The Black Pobladores: LA’s Afro-Latino Founders

BISLA Series #2
By Randal Henry

Did you know that the city of Los Angeles was established, primarily, by six Black/Afro-Latino families?  Si? No? Well... here’s how the short version of story goes.

In the late 1770’s, after having established the California Mission system, Spain sought to secure its hold on the area by establishing a number of pueblos including one in the Los Angeles region.  In 1781, the emissary of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Captain Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, ordered Felipe de Neve, the Governor of California, to develop plans for the design and colonization of the new pueblo.  With some difficulty, de Neve finally recruited six Black/Afro-Latino families and five Indigenous/Latino families (forty-four people) who were recruited from the Province of Sinaloa and Sonora in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (now called Mexico). The six Black/Afro-Latino Pobladores families (i.e., las familias Camero, Mesa, Moreno, Navarro, Quintero and Rosas) consisted of twenty-six people, ranging in age from 2 years old to 55 years old (i.e., Camero, Manuel, Age 30 and Camero, María Tomasa,  Age 24; Mesa, Antonio, Age 38, Mesa, María Ana, Age 27, Mesa, María Paula, Age 10 and Mesa, Antonio María, Age 8; Moreno, Jose, Age 22 and Moreno, María Guadalupe, Age 19; Navarro, Maria Regina, Age 47, Navarro, Jose Eduardo, Age 10, Navarro, Jose Clemente, Age 9 and Navarro, Mariana, Age 4; Quintero, Luis, Age 55,  Quintero, María Petra, Age 40, Quintero, María Gertrudis, Age 16, Quintero, María Concepción, Age 9, Quintero, María Tomasa, Age 7, Quintero, María Rafaela, Age 6 and Quintero, José Clemente, Age 3; Rosas, María Manuela, Age 43, Rosas,  José Máximo, Age 15, Rosas, José Carlos, Age 12, Rosas, María Josefa,  Age 8, Rosas, Antonio Rosalino, Age 7, Rosas,  José Marcelino, Age 4 and Rosas, José Esteban, Age 2). The group included people with skill sets necessary for the survival of the future settlement like farmers, artisans, and stock raisers.  Their task was to provide food for the Spanish colonial soldiers in the Los Angeles area and to help secure the Viceroyalty of New Spain’s hold on the region.

Escorted by forty-five Spanish colonial soldiers, the families departed Los Alamos, Sonora, on February 2, 1781, traveled by ship across the Gulf of California to Loreto in Baja California, then went northward over land to San Diego and then on to Yaanga, a large indigenous village inhabited by the Tongva people located near what is now downtown Los Angeles.  When they began arriving, in the summer of 1781, the Los Angeles floodplain was heavily wooded with willows and oaks, the Los Angeles River was flowing with steelhead trout and salmon, there were swamps and wetlands, wildlife was plentiful, including deer, black bears and an occasional grizzly bear.   Upon arrival, each family received four acres of land for farming, two irrigated plots and two dry ones.  The Pobladores built a water system consisting of ditches leading from the river through the middle of town and into the farmlands. They planted wine grapes, started raising cattle and trading in tallow and hides.  The families, now known as Los Pobladores, founded the city of Los Angeles on September 4, 1781 making it the first non-indigenous village north of San Diego. Los Pobladores originally named their settlement, "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula (Spanish for The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the River Porciúncula"), however they ending up shortening it to El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, the official name of the city.  In 1783, two years after arriving, the Pobladores were given title to their land. Ultimately, the tiny pueblo of Los Angeles, partially founded by six Black/Afro-Latino families, grew to become one of the largest, most dynamic cities in the United States.  

To learn more about the Pobladores, consider visiting the Los Angeles Plaza  in the historic district of downtown Los Angeles.   A plaque there commemorating the founding of the city states: 

"On September 4, 1781, eleven families of pobladores (44 persons including children) arrived at this place from the Gulf of California to establish a pueblo which was to become the City of Los Angeles.”  

Thanks for reading.

See you next month,
Randy

Born in South LA can be purchased through all major online booksellers as well as many independents. To learn more about Randal Henry’s articles, books and publications follow his Amazon Author Page.

To contact Randal email gocrenshawpublications@gmail.com