratic Party. Piñero resigned as Resident Commissioner in […]
The provocative social realist artist José David Alfaro Siqueiros was born in Camargo, Mexico, on December 29, 1896. Siqueiros was one of the founders of the mural movement in Mexico, and he was also an active labor organizer and member of Mexico’s Communist party. Siqueiros didn’t live no ho-hum life. A global citizen, he taught art […]
August 14, 1896 is the birthday of politician, officer and gentleman, Joachim Fernández, born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fernández began his public service career as a tariff agent, and was elected to the state legislature in 1923. He was later elected to the US House of Representatives and reelected four times. Fernández served in Congress during […]
On May 2, 1896, undocumented US Marines invaded the sovereign nation of Nicaragua, ostensibly “to protect US interests” during a period of political unrest. The undocumented Marines landed at Corinto on the Pacific coast of the country. Corinto is now a small, peaceful beach town, and one of Nicaragua’s largest ports and a popular stop […]
Jose Iturbi’s elegant piano music filled concert halls throughout Europe, South America, and the US. He was one of the few musicians to popularize classical music in Hollywood. Valencia was born in Valencia, Spain, on November 28, 1895. He began taking piano lessons at age 4. Within three years he was studying at the Conservatorio […]
On March 8, 1895, US troops landed at Bocas del Toro, undocumented and uninvited. Bocas del Toro was then part of the sovereign nation of Colombia. As usual, the US government stated that the reason for landing was to “protect American interests”. (Honestly, I think that excuse is getting old.) Bocas del Toro is now […]
Joan Miró, the famous Spanish painter and sculptor was born in the enchanting city of Barcelona, Spain, on April 20, 1893. Miró is regarded as one of the greatest Surrealists. He spun bright colors and hallucinatory figures to reveal a poetic vision of the human subconscious. He influenced North American abstract expressionists artists such as […]
On August 28, 1891, US troops landed in Chile without visas or documents, to “protect” the American consulate in Valparaiso, Chile. This was the US version of events; to many Chileans, this was an invasion of their sovereign nation. A civil war was raging between the Chilean president and the Chilean military. Civilians had taken refuge […]
On July 3, 1890, Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd US state. Joining the Americans in the celebrations were Idaho’s native citizens of Spanish Basque heritage. Idaho has one of the largest concentrations of Spanish Basque populations outside of Spain. The Basque region is in the northeast of Spain, where the Basques maintain […]
January 30, 1889 marked the death of Manuel Antonio Chaves, known as El Leoncito (the little lion) for his military exploits as a soldier in the Mexican Army and in the US Army on the side of the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865). As an American soldier, he helped to defeat the Confederates in […]
July 3, 1888 is the birthday of the prolific and poetic Spanish writer, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, born in Madrid, Spain. While educated at the University of Madrid Law School, he chose another professional, gifting the world with one less lawyer and one more extraordinary literary talent. Serna penned short stories, plays, novels, biographies, […]
June 15, 1888 is the birthday of nationally cherished Mexican poet, Ramón López Velarde. Velarde was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, a beautiful city in the central Mexican high desert. He attended a Catholic seminary, and then changed his career to law. Velarde became a judge, and later supported the Mexican Revolution. He began writing poetry […]
April 1, 1888 is the birthday of Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr. (1888-1969), who fought in both World War I and World War II. Mesa commanded the First Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily. Despite flunking out of West Point twice, Mesa rose to the rank of Major General. Legendary for his unorthodox […]
The inspired life of writer, journalist, and politician Martin Luis Guzman began in Chihuahua, Mexico, on October 6, 1887. Guzman’s literary works centered on the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which he supported and advanced. His most famous novel, “El Aguila y la Serpient” (“The Eagle and the Serpent”) is a classic memoir of his experience […]
On December 8, 1886, one of Mexico’s most famous painters and personalities made his debut in Guanajuato, Mexico. Diego Rivera and his murals are famous throughout the world. Rivera was a rebel with a cause, who eschewed traditional painting techniques and developed his own style of politicized, socially conscious art. He studied in Mexico and […]
The beautiful lady holding high her torch of light over the New York City Harbor was formally dedicated by US President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France, who had been so influential in assisting the struggling US during the American Revolutionary War almost […]
It was a day of jubilation, a day of tears of joy, after centuries of unspeakable horrors – on October 7, 1886, Spain abolished slavery in Cuba. Since the 1500s, Havana had been one of the centers of the slave trade of the Spanish empire in the Americas. During the 1700s, this slave trade was […]
World peace, that lofty mission, was among the goals of Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo, a Spanish engineer, journalist, diplomat, politician, and professor. Rojo was born on July 23, 1886 in La Coruña, Spain. He worked in the League of Nations, the unsuccessful precursor to the United Nations, in its work on disarmament. When the Spanish Civil […]
Francisco Antonio Manzanares began his short term as New Mexican Delegate to the US House of Representatives on March 5, 1884. Manzanares was a successful businessman and entrepreneur who greatly contributed to the economic development of New Mexico and the southwest. He worked to develop the retail, railroad and banking industries, including the establishment of […]
The rich, complex murals of artist José Clemente Orozco grace the walls of respected institutions throughout the Americas. Orozco was born in Jalisco, Mexico, on November 23, 1883. Orozco faced numerous hardships in his passionate pursuit of art. A gunpowder explosion in his youth destroyed part of his left hand and wrist, and partially blinded […]
September 17, 1883 is the birthdate of William Carlos Williams, a renowned poet and medical doctor. Williams’ mother was a Sephardic (Spanish) Jew, and she was a tremendous inspiration for his work. Williams was born in Rutherford, New York, and educated in Geneva, Switzerland and at the University of Pennsylvania. Williams practiced as a pediatrician for […]
Carmen Tórtola Valencia began her grand dance in the world on her birthday on June 18, 1882, in Seville, Spain. Valencia was one of the last great dancers of the ‘belle époque’, a brief dreamy period at the start of the 20th century that ended with the brutality of World War I. A calculatedly mysterious […]
The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into US federal law on May 8, 1882. The Act was the first major immigration legislation based on nationality. It was designed to reduce the number of Americans of Chinese descent and to disenfranchise as many as possible through measures such as removing the right to naturalization. Chinese immigrants […]
The Noble prize winning Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez was born on December 23, 1881, in Moguer, Spain. This city is in Andalusia, the sun-kissed south of Spain on the Mediterranean Sea, and has been influenced by the waves of numerous civilizations and cultures. Jiménez was well traveled, and spent time in the US, Europe, Puerto […]
On October 25, 1881, one of the most well-known artists of the 20th century began his exuberant life in Malaga, Spain. Reportedly, Pablo Picasso’s first word as a child was reportedly “lápiz”–Spanish for “pencil”. He began drawing as a toddler, and continued to draw until his death. Picasso’s paintings became icons of his times and […]
Carlos Saavedra Lamas, an Argentine diplomat, scholar, and Noble Peace Prize winner, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 1, 1878. During the Great Depression and the regional conflicts within South America, he worked as a peacemaker. He served as Argentina’s Foreign Minister, as President of the Assembly of the League of Nations, and as […]
On May 18, 1876, American troops landed in Matamoras, Mexico, ostensibly “to police the town of Matamoras” while it was temporarily without a government (Really?). Matamoras is located on the north eastern Gulf coast of Mexico, near the border with Texas. Presumably, the US troops had their passports and work visas in order. Or maybe not? […]
June 22, 1875 is the birthday of Gregorio Cortez Lira, a legendary and controversial figure in the American West. The Mexicans viewed him as a folk hero and the Texans saw him as an outlaw. A deputy shot and wounded his brother over a dispute about horse thievery, and Cortez shot and killed the deputy. […]
On March 3, 1875, Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen” premiered in Paris. The story is set in Seville, Spain, in the early 19th century, and the protagonist is Carmen, a beautiful, free-spirited gypsy with a fiery temper. She seduces a naïve soldier, and events soon spiral to ruin them both. The very popular opera quickly established […]
Teresa Urrea, the gifted mystic, healer, and psychic of Mexican and Yaqui heritage, was born on October 15, 1873 in Rancho Santana, in northern central Mexico. After a traumatic illness, Teresa began to lapse into trances and believed that the Catholic Virgin Mary wished for her to cure people. Reports of her cures were astonishing […]
The Civil War raged through the Southwest as well as the South, and many Latinos fought to defend the USA. The Battle of Honey Springs was the largest battle fought in the Native American national territories, on July 17, 1873. Latinx Colonel Leonidas M. Martin organized and led the 10th Texas Calvary, and later commanded […]
