Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Lauro Cavazos, first Hispanic member of US Cabinet

Lauro Cavazos, born January 4, 1927 in Kingsville, Texas, enlisted in the US Army in 1944 and served state-side in an infantry unit in the last days of WWII.  He enrolled at Texas College of Arts and Industries (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) and majoring in journalism..  He transferred to Texas Technological  College (now Texas Tech University) and earned a BA and MS in zoology.  Later he earned a PhD in physiology from Iowa State University in 1954.

He was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

He became the president of Texas Tech University, becoming the first alumnus and first Hispanic to serve as Texas Tech president.  He served from 1980-1988, when President Reagan appointed him as Secretary of Education, making him the first Hispanic member in the US Cabinet.  He remained at the post until 1990, when he resigned.

After his resignation, he served as the Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine.  He passed away in March 2022. 

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Laura Harring, first Latina to win Miss USA

Laura Elena Harring Martinez, born March 3, 1964 in Los Mochis, Mexico, is the first Latina to win Miss USA.  She grew up in Mexico before she and her family relocated to San Antonio, Texas when she was ten.  At twelve, she suffered a head injury when she was caught in a crossfire from a driveby shooting at twelve.

After studying theater and dance in Europe, she moved to El Paso and began competing in beauty pageants.  She won Miss El Paso USA, Miss Texas USA, and then Miss USA 1985 becoming the first Hispanic woman to do so.  

She went on to have a successful acting career, most notable is her role as Rita in Mulholland Drive.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: France L Silva, Medal of Honor Recipient

France Silva, born May 8, 1876 in Hayward, California, joined the Marine Corps in September 1899 in San Francisco and was assigned to the USS Newark.  In May 1900, Private France Silva was a member of the Legation Guards when the Newark sailed for China to help land allied troops to assist civilians during the Boxer Rebellion.

On June 23, 1900, the Regiment, under the command of Major Littleton Waller entered the Tianjin to protect the civilians and forced the Chinese forces to retreat.  Private Silva, along with several other marines and two sailors, earned the Medal of Honor in their defense of the civilian compound at Beijing.  He became the first US Marine of Mexican-American and Hispanic heritage to receive the Medal of Honor.

Silva passed away in April 1951 in Red Bluff, California.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Raul Cilloniz, Eduardo Dibos, first Hispanic NASCAR drivers

Raul Cilloniz and Eduardo Dibos, both born in Peru, were the first South American NASCAR drivers.  They raced in the 1959 Daytona 500, the inaugural race.  Cilloniz finished 12th, only eight laps behind the winner Lee Petty.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Katy Jurado, first Mexican-American actress to win a Golden Globe

Katy Jurado, born Maria Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado Garcia January, 16, 1924 in Mexico City, is the first Latin American actress to win a Golden Globe for her work in High Noon in 1952. She is the first Latin American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Broken Lance in 1954.

She began her film career in 1943 appearing in the Mexican film No mataras.  She appeared in 16 more films over the next seven years in what has been named the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.  

Jurado made her American cinema debut in Bullfighter and the Lady.  Although she was not interested in appearing in American films, she worked on numerous American western films.  She appeared in High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.  She starred in Arrowhead with Charlton Heston and Jack Palance.

Jurado was married to Ernest Borgnine for four years, and had a romantic relationship with Western novelist Louis L'Amour.

She continued acting until 2002 when she appeared in her final film Un secreto de Esperanza, which was released after her death from kidney failure and pulmonary disease in July 2002.