Romana Acosta Bañuelos

Romana Acosta Bañuelos (March 20, 1925 – January 15, 2018)[1] was the 34th Treasurer of the United States. Appointed by President Richard Nixon on September 20, 1971,[2] she served from December 17, 1971, to February 14, 1974.

Born in Arizona into a poor family of Mexican immigrants, Acosta was deported with her parents during the Depression. The U.S. forced many immigrant workers back to Mexico. At the age of 18, Acosta returned as a citizen to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California. There she soon founded a tortilla factory and became a successful businesswoman, owner of what became a multimillion-dollar business. Her Ramona's Mexican Food Products, Inc. was headquartered in Gardena, California. She also was a co-founder and president of the Pan American National Bank in East Los Angeles. She was the first Latina to serve as Treasurer of the United States (1971–1974).

Early life

Romana Acosta, daughter of poor Mexican immigrants, was born in the mining town of Miami, Arizona, on March 20, 1925, to Juan Francisco Acosta and Teresa Lugo.[3]

Career

Ramona's Mexican Food Products

Working as a dishwasher by day and as a tortilla maker from midnight to 6 a.m., Acosta soon made enough money to save some. At 21, she married Alejandro Bañuelos. With her $500 in savings, she started a tortilla factory in downtown Los Angeles. Acosta bought a tortilla machine, a fan, and a corn grinder. With the aid of her aunt, she made $36 on the factory's first day of business in 1949.

Ambitious and driven, Acosta constantly sought opportunities to sell her tortillas to local businesses. As sales volume increased, she incorporated the company and named it Ramona's Mexican Food Products, Inc. There are differing opinions on how the business name came about: some say the sign painters made a mistake when spelling "Romana"; others say she used "Ramona", a fictional California woman popularized in the 1884 novel of that name by Helen Hunt Jackson. Others believe the name arose because of others' unfamiliarity with the name "Romana." By the mid-1960s, Ramona's Mexican Food Products, Inc. was thriving. Acosta and her husband had a daughter together, whom she named Ramona after the business.

Pan-American National Bank

In 1963, looking for ways to help local struggling Latinos, Acosta and some businessmen founded the Pan-American National Bank in East Los Angeles, California. The men had initially approached her husband with the proposal, but he was busy with political work and suggested the men talk to Acosta. The bank's main purpose was to bankroll Latinos who wanted to start their own businesses. Acosta also believed that if Latinos could increase their financial base, they would have more political influence and be able to improve their standard of living.[4]

In 1969 Acosta was appointed chairperson of the bank's board of directors and received the city's Outstanding Business Woman of the Year Award. Later that year, Mayor Sam Yorty presented her with a commendation from the County Board of Supervisors. Acosta established a college scholarship fund, the Ramona Mexican Food Products Scholarship, for poor Mexican-American students.

United States Treasurer

With bank assets already in the millions and deposits climbing rapidly, Pan-American National's success caught the attention of the Richard Nixon's administration. The president was seeking to repay the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, which had played a strong role in his election. Acosta agreed to the nomination when asked in 1970 if she would consider the office of U.S. Treasurer. She was stunned when Nixon personally chose her as his candidate.

During the nomination process, Acosta was taken aback by a sudden raid on her tortilla factory by U.S. Immigration Service agents. The agents, contrary to their usual methods, reportedly carried out a loud, disruptive raid through the facility, attracting a lot of press attention. However, Nixon sided with her and called the raid politically motivated, charging the Democratic Party with instigating it. A later Senate investigation concluded that the raid was carried out solely to cause embarrassment to the Nixon administration.

Acosta sailed through the confirmation process to become the nation's 34th Treasurer and the first Latina Treasurer in U.S. history. She took office on December 17, 1971, becoming the highest-ranking Mexican-American in the government. Her daughter Ramona said of Acosta's performance, "My mother's legacy is that she ran the place as a business, not just as another wing of the government."

Acosta Bañuelos served as treasurer until 1974, by which time Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate affair. He resigned and his vice-president Gerald Ford succeeded him. Acosta had resigned as treasurer earlier in the year to return to her businesses, family, and philanthropic pursuits. She said during a 1979 interview with Nuestro magazine, "It was a beautiful experience. I will always be grateful to President Nixon."

order	34th
title	Treasurer of the United States
term start	December 17, 1971
term end	February 14, 1974
predecessor	Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis
successor	Francine Irving Neff
president	Richard M. Nixon
birth date	March 20, 1925
birth place	Miami, Arizona, U.S.
death date	January 15, 2018
death place	Redondo Beach, California, U.S.
party	Republican
spouse	Martin Torres (divorced) Alejandro Bañuelos

Romana Acosta Bañuelos

Early life

Career

Ramona's Mexican Food Products

Pan-American National Bank

United States Treasurer

Later life

Awards

Further reading

References