July 4, 1872 marked the death of US Colonel Carlos Alvarez de la Mesa, a Spanish immigrant who fought at Gettysburg for the Union in the Garibaldi Guard. He was wounded in the battle, and was medically discharged shortly afterwards. His family donated over 200 letters that he wrote during the war to the New York […]
June 5, 1872 is the birthday of Ladislas Lazaro, the first Hispanic from Louisiana to serve in the US Congress. The Louisiana native graduated from Louisville Medical College in Kentucky and practiced in Washington, Louisiana. After serving in the State Senate, Lazaro was elected to Congress in 1912. He was reelected seven times. 05 de […]
He fought for freedom in two wars — in North America and the Caribbean — and on December 18, 1871, Adolfo Fernández Cavada was killed in battle in Cuba. Cavada was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, to his North American mother and Cuban father. After his father’s death, his mother moved her family back to her native […]
Cuba’s Ten Year War for independence from Spain began on the plantation of Carlos Céspedes in 1868. This event is celebrated annually on October 10 as the “Grito de Yara” (“Cry of Yara”). Céspedes declared Cuba’s independence and proclaimed freedom for Cuba’s slaves. The Cuban Liberation Army, as it became known, fought a guerilla style […]
The Grito de Lares, (Cry of Lares) was the beginning of the first Puerto Rican rebellion for independence against Spain, on September 23, 1868. About 1000 Puerto Rican rebels took control of the town of Lares and proclaimed themselves as the independent. Unfortunately, the rebels were quickly overpowered by the Spanish Royalist forces. (Poster Image […]
On February 7, 1868, US forces invaded Uruguay during an insurrection in the capital city of Montevideo. Their stated mission was to “protect foreign residents and the customs house”. The US forces arrived as undocumented aliens, without proper paperwork. El 7 de febrero de 1868, las fuerzas estadounidenses invadieron Uruguay durante una insurrección en la ciudad […]
January 18, 1867 is the birthday of poet, author and journalist Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, born in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Known as Rubén Darío, he was a child prodigy who learned to read by age 3 and published his first poem at age 13. His brilliant writing was acknowledged worldwide, and he has had a lasting […]
August 12, 1866 is the birthday of Jacinto Benavente y Martínez, the Nobel Prizing winning Spanish writer and playwright, born in Madrid, Spain. Martinez wrote and staged 172 plays. Martinez was the youngest son of a successful and influential pediatrician, and grew up with a secure place in Madrid’s comfortable upper class society before the […]
The state of Nevada was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864. The state was named for the Sierra Nevada mountain range; nevada translates to”snow-covered” in Spanish. The native nations initially inhabited the area. Francisco Garces, a Spanish missionary who had been part of the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition, traveled there in 1776; […]
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” This signature American phrase originated on August 5, 1864, during the Battle of Mobile Bay, with Latino Admiral David Farragut. Farragut was the son of a Spanish immigrant who fought for the US in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Mobile Bay was a crucial Union victory in […]
During the US Civil War at the Battle at Horse Landing on May 22, 1864, Confederate soldiers were assisted by Cuban-born immigrant Panchita Sánchez Miot. Sánchez and her sisters spied for the Confederacy, and the local Union intelligence never suspected that the little brown women were outwitting them. On a balmy night in May, Union officers […]
The philosopher, poet, and writer Jorge Agustin de Santayana, known as George Santayana, was born in Madrid, Spain on December 16, 1863. Santayana’s early life and childhood were complicated, with his mother’s world travels, his North American half-brothers, and his father’s residence in Spain. He reflected that he never felt at home anywhere, and was “a […]
On August 16, 1863, the Dominican Restoration War began when Dominican hero Gregorio Luperón launched a daring raid to raise the Dominican flag in the nation’s capital. The Dominicans had won their freedom 17 years earlier, but were recolonized by the Spanish after internal political and economic turmoil. The bloody and deadly guerilla war lasted […]
During the heat of the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee, Cuban born officer and Union patriot Julius Peter Garesché was killed by cannon fire on December 31, 1862. Garesché graduated from West Point Military Academy, and served with distinction during the Mexican American War. A devout Christian and Catholic, he organized a charitable society in the state […]
Federico Degetau, Puerto Rico’s first Resident Commissioner after it became a US territory, was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on December 5, 1862. Degetau was a man of many talents, and his career roles included politician, art collector, author, lawyer, coffee grower, and educator. He studied in Puerto Rico and at the University of Madrid, […]
On May 28, 1862, the newly formed Garibaldi Brigade (39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment) marched out of the state of New York to defend the struggling US Government. The bloody Civil War (1861 to 1865) between the northern and southern states was raging, and many immigrants enlisted to support the Union. Many of the […]
Mexican Independence Day? Not exactly. May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, celebrates the 1862 Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexican Army defeated the French Army. What were the French doing there? It’s complicated. After costly civil wars, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium suspending all foreign debt payments for two years. Their impatient […]
“Damn the torpedoes. Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed”, commanded David Glasgow Farragut on April 24, 1862. He shouted this now famous tweet during the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay, and the condensed version of his words have become a fixture in American language to connote courage and decisiveness. (“Drayton” and “Jouett” refer […]
Soaring through the air in a hot air balloon over the dangerous, flaming battlefield on April 19, 1862, Union officer Fernandez Cavada quickly and accurately sketched the deployments of enemy Confederate troops on the Virginia peninsula. Cavada was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, to a Cuban father and North American mother. After her husband’s death, Cavada’s […]
April 14, 1862 is the birthday of editor and politician Néstor Montoya in Old Albuquerque, New Mexico. Montoya worked tirelessly for the inclusion of Latinx in the political and social life of New Mexico. In 1889, he founded the weekly Spanish-language newspaper, “La Voz del Pueblo”, which advocated statehood for New Mexico. In 1910 Montoya […]
February 20, 1862 marked the start of the Battle of Valverde during the American Civil War. Union officer and Latinx Miguel E. Pino commanded the 2nd Regiment of New Mexico in the fight against the Confederate Army. The Confederates claimed victory but suffered heavy casualties. Pino and his men fought the Confederates the next month […]
On September 27, 1860, undocumented US forces landed in Colombia at the Bay of Panama, to protect North American interests during a revolution. (I think that we’ve heard this excuse before?) At least, that was the North American perspective. The Colombian perspective was that the US was interfering with their sovereignty while the Colombians legitimately […]
To the great relief of millions of Central American and Mexican citizens, terrorist and enemy combatant William Walker was killed on September 12, 1860 in Trujillo, Honduras. For a long brutal decade, Walker had invaded various countries, attempting to reestablish slavery for African Americans and enslave the Native Americans in undemocratic dictatorships headed by himself. […]
Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, the first Latinx to serve in the US Senate, was born in Allende, Mexico on December 7, 1859. At age 11, the Bishop of Arizona brought him to Arizona to study theology, and Larrazolo later completed his studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Larrazolo began working as a teacher, and became interested in local […]
On April 6, 1859, the US government officially recognized the Liberal government in Mexico’s War of Reform. Mexico’s War of Reform is part of the long struggle in the 19th century between Liberal and Conservative forces. The Liberals wanted a federalist government that limited that authority of the military and the Catholic Church. The Conservatives […]
On January 15, 1858, Benito Juárez was inaugurated for the first of his five terms as president of Mexico. Juárez was a lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca. He was the first indigenous national to serve as President of Mexico and to lead a country in the post 1492 Western Hemisphere. El 15 […]
On September 16, 1856, US troops landed in Panama, remaining until September 22. The stated reason was to “protect American interests during an insurrection.” The “insurrection” was actually a riot that had occurred in April of that year, involving a number of drunk tourists, an unpaid bar tab and a serving of watermelon. One of William […]
Juan Santamaria, a national hero of Costa Rica, was killed at the Battle of Rivas on April 11, 1856. Santamaria was the son of an impoverished single mother. The young Santamaria enlisted as a drummer boy. He courageously braved enemy fire and torched the hostel where North American William Walker and his enemy combatants were […]
On February 18, 1856, the American Party, also known as the “Know Nothing Party”, convened in Philadelphia to nominate its first presidential candidate. The goals of the Know-Nothings were to combat “foreign” influences in American society, particularly immigrants from Ireland and Italy. Party membership was limited to Protestant males of British-American lineage. The Know-Nothings also […]
