HAPPY TH ANNIVERSARY
JULY 2026
250 YEARS OF LATIN CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICA
AMERICA’ S STORY CANNOT BE TOLD WITHOUT THE STORY OF LATINOS
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›› BY: MARTHA DE LA TORRE | LOS ÁNGELES
For more than 250 years, Hispanic families, entrepreneurs, workers, artists, educators, and community leaders have contributed to forging the nation we celebrate today. Long before the United States declared its independence, Spanish-speaking communities were already founding settlements, building missions, opening trade routes, and laying the groundwork for many of the cities that define California and the American Southwest.
As the nation grew, so did the contributions of Latinos. They helped lay railroad tracks and till the land, fought in every major military conflict, founded businesses and civic organizations, created influential media companies, and transformed American culture through music, film, sport, and public service.
The Latino story is a story of resilience and reinvention. It is the story of immigrants who arrived with nothing but hope and determination. California has played a special role in that journey. Los Angeles emerged as the capital of Spanish-language media, giving life to institutions such as La Opinión, KMEX and, later, Univision: organizations that informed, connected, and empowered millions of Latino families. ●
MILESTONES THAT FORGED A NATION
1769— Junípero Serra founds California’ s first mission. The beginning of the California mission system, which helped shape some of the state’ s most iconic communities.
1781— Founding of Los Angeles. The original settlement of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was founded by 44 settlers, many of them of Spanish, Indigenous, African, and mestizo descent— a refl ection of the era’ s diversity.
Ignacio E. Lozano Jr.
1776 – 1848— Hispanic and Mexican communities shape the American Southwest. Before California became a state, Hispanic communities established settlements, ranches, missions, and trade routes in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and other regions that would later become part of the United States.
1848— Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty ends the war between Mexico and the United States and grants American citizenship to thousands of Mexican residents living in the incorporated territories.
1926— Founding of La Opinión in Los Angeles. Founded by Ignacio E. Lozano Sr., La Opinión becomes the nation’ s leading Spanishlanguage newspaper, giving voice to generations of immigrants and Latino families.
1946— First Spanishlanguage radio station. KCOR begins broadcasting in San Antonio, Texas, inaugurating a new era in Hispanic media.
1948— Dr. Héctor P. García founds the American GI Forum— one of the most infl uential Latino civil rights organizations in the country.
1951— First Latino to win an Oscar. Puerto Rican actor José Ferrer becomes the fi rst Hispanic to win an Academy Award, in the Best Actor category for his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac.
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