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