As noted earlier this month, what would a revolution in South America be without the arrival of undocumented and uninvited North American troops? US and European naval forces landed in Montevideo, Uruguay, on November 25, 1855, during a battle between insurgents and Uruguayan government troops. Approximately 100 undocumented US troops stayed until November 29, occupying the customs […]
On June 1, 1855, enemy combatant, terrorist, and US citizen William Walker culminated his invasion of Nicaragua with a decisive military victory. Walker landed with 58 North American invaders who called themselves – ala Hollywood — “the immortals”. (No, I am not making this up.) Walker’s motive was to re-establish slavery, which misguided liberals in […]
On January 27, 1855 the first intercontinental railroad opened, running from Isla Manzanillo to Panama City, Panama. The railroad was built to assist North American travelers who were hurrying to the California Gold Rush. At that time, it was too difficult and dangerous to travel across the continental United States. The railroad was a 47.6 […]
These immigrants were reviled as aliens who didn’t belong in America, strangers who would undermine the American way of life – they were (take a guess) — Irish and German! (Of course, that’s just what you were thinking, correcto?) Violence against these aliens escalated in the mid-19th century, led by the “Know Nothing” anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic party. […]
On August 24, 1854, the National Emigration Convention of Colored People convened in Cleveland, Ohio. The US in the fourth year of the long, bloody, American Civil War (1861-1865) over slavery. The leader of the movement, Martin R. Delany, proposed a practical plan for African-Americans in the US to emigrate to the West Indies or […]
On January 18, 1854, North American William Walker (1824-1860) declared the new “Republic of Sonora” in that sovereign territory of Mexico. Not troubled by morality or legality, despite being a lawyer (or maybe because of it), Walker’s aim was to establish colonies in Latin America that would be incorporated into the US as slave states. […]
The ink dried on the Mexican-American treaty for the Venta de La Mesilla, known as the Gadsden Purchase in the US, on December 30, 1853. Under this treaty, the US government purchased Mexican territory in Arizona and New Mexico along the international border. This purchase was made several years after the Mexican American War, during which […]
He died in a blaze of gunfire, and his severed head was preserved in a jar of alcohol while joyful bounty hunters collected their reward. Or, maybe not? No one seems to know the true history and fate of Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta, whose legend lives on from the vanished era of the California Gold Rush […]
January 28, 1853 is the birthday of the poet and essayist Jose Marti, who founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party and led the struggle for independence from Spain. During his exile from Cuba due to his revolutionary politics, Marti spent about 15 years in the US, mostly in New York. His political writings stress both socioeconomic […]
The prolific archivist and media mogul of South American history, Jose Toribio Medina, was born on October 21, 1852, in Santiago, Chile. At the age of 22, he began his life’s commitment to catalog the manuscripts and histories of his native Chile. He included challenging and controversial topics, such as the record of the Inquisition […]
On February 3, 1852, undocumented US Marines landed in Buenos Aries and invaded Argentina to “protect American interests” during one of the Argentine civil wars. The Battle of Caseros was fought between Argentine forces on this date. The Marines remained through February 12, 1852. They returned later that year, apparently, uninvited and undocumented, on September […]
With grand celebration, California was admitted to the US as a state on September 9, 1850, now remembered as California Admissions Day. The area was explored by the Spanish in 1533, much to the consternation of the native American nations who were living there for thousands of years. At the end of the Mexican American war […]
On March 4, 1849, Zachary Taylor was sworn in as the 12th President of the US. He was the last North American President to own African-American slaves while in office. Earlier, under orders of the previous President James Polk, Taylor positioned US troops on Mexican territory to provoke the Mexicans into war (which would be known […]
On March 10, 1848, the US Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which formally ended the Mexican-American War. Depending on your point of view, Mexico either lost about 55% its territory to the US in this War, or the US stole about 55% of Mexico from the Mexicans. (Image of the United States of […]
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican-American War. The treaty was essentially dictated by the US armed forces occupying Mexico City, specifically by Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the State Department. Trist had accompanied General Winfield Scott as a diplomat and President Polk’s representative. Under this Treaty, the […]
On January 12, 1848, the reedy, determined voice of Congressman Abraham Lincoln filled the US House of Representatives, as Lincoln protested the Mexican American War. The War was then in its 20th month; the US military had thought it would last only two months (sound familiar?). Lincoln protested against the deceit of then President James […]
Alien US troops under the command of General Winfield Scott reached the outskirts of Mexico City, and began bombarding the city with artillery. Thousands of civilians were killed and injured during the invasion on September 14, 1847, during the US Mexican War (1846 to 1848). Scott initially reported 1000 soldiers killed and 1700 wounded in […]
June 29, 1847 is the birthday of New Mexico Delegate Tranquilino Luna, a descendant of Don Domingo de Luna, who came to New Mexico shortly after the Spanish reconquest in 1692. Luna graduated from the University of Missouri and worked in the livestock industry while dedicating time to public service. In 1880 he was elected […]
On March 9, 1847, the twenty-day Siege of Veracruz began, one of the key battles in the Mexican-American War. Major General Winfield Scott led the US troops. The troops began to build a siege line around the city, and soon started the artillery bombardment. On March 25, Mexican officials requested that women, children, and noncombatants […]
The Battle of Cañada at Santa Cruz, New Mexico (January 24, 1847), was part of the popular uprising known as the Taos Revolt in the Mexican-American War. Abuses by US soldiers against the Mexican citizens and Pueblo Native Americans sparked the fighting. Charles Bent, the first appointed territorial governor of New Mexico, had earlier requested […]
January 19, 1847 marked the start of the bloody Taos Revolt, a popular insurrection by Mexicans and Pueblo Native Americans against the US occupation of northern New Mexico during the Mexican-American War. The rebels were crushed by US troops and militia, and several Mexican and Native American prisoners of war were executed for “treason”. 19 […]
Screams and shots rang out on January 4, 1847 as civilians were massacred during the Caste War of Yucatan (1847–1901), Mexico. Unfortunately, this was one of many tragic days of civilian deaths during this conflict. The Mayans revolted against the European Spaniards and Americans of Spanish descent in years of terrible conflict. The Mayans achieved […]
President James K. Polk (1795 –1849) ordered the US Army at Corpus Christi, Texas, to advance to the Rio Grande in Mexican territory on January 13, 1846. Commanding General Zachary Taylor advanced with about half of the US land Army. Polk’s objective was to deliberately provoke Mexico into war, since the Mexican government had refused […]
The earth-shattering barrage continued from July 9 to July 15, 1854, as the undocumented US Navy bombarded and burned the town San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. The stated reason was to avenge an “insult” of the norteamericano Minister to Nicaragua. The number of civilian casualties was not listed in my research sources. The terror of the […]
After centuries of Spanish rule, Florida was admitted as the 27th US state on March 3, 1845. Florida was first sighted by the Spanish in 1513, who named the land “La Florida”, the flowery land. The Spanish established Saint Augustine in 1565, which is the oldest European settlement in North America, predating the Jamestown 1607 […]
On February 27, 1844, the Dominican Republic declared its independence from Haiti. The two countries share the same island in the Caribbean. The Tainos people settled the island in the 7th century. Columbus landed in 1492, and there went the neighborhood. Santo Domingo, its capital, is the first permanent European settlement in the Americas. The […]
Before Barack and Michelle or George and Laura, the admired power couple of the Americas was Benito and Margarita Júarez, the President and First Lady of Mexico. The couple married on July 31, 1843 in Oaxaca, a province in southwestern Mexico on the Pacific Coast. Benito Júarez is one of Mexico’s most revered presidents. He […]
Some people just can’t wait for the action to start. On October 19, 1842, US naval officer T.A.C. Jones invaded and occupied Monterrey, California. California was then part of the Mexican nation, after its settlement by the Spanish in 1770. The undocumented Jones and his undocumented squadron thought that war had started, and decided to make […]
June 26, 1842 is the birthday of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a rebel soldier for the southern Confederacy who fought at the battles of Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff and Shiloh. (Yes, you read this correctly.) Velazquez was a Cuban born woman who cross-dressed as a male Confederate soldier during the Civil War. She enlisted in 1861, […]
March 22, 1841 is the birth date of Lieutenant Augusto Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican who volunteered to serve in the Union Army during the North American Civil War (1861-1865). Rodríguez defended Washington, DC, against Confederate attacks, and led his men in battle at Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork. El 22 de marzo de 1841 es el […]
“What is poetry? you ask, while fixing your blue pupil on mine. What is poetry! And you’re asking me’? Poetry… is you.” These are lines from one of the many Spanish poems written by Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida, known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, whose birthday was February 17, 1836. Bastida is regarded as a great […]
The US Marines landed in the cities of Callao and Lima in the sovereign nation of Peru on December 10, 1835. The Marines were undocumented illegal aliens, but despite this small matter of paperwork, they stayed until January 24, 1836. The US government ordered this invasion of Peru to protect American interests during an attempted revolution. […]
June 14, 1835 is the birthday of Trinidad Romero, born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As an officer of the Spanish Army assigned to Santa Fe, his grandfather was one of the earliest settlers in New Mexico. In 1851 Romero began a merchandising and freight operation on the Santa Fe Trail. He entered politics and […]
Charles Darwin, the evolutionary biologist and writer, spent substantial time in South and Central America observing nature to formulate his important work, “The Evolution of the Species”. The birds and reptiles on the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, were of particular interest to Darwin. Darwin sailed around Tierra del Fuego (the Land of […]
He proposed an unprecedented, radical theory, which was greeted with great skepticism by the leading medical and scientific authorities of the time. But Carlos Juan Finlay, a physician and epidemiologist born in Camaguey, Cuba, in 1833, persisted in his research. Finlay’s father was Scottish and his mother was French. He was educated in France, Philadelphia, and […]
February 7, 1833 is the birthday of the prolific Peruvian writer, historian and politician, Manuel Ricardo Palma Soriano (1833 – 1919). One of his most famous works is Tradiciones Peruanas, written in the tradiciones literary genre. Tradiciones are short stories that combine history and fiction, similar to the English-language historical fiction genre, and are written […]
On April 13, 1832, Ecuadorian author Juan Maria Montalvo was born in the provincial town of Ambato. Montalvo was a leading liberal polemicist who challenged dictators in his native country. (A polemicists is a person with argumentative and controversial views; in the 21st century he would be a talk show host on MSNBC.) When one of […]
The first (and to date only) Latinx Governor of California was born on October 31, 1831. Romualdo Pacheco was born in Santa Barbara, California; his father was a native of Guanajuato, Mexico, who died when Pacheco was an infant. His Scottish stepfather sent him to be educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, and he later returned to […]
February 14, 1831 marked the death of one of the leading revolutionary generals in the Mexican War of Independence, Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña. Guerrero served briefly as the second president of Mexico and was the country’s first multiracial president with European, Native American and African heritages. Guerrero distinguished himself in February 1812 at the Battle […]
June 21, 1829 is the birthday of Miguel Antonio Otero, born in Valencia, Nuevo México. He graduated from Pingree College, where he taught while beginning his studies in law. In 1854 he was appointed attorney general for the territory and in 1856 he was seated as a Delegate to the US House of Representatives. He […]
The US and Mexico signed the Treaty of Limits on January 12, 1828, a few decades before the Mexican-American War. As Mexican historians will attest, given that the US subsequently stole about a third of the Republic of Mexico, the name of the treaty was … well … very ironic. The treaty was signed by […]
In the first of numerous conflicts and revolutions over the future state of Texas, North American immigrants in the sovereign nation of Mexico declared themselves independent on December 21, 1826. The leader of the insurgency, Hayden Edwards, had received a land grant from the generous Mexican government near Nacogdoches in eastern Texas. He then decided to steal […]
Costa Rican military heroine Pancha Carrasco was born on April 8, 1826. Armed with a loaded rifle and an apron full of bullets, she joined her countrymen at the Battle of Rivas in 1856. Carrasco defended Costa Rica against William Walker, the terrorist invader from the North. Walker was trying to establish a slave holding […]
On August 6, 1825, Bolivia declared its independence from Spain, which was finally recognized by the Spanish in 1847. Bolivia was part of the mighty Incan Empire, conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century. The country was named for Simon Bolivar, the “George Washington of South America”, who led wars of independence across the […]
The Federal Constitution of Mexico was ratified on October 4, 1824, after the overthrow of Mexican Emperor Augustin I, a former general who had decided to crown himself. The representative federal republic was christened the United Mexican States. The constitution promulgated three branches of power: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The Legislative branch was represented by […]
“We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. …. with the Governments who have declared their […]
Latinx soldiers fought on both sides in America’s bloody the Civil War (1861 – 1865). Among the Confederate officers was Santos Benavides, born on November 1, 1823 in in Laredo, Texas. Benavides was the great-great- grandson of the founder of Laredo. Benavides was commissioned a captain in the Thirty-third Texas Cavalry and was the highest […]
Joseph Marion Hernández, the first Latinx to serve in Congress and the first Delegate from the territory of Florida, began his term on September 30, 1822. Hernández was born in St. Augustine Florida. He served in the US Army during the Florida Indian Wars, earning an appointment as Brigadier General of the Mounted Volunteers. Joseph […]
On September 7, 1822, the nation of Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. Brazil is the largest country in South America and is the world’s fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population, with over 211 million beautiful people (2019 population) and the 12th largest Gross Domestic Product (2020 GDP) in the world. El 7 de septiembre de 1822, […]
Fortunately, during at least the 18th Century, US Presidents issued dignified and respectful statements about South American sovereignty, in sharp contrast to our 21st Century Tweeter-in-Chief. On March 8, 1822, President James Monroe sent a message to Congress demanding recognition of five Spanish American nations: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. In his message, Monroe […]
On September 15, 1821, the nations of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador declared independence from Spain. The nations briefly formed the United Provinces of Central America, but this union dissolved in 1840. The populations of these countries are multi-ethnic, and many people are descended from the advanced Mayan civilization that dominated most […]
In one of the few bloodless battles in the South American wars of independence, Latino military officers stationed in Guayaquil, Ecuador, took over the barracks of the Spanish colonial forces on October 9, 1820. The military and local politicos quickly organized a self-governing junta, and their spark of independence inspired similar declarations throughout Ecuador. The […]
The Adams Onis Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, on February 22, 1819 by John Quincy Adams, US Secretary of State, and Luis de Onis, the Spanish minister. This treaty between the US and Spain gave Florida to the US and set out a boundary between the US and New Spain (now Mexico). This territory […]
On February 12, 1818, the nation of Chile formally declared its independence from Spain after a struggle of almost 8 years, and promulgated its Declaration of the Independence of Chile. Today, Chile is one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations, and is one of the leading nations on the continent in per capita […]
As the firing squad readied their guns, one woman stood defiantly among the eight rebels kneeling in the central plaza of Bogota, Colombia, calmly gazing at death. Policarpa Salavarrieta was one of the revolutionary leaders in Colombia’s wars of independence against Spain. La Pola, as she was known, worked with her brothers to organize a highly […]
On February 8, 1817, Jose de San Martin, Bernardo O’Higgins, and their army completed their heroic twenty-one day journey across the Andes Mountains from Argentina to Chile. The freedom-fighters were determined to liberate Chile from royalist Spanish rule. Casualties were terribly high; one-third of the 4,000 men that Martin commanded perished during the journey. El […]
José Manuel Gallegos had several careers in his life, first as priest and later as politician. Gallegos was born on October 30, 1815 in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Gallegos attended parochial schools and studied theology at a Jesuit college in Durango, Mexico. Back in New Mexico, Gallegos became friends with David Merriwether, a Democrat […]
June 11, 1815 is the birthday of Latina writer Angustias de la Guerra Ord, in San Diego, California. Ord’s book, “Occurrences in Hispanic California”, is an important documentary record of the transition of California from Spanish-Mexican ownership to US statehood. Ord personally knew the major actors in this period of intrigue and betrayal. She was […]
March 27, 1814 is the birthday of Diego Archuleta, the first Latino to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in the US armed forces. Archuleta was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the Mexican American War, Archuleta fought with Mexico against the US. During the US Civil War, he joined the Union troops against the […]
Relationships between leading personalities in the South and North Americas were close during the late 18th century. President Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the US and the writer of the Declaration of Independence, was a good friend of Brazilian intellectual Abbe Correa de Serra. Serra visited Jefferson several times at Jefferson’s home in Monticello, […]
On May 27, 1812, hundreds of freedom fighting women of Cochabamba, Bolivia, joined in the May 27, 1812 Battle of La Coronilla. The women (and men) were fighting against the Spanish rulers in the Bolivian War of Independence. The Bolivian War of Independence began in 1809 and lasted until 1825. Bolivians celebrate Mother’s Day on […]
On March 26, 1812, a devastating earthquake rocked Caracas, Venezuela and its first independent government. The quake struck on the morning of Holy Thursday, as Venezuelans prepared for the holiday. The devastation seriously impacted the First Republic of Venezuela, which lasted from 19 April 1810 to 25 July 1812. Francisco de Miranda was one of […]
The church bells of La Merced in San Salvador, the capital of the nation El Salvador, rang out for freedom on November 5, 1811. Salvadoran priest and doctor José Matías Delgado sparked this 1811 Independence Movement from Spain. The rebels held power for a few months, but were soon defeated. In 1814, the freedom-fighters began their resistance […]
As bullets from the firing squad cruelly cracked the early morning air, Father Miguel Hidalgo, the rebel priest, crumbled to the desert earth. Hidalgo is regarded as one of founders of modern Mexico. Born to parents of Spanish heritage in Mexico, his assignment in the region of Dolores, Mexico, transformed him from social activist to […]
The South American democratic revolutions against the Spanish royalists gained momentum in the early 19th century. On July 5, 1811, Venezuela declared independence from Spain, the first country on the southern continent to begin its liberation from colonial powers. Venezuela had a difficult path to its independence. The first Republic of Venezuela did not fully […]
In the dawn hours of September 16, 1810 in the small town of Dolores, Mexico, Spanish priest-turned-rebel leader Miguel Hidalgo declared Mexico’s independence from Spain. The movement was initially known as the “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”). As church bells rang, Hidalgo urged his people to revolt against their colonial oppressors. The first major engagement of the […]
Juan Nepomuceno Seguín, born on October 29, 1806, is regarded as a hero in Texas for his service in the war to gain independence from Mexico. (Yes, you read this correctly: a Latinx hero in the Republic of Texas’ War of Independence.) As the Texas independence movement began to unfold, many Anglos and Mexican Americans […]
On June 27, 1806, British troops captured Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the first British invasion of the Rio de la Plata region. These invasions were during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1796 to 1808, one of a series of six wars. The British army occupied Buenos Aires for 46 days before being expelled. They tried again […]
It was the real estate deal of the century, brought to you by your US federal government. The US Senate approved the Louisiana Purchase on October 20, 1803. The western half of the Mississippi River basin was purchased for $15 million, about four cents per acre. The size of the nation was doubled with the stroke […]
David Glasglow Farragut was born on July 5, 1801, to the son of Spanish immigrant and Revolutionary War soldier Jorge Farragut. He began his service to his country in the War of 1812, and later hunted for the pirates of the Caribbean (the real sailing criminals, not Disney and Johnny Depp). Farragut was the hero […]
In 1798, the Marines were looking for a few good men – unfortunately, very few. On July 11, 1798, the US Marine Corps was re-instituted as a whites-only unit, with the provision that “no negro, mulatto or Indian to be enlisted”. This policy remained in effect until 1942. The 21st century Marine Corps has embraced […]
A bold, courageous woman with a mindset that was centuries before her time, Manuela Sáenz was born on December 27, 1797 in Quito, Ecuador. She could have had a comfortable life as a socialite married to a wealthy English merchant, but she decided to support the South American revolutionary movement against the colonial Spanish. Sáenz […]
Remember the Alamo? Or perhaps like a number of people, you’d rather not. February 21, 1794 is the birthday of Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, or Santa Anna, the controversial Mexican general and dictator who fought against Mexicans and Texans at the Battle of the Alamo in […]
August 4, 1793 is the birthday of José Mariano Hernández, an American politician, plantation owner, and soldier. Hernández was born in Saint Augustine when it was a Spanish holding, and became a loyal US citizen when the territory became part of the US. He was the first Latinx to serve in US Congress and the […]
On August 26, 1792, Manuel Oribe was born into the era of South America’s revolutions. Oribe was a key influence in shaping the formation of his home country of Uruguay. The independence movement from Spain began in 1811, and Oribe was a strong supporter. The small country’s history after independence was tumultuous, as it battled the […]
The murmurs of awe and astonishment grew louder as the dust and fragments cleared to reveal a wonder hidden for centuries: the Aztec Stone of the Sun, also known as the Aztec Calendar Stone. The majestic sculpture is approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and weighs 24 tons. The stone was uncovered in Zócalo, […]
Rafael Cordero was an educator and humanitarian who sparked public education in Puerto Rico. Cordero was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 24, 1790. The entrepreneurial Cordero owned and managed a cigar shop. Cordero was the son of free African-Americans. At that time, young African Americans were not allowed to attend school. For […]
On May 31, 1790, Peruvian cartographer and naval officer Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino explored and charted the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This Strait is the wide waterway stretching from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the San Juan Islands on the east, with Vancouver Island, Canada to the north. The international boundary […]
On April 30, 1789, Spanish Ambassador Diego Maria de Gardoqui marched in the Inaugural parade of his colleague and friend, newly elected President George Washington. Gardoqui had assisted Washington and the rebel army throughout the American Revolutionary War, sending shipment after shipment of supplies financed by himself and the government of Spain. After the Revolution, […]
Félix Varela y Morales was an educator, priest, social activist, writer and publisher. He was born in Havana, Cuba, on November 20, 1787. He was educated in Saint Augustine, Florida, when it was still under Spanish rule. As a social reformer, Varela’s beliefs were far advanced for his era; he opposed both slavery and the […]
In the midst of the soft rush of wind through palm trees and the ocean breezes of the Pacific, the Spanish mission of Santa Barbara was dedicated on December 4, 1786. Known as the “Queen of the Missions”, Santa Barbara was the 10th of 21 California missions founded by the Spanish. The original buildings were […]
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo, one of the founders of the nation of Chile, was born on October 15, 1785, in Santiago, Chile. A charismatic man from a wealthy family, Carrera was of Spanish Basque descent, as were several South American revolutionary leaders. Carrera had fought with the Spanish Army in Europe, and joined the independence […]
One of the first Latinx to visit the newly independent United States was Venezuelan born Francisco de Miranda (1750 – 1816). He was a huge fan of the American Revolution, and met with George Washington and other notable Americans. Thomas Paine, the author of the key publication, Common Sense, and Miranda were BFFs. A keen […]
A historical link between two revolutionary generations, one from North America and the other from South America, was formed when Francisco de Miranda and George Washington met face to face on a cold, wintry day in Philadelphia. The Venezuelan-born Miranda was later a key influencer in the rebellions against the Spanish. Washington had recently disbanded the […]
After seven long difficult years of rebellion, the North American Revolutionary War finally ended on September 3, 1783. The British signed treaties with representatives of the newly independent US and separately with representatives of Spain and France. The Spanish had aided the US Continental Army throughout the entire rebellion, starting with supplying crucial military equipment […]
On August 23, 1783, a cordial meeting with held between diplomat of the rebel North American colonies, Michael Carmichael, and the Spanish monarch, King Carlos III. Carmichael was presented as the Chargé de’Affairs of the United States, an official of a sovereign nation. Recognizing the tiny United States of America by a powerful monarch was […]
As the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1983 to end the American Revolutionary War and liberate the North American colonies, the infant Simon de Bolivar made his debut in South America. The man who became known as the “George Washington of South America” was born on July 24, Bolivar , in Caracas, Venezuela. Bolivar […]
On March 16, 1782, Spanish troops under the command of Mathias de Gálvez, father of Bernard de Gálvez, defeated British troops in Honduras. At that time, the British were very busy with illegal logging operations in Honduras. The Spanish declared war on the British in 1779, and their military campaign in the southern theater was […]
The victorious general, soon to be President, and his gracious wife were the most sought after guests for the December 1781 holidays in Philadelphia. The smoke of battle had cleared, and General George Washington and his wife, Martha, were settling in for the winter. Although the power couple received invitations from every leading socialite in the […]
On September 5, 1781, one of the most important battles in the history of the US was fought, without any North Americans. The Battle of the Chesapeake Capes in Virginia was fought by the French Navy, aided by Spanish funds and logistical support. This naval victory prevented British naval reinforcements from reaching the British Army […]
Originally christened as “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula”, the city of Los Angeles was founded by the Spanish governor Felipe de Neve and 44 Spanish settlers on September 4, 1781. Los Angeles became part of Mexico in 1821, and was later stolen by undocumented US invaders in the […]
In the summer of 1781 – which was so crucial to the victory of the American Revolutionary War — the French war fleet positioned in the Caribbean sailed north to assist the rebels. On August 30, 1781, to the joy of General George Washington, the fleet arrived in the Chesapeake Bay. The French were financed and […]
On January 22, 1781, Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis and Bernardo de Gálvez met for the first time in Havana, Cuba. Saavedra was a soldier, diplomat and agent sent by Spanish King Carlos III to the Caribbean. His mission was to assist the North American rebels in our fight against the British in the American Revolutionary […]
On January 2, 1781, Spanish Captain Eugenio Pourré and his soldiers left the Spanish fort in Saint Louis, Illinois, to march over 350 miles in the cold winter to Saint Joseph, Michigan. There, they battled against the British who were trying to hold the western states during the American Revolutionary War. The Spanish quickly captured […]
On March 17, 1780, George Washington declared one of the earliest celebrations of Saint Patrick’s Day in the US as our country struggled with the rebellion against the British. The Army was in winter camp at Morristown, New Jersey, during some of the coldest days of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army included large numbers of […]
On March 14, 1780, Spanish Army soldiers and local volunteers led by Bernardo de Galvez captured the British Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama. This victory was part of Galvez’s sweep from New Orleans, Louisiana to Pensacola, Florida. The Spanish forces effectively diverted many British Army troops from fighting against the US Continental Army in the […]
On September 24, 1778, the norteamericano ship Scorpion led by Captain Ivis departed from Spain to the rebel colonies in North America, with supplies for the Continental Army. This equipment included blankets, quinine, and cloth for uniforms, which were badly needed throughout the American Revolutionary War. Shipments were arranged by Diego Gardoqui, a Spanish Basque merchant […]
The North American ship “Hawke” commanded by Captain Brazilla departed from Spain to the US on September 16, 1778. The ship carried supplies for the rebel Continental Army, including blankets, quinine, and cloth for uniforms. Shipments were arranged by Diego Gardoqui, a Spanish Basque merchant, first Ambassador from Spain to the US, and friend of […]
August 20, 1778 is the birthday of Chilean independence leader, Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme. O’Higgins fought with José de San Martín to free Chile from Spanish rule. O’Higgins studied in London as a young man, where he met Venezuelan freedom fighter, Francisco de Miranda. As were many of the US Founding Fathers, O’Higgins was a Mason. […]
February 25, 1778 is the birthday of Jose Francisco de San Martin, one of the most important freedom fighters in South America during the 19th century. Martin was born in Argentina. He was one of the leaders of the daring march across the Andes Mountains to liberate Chile from the Spanish, and was the first […]
On the winter day of January 10, 1778, US rebel officer James Willing departed from Spanish owned Nueva Orleáns (New Orleans), with military armaments and supplies for the US Continental Army fighting against the British. Willing traveled up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to reach the eastern ports. The military supplies were provided on credit […]
The Spanish empire in Europe and the Americas provided assistance to the North American rebels throughout the American Revolutionary War. Not wanting to provoke the British into war before they were ready, the Spanish managed covert operation to send aid to the Americans. They also attempted to send emissaries. On December 31, 1777, Juan de […]
Do you know the way to San José? Latinx explorers and settlers certainly did, and they founded the city on November 29, 1777. José Joaquín de la Santísima Trinidad Moraga, who was born in the area of the Spanish empire now known as Arizona, led the expedition. San José was Spain’s first civilian and secular settlement in […]
In July 1777 the Spanish ship “Salida Barra” departed from Spain to run the British blockade of the US rebel colonies. A key tactic by the British was to prevent the struggling colonies from receiving supplies from overseas, which they could not produce in their war torn country. The ship was carrying supplies for the […]
On June 25, 1777, the ship Neptuno departed from Spain to the US, with supplies for the rebellious Continental Army. The shipment included blankets, quinine, and cloth for uniforms, and was arranged by Diego Gardoqui, a Spanish Basque merchant and first Ambassador from Spain to the US. The supplies were paid for by the Spanish […]
On April 17, 1777, the rebel American ships Alexander and Charlotte with Captains Williamson and Saint Clair slipped out of the Spanish harbor in Bilbao and outran the British blockade to land in the rebel colonies. The vessels carried supplies for the US Continental Army, including blankets and cloth for uniforms. The shipments were arranged […]
On March 25, 1777, the American ship, Tabby, with Captain Hodges departed from Spain to the US, carrying supplies to the rebels. The ship brought blankets, quinine (medicine), and cloth for uniforms. The shipments were arranged by Spanish Basque merchant Diego Maria de Gardoqui, and the supplies were paid for by the Spanish government. Meanwhile, […]
On March 10, 1777, Spanish Minister José Moñino, conde de Floridablanca, wrote a secret dispatch concerning Spain’s support of the North American rebels in the struggle against Britiain, “the fate of the colonies interests us very much, and we shall do for them everything that circumstances permit….” Moñino also discussed the steady flow of aid […]
In January 1777, Diego Maria de Gardoqui managed the loading of the ship Rockingham with thousands of blankets, tents, and muskets, and sent it from Bilbao, Spain, to the US rebel army fighting the British in the colonies. Gardoqui was a Spanish Basque merchant who managed the early smuggling operations of the Spanish government to […]
Bernardo de Gálvez celebrated the New Year of 1777 with his inauguration as the Governor of Louisiana in Spanish New Orleans. The Spanish were already shipping covert arms and ammunition to aid the North American rebels against the British Army. The thirty-something Gálvez continued and greatly expanded the shipments of supplies from the Spanish government. […]
The Spanish empire and its economy dominated the Americas in the late 18th century, and the Spanish peso was the premier currency in the rebellious North American colonies. The Spanish peso was so widely used that even the British paid their soldiers in the colonies in silver pesos. The majority of the silver for the […]
The rustle of swallows’ wings and their soft songs have graced the area now known as San Juan Capistrano since all of our times began. The region was initially settled by the Native Americans. The Spanish arrived in 1775, and founded the Mission of San Juan Capistrano on November 1, 1776. This mission was the […]
Today is the birth date of an unacknowledged hero of the 18th century American Revolutionary War, the Spanish soldier and secret agent, Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis. Saavedra was born in Sevilla, Spain, on October 4, 1746, and fought in the military campaigns in Algiers. He was sent to the Caribbean region by King Carlos III, […]
On July 4, 1776, as the ink began to dry on the US Declaration of Independence on the East Coast, two Spanish priests began their journey to find a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the California missions. The priests were accompanied by a small number of explorers and a talented cartographer (a “cartographer” […]
In sunlit wilderness on June 29, 1776, the Spanish founded the city of San Francisco. California was then part of the Spanish empire, and the founding was days before the US colonies declared their independence from Britain. On that date, Spanish padres said a mass among the trees near where Fort San Carlos was built […]
On May 23, 1776, shortly before the July 4 Declaration of Independence was signed, the Cuban vessel, the Santa Barbara, was captured by a British warship in the Delaware Bay. On board was Miguel Eduardo Antonio, sent by the Spanish government in Havana to make contact with the North American rebels. He was traveling under the guise […]
On March 28, 1776, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza selected the site for the Presidio in San Francisco, California. The Presidio, or fortress, was built later in September of that year, and served as an important location for the Spanish colonization of California. Anza and his expeditionary forces traveled from Mexico to San Francisco from 1774 […]
The journey began at the Royal Presidio of San Ignacio de Tubac in southern Arizona on October 23, 1775, and the weary travelers finally arrived at the Royal Presidio of San Carlos de Monterey in California in June of the following year. The Expedition was a large party comprising Anza, 3 Franciscan priests and their servants, […]
In the cool dark of night on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and his social network of riders galloped through the Massachusetts countryside. Their mission was to warn the local citizens that British troops were on their way to seize stores of gunpowder, a precious imported commodity. The lack of this crucial commodity plagued the rebels […]
On February 9, 1775, the British Parliament declared the state of Massachusetts formally in rebellion. Jeremiah Lee, a rebel on the Massachusetts Committee of Safety wrote to the Spanish merchant, Diego Maria de Gardoqui, asking him to help with procuring military supplies. That same month, Gardoqui managed to smuggle gunpowder and weapons into Massachusetts. In […]
With his crew and ship Santiago, Juan José Pérez Hernández (1725 –1775) departed from New Spain (South America) on January 25, 1777 to explore the northwestern coast of North America, part of Spain’s empire. He reached the area that was later designated as Anchorage, Alaska, and explored islands around Vancouver. Perez named a mountain peak […]
On January 8, 1774, a Spanish government expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza departed to explore the territory of the Spanish empire in Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Anza was searching for a route between Sonora and Alta California, to begin colonizing this territory. The expedition departed from southern Arizona near the area that […]
In the autumn breeze on the beautiful coast of California, Spanish friar Junipero Serra founded the mission of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa on September 1, 1772. California was then part of the Spanish empire, which had stolen it from the First Nations, only to have it later stolen by the US. This mission was […]
In the early autumn light of southern California, two Spanish friars founded the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel on September 8, 1771. This mission was the fourth in the series of Spanish missions that stretched along El Camino Real on the California coast. The mission is now a Catholic parish that ministers in English, Spanish and Vietnamese […]
In the warm air of northern California, Spanish friar Junipero Serra founded his third mission of San Antonio de Padua on July 14, 1771. The mission was developed as a working farm with gristmill and tannery. After extensive refurbishments due to damage from an earthquake, it is now open as a church, retreat center, and museum. […]
The Carmel Mission in Carmel, California was founded on June 3, 1770. This mission was the second in a chain of 21 Spanish missions along the coast of California. Each mission was positioned about one day’s ride on horseback from the next. Father Junipero Serra (1713 – 1784), the controversial founder of the California mission […]
King Carlos III of Spain expelled the Jesuits from North and South America with a decree on January 29, 1767. Carlos believed that the Jesuits were too close to the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Jesuits built missions in Arizona and Baja California, beginning in the late 17th century. This expulsion opened the way for the […]
On March 5, 1766, Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Girault (1716 –1795) administered the transfer of the Louisiana territories from the French to the Spanish. Ulloa was a Spanish general, explorer, author, astronomer, colonial administrator and the first Spanish governor of Louisiana. He accomplished scientific research in Peru, and published “Relación histórica del viaje […]
On February 10, 1763, Spain, Britain and other nations signed the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years War. As part of this Treaty, Spain was forced to concede Florida to the British. Spain had explored Florida in 1513 and established Saint Augustine in 1565 as the first continually occupied European settlement in North […]
On June 6, 1762, British forces began their fight in the Battle of Havana, Cuba in the Seven Year’s War. Havana was one of the most important cities in the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Unfortunately for the Spanish, their mail ship announcing the outbreak of the War was captured by the British, and the […]
On May 30, 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain, Francisco Goya (1746-1828) began his passionate, talented life. Goya was one of Spain’s most influential and prominent artists, whose paintings, graphics, and drawings often defied the conventionality of the 18th century. The Italian notion of beauty had dominated European art, and Goya fearlessly introduced human images of cruelty, […]
February 9, 1737 is the birthday of Thomas Paine, one of the most influential people in the American Revolution. Relationships between the Americas were close during the 18th century. Paine was a friend of Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, whom Paine greatly admired. Paine wrote that, “He is a man of talents and enterprise, and the […]
On February 26, 1733, the first Catholic Mass was celebrated at the first Catholic Church in the 13 North American colonies. Saint Joseph’s Church was founded by the Jesuits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The church was a short walk from the home of Juan de Miralles, the Spanish diplomat and merchant who resided in Philadelphia to […]
The earth rumbled through the beautiful colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala on September 29, 1717, destroying much of the city’s stunning Baroque architecture. But the city’s strong-hearted inhabitants persisted in restoring the grandeur and elegance of their treasured home, and today Antigua is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is surrounded by […]
Birthday of King Carlos III of Spain, who ruled from 1759 to 1788, during the time of the American Revolutionary War. Carlos III authorized covert military aid to the struggling North American rebels beginning in 1776 and throughout the seven years of the rebellion. The Spanish declared war on the British in June of 1779, […]
Junipero Serra, the zealous and controversial Spanish priest whose influence on California’s history and architecture continues to this day, was born on November 24, 1713 in Majorca, Spain. As a missionary in North America, Serra founded a total of nine missions from San Diego to San Francisco, forming the base of 21 missions throughout California. […]
June 28, 1710 is the birth date of Pedro Romero de Terreros, the Conde de Regla, born in Cortegana, Spain. His small town in Spain offered him few opportunities, so he immigrated to Mexico in 1728 to seek a better life. He began his career in Queretaro, a small elegant city in central Mexico, and […]
On August 10, 1680, the Native Americans launched the Great Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish colonists. Missions were destroyed, 21 Franciscans were killed, and 2,000 Spanish colonists were driven out of New Mexico. The Spanish did not return until 1692. The revolt was in response the Spanish Governor’s arrest of 47 Pueblo medical doctors, who were accused […]
April 7, 1614 marks the death of one of Spain’s most famous and beloved painters, who was actually Greek: El Greco. Born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Crete in 1541, El Greco immigrated to Spain in 1577. He settled in Toledo where he was commissioned for a number of major religious paintings and portraits. His timeless and […]
Surf was up! It was a beautiful sunny day in San Diego, on November 10, 1602, as Spanish explorer and invader Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548 – 1624) sailed through the waves into the gorgeous bay. Vizcaíno was an accomplished globetrotter, and traveled to Europe, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico and South America — an impressive record in the […]
On March 19, 1601, Spanish architect, artist, and sculptor Alonzo Cano began his brilliant, tempestuous life. He was an artist in the royal court. The Spanish King appointed him as chief architect of the cathedral in Granada, Spain. Cano added Baroque architecture to the exterior façade, as well as Baroque sculpture in the interior. El […]
Although the Native Americans lacked guns, germs, steel and horses, they continued to valiantly defend themselves against the Spanish invaders. On December 21, 1598, the Mapuche Nation of southern Chile defeated the Spanish in a major battle at Cualaba. Led by their commanding officer, Pelentaru, the Mapuche launched a surprise night raid against the Spanish, killing […]
On April 30, 1598, explorer Juan de Oñate forged the El Paso River and claimed all of New Mexico beyond the river for Spain. Oñate was born in Zacatecas, Mexico to Spanish-Basque colonists and silver mine owners. He married Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma, the great granddaughter of the Aztec Emperor. Oñate ruthlessly suppressed […]
Pained with regret and remorse, the last survivor of the original Spanish conquistadors (invaders) of Peru, wrote his last will remembering the impact of the conquest, on September 18, 1589. Don Mancio Serra de Leguisamo wrote in his will: “[W]e found these kingdoms in such good order, and the said Incas governed them in such […]
The city of Córdoba, Argentina, was founded on July 6, 1573, by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. Córdoba is located in the heart of Argentina, and the area was initially settled by the Comechingón nation. Córdoba is the country’s second largest city and hosts Argentina’s second largest university. The first Jesuit University in Argentina was established […]
On June 23, 1572, the last Inca emperor, Tupac Amaru, retreated from the Inca city of Vilcabamba, Peru, the last stronghold of the Inca empire. The Incans had been fighting for their sovereignty across South America since the Spanish invasion in 1524, and Vilcabamba was the site of their final battle. Tupac Amaru managed to […]
La Laguna encomienda, now known as the Laguna province in the Philippines, was founded on July 28, 1571 by the Spaniards. La Laguna is one of the oldest provinces in the nation of the Philippines. It is located southeast of the metropolis of Manila, the country’s capital. The Spanish invaded and colonized the Philippines until the end of the Spanish […]
The Spanish had explored and navigated the Virginia waterways decades before the English established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown. In a letter dated September 12, 1570 the Spanish in Virginia reported to headquarters in Havana, detailing their voyage from Florida and the scenario in Virginia. At this time, the Virginia territory had experienced several […]
The French and Spanish initially battled over the territory in the southern US. French Huguenots, religious followers of John Calvin, constructed a fort at Caroline, Florida, near the mouth of the St. Johns River. In the rainy dawn of September 20, 1565, Spanish officer Pedro Menendez de Aviles led an attack against the French heretics. Women […]
On August 28, 1565, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sighted the verdant, palm covered land that eventually became the US state of Florida. This date was the feast day of Saint Augustine, and Aviles named the territory after him. The land was already civilized and owned by the First Nation of the Seminoles, but […]
On April 27, 1565, Cebu was established as the first Spanish settlement and invasion in the Philippines. By the 17th century, the Spanish colony had grown to the world’s mega-mall, with traders and merchants from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas gathering to wheel and deal. For over a century, Cebu was a hub for […]
High in the mountains that kiss the clouds, Spanish explorer Alonso de Mendoza founded the city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) on October 20, 1548. The streets and plazas of the carefully planned colonial city are witnesses to a turbulent history, including the siege of the city by the Aymara nation in 1781 and […]
On March 29, 1546, the city of Salvador da Bahia was founded. Salvador de Bahia was the first capital of Brazil and is one of the oldest European cities in the Americas. As of 1558, the city was the first slave market in the New World, with slaves kidnapped from Africa and sold for brutal […]
January 3, 1543 marked the death of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer who worked for the Spanish crown. He sailed along the west coast of North America, and was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of California. His expedition was part of a series of explorations by the Spanish to map their […]
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer working for the Spanish government, was the first European to navigate the area that became San Diego, California. According to some reports, he thoroughly annoyed the native American nations that had lived there for thousands of years, who shot arrows at the invaders. Cabrillo and his crew arrived on […]
On April 14, 1542, Spanish explorer and pilot Bartolomé Ferrelo and his crew landed at La Natividad, California. Ferrelo was the pilot for Captain Juan Rodrigo Cabrillo, who was sent by the viceroy of Mexico to explore Northern California. This expedition was the first European exploration of the West Coast. Cabrillo died during the expedition, […]
With the clanking of swords and screams of treachery, ruthless conquistador Francisco Pizzaro was assassinated on June 26, 1541. Pizzaro, the illegitimate son of a nobleman and his housekeeper, first landed in the Americas in 1509. He led the first invasion of the Inca empire in Peru in 1524, but was not successful against the […]
February 12, 1541 is the founding date of Santiago, the capital of Chile, by Pedro de Valdivia. Valdivia was the first royal Spanish governor of Chile. Santiago is now one of Latin America’s most modern metropolitan areas, with a population of 7.2 million. Geographically, the city is in the center of the Santiago Basin, a […]
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his entourage departed from Compostela, Mexico on February 23, 1540. During his two-year expedition, Coronado and his men traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Members of this expedition reached the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, and were […]
It was a tragic day in the history of the powerful, sophisticated Incan empire, Spanish invaders captured their emperor and began the conquest of their empire. The Spanish termed the encounter on November 16, 1532 as the “Battle of Cajamarca”. From the Incan perspective, noting that the Incans who met with the Spanish were unarmed, […]
The vision of the young woman appeared on December 9, 1531, as a Native Mexican American named Cuauhtlatoatzin walked in the morning air of the Tepeyac desert near Mexico City. The dark skinned young woman spoke to him in Nahuatl, the local language, and asked that a Catholic church be built in her honor, on […]
On April 15, 1528, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European explorer and chronicler of the southwest, landed near Tampa Bay Florida. After separating from the main expedition, Cabeza de Vaca spent the next eight years exploring Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico. He traveled more than 5,000 miles of country that […]
The last of the ships of the grand vision of circumnavigating the world finally arrived in Spain on September 6, 1522. King Charles I of Spain supported the voyage in search of a westward route to southeast Asia. The fleet was led by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer who worked for the Spanish. Magellan perished […]
On June 30, 1520, the night air of Tenochtitlán was filled with the screams of battle as the Aztecs attempted to push Hernándo Cortés and his band of Spanish invaders from their capitol city. Nearly 900 Spaniards and over 1,200 of their Tlaxcalan allies were killed. The dark night also marked the death of the […]
On February 15, 1519, Hernan Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro departed from Cuba to invade Mexico. Unfortunately for the Mexicans, his invasion led to the downfall of the Aztec empire. The Spanish expedition carried diseases along with their weapons, particularly smallpox, which decimated the population. Cortes landed in Veracruz, Mexico, where he allied himself with […]
March 28, 1515 is the birthday of Theresa of Avila, the Spanish mystic, nun, writer, and saint. Her famous literary works are the autobiographical, El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), and Camino de Perfección (The Way of Perfection), which delineated her profound thoughts on prayer and meditation. The thoughts of her heart that she described […]
On April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed in Florida. De Leon was from a noble but financially broke family in Spain. He sailed to the New World for economic opportunity. After brutally suppressing a Native American revolt in 1504, the Native Americans, hoping to be rid of him, told him that gold […]
The relationship between European invaders and indigenous Nations has been bitterly contentious and savagely complicated since 1492 (an understatement, I know). In response to reports of terrible treatment of native Americans, the Spanish government and King Ferdinand II of Aragon issued the Laws of Burgos on December 27, 1512. The laws formalized the practice of […]
Spanish conquistador (invader) Hernán Cortés and his small troop of soldiers first approached Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Aztecs, on November 8, 1511. As one of his soldiers, Bernal Diaz, wrote, “…we saw so many cities and villages built in the water and other great towns on dry land and that straight and level Causeway […]
The Spanish continued to finance and support Christopher Columbus’ voyages, and on November 19, 1493, Colombus invaded the island of Borinquen, as it was titled by the Taino nation who resided there. Most of the Taino nation died from diseases brought by the Europeans, though a number of Taino people survived in the Cordillera Central […]
On May 4, 1493, Roman Catholic Pope Alexander VI brazenly issued the document “Inter caetera” that divided the continent of South America between Spain and Portugal. No consideration was given for the Native American nations that had settled and lived in the continent for more than 30,000 years. The “Inter caetera” continues to be protested […]
Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race) is the annual celebration of Native American Heritage on October 12 (as opposed to Columbus Day). In 1492, people of the Taíno nation in their homeland on the island of Guanahani discovered Christopher Columbus, hopelessly lost on his way to India after grossly underestimating the earth’s longitude. […]
In a rapid series of calculated political moves after the death of her brother, Isabella I declared herself as Queen of Castille. Together with her husband, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, she began to create the modern nation of Spain. The power couple ruled with a balance of power: Isabella had the final powers of decision in […]
April 22, 1451 is the birthday of Queen Isabella I of Castille and Spain. An early “power couple”, Isabella and her husband, Ferdinand II, a local royal guy from neighboring Aragon, began the modern political state of Spain. A working mom with five children, Isabella inherited a kingdom beset with problems of crushing debt (sound […]
In the beautiful tropical forests of Belize, Mayan scribes wrote of a fire ritual, which they described in 24 pictographs of their complex language. The writers were of the late classical period, and the date referenced is 11 Ajaw 18 Mak, which corresponds to October 7, 790 in the Western Calendar. This date occurred during […]
On August 22, 731, a Mayan ruler in the Late Classic Mayan empire came to power in Piedras Negras, and his ascent was immortalized in stone. This stone sculpture, called a stela, shows the ruler at the top of a scaffold framed by a skyband with a celestial bird. A dead sacrificial victim lays across […]
On April 29, 711 (the year, not the store), the Moorish leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad departed for the Iberian Peninsula to begin the Moorish invasion and conquest of Spain and Portugal. The Jews in Spain were persecuted by the Christians, and some openly assisted the Muslim campaign. The Muslims ruled Spain and Portugal for over 700 […]
December 23, 583. Yes, that’s 583, not a four digit number, since today we’re honoring the Mayan civilization during its Classic period. On December 23, 583, the Mayan ruler Ix Yohl Ik’nal was inaugurated as Queen of the Mayan state of Palenque in southern Mexico. While not geographically the largest Mayan city state, Palenque is still […]
Butz’an Sak Chiik, the third king of the Mayan city state of Palenque, Mexico, was born on 9.1.4.5.0 12 Ahaw 13 Sak in the Mayan long count calendar, or November 14, 459 in the Western Calendar. The panel in the image was carved in the 7th century to commemorate a dedication ritual performed by Chiik […]
The peoples of the sophisticated Mayan civilization began to write with their alphabet before the European civilizations, in the year 302. The complex pictograms were not understood by Europeans until the mid- 20th century. This pictogram is from the Mayan Early Classic period, denoting the date of September 15, 320 in our Western calendar and detailing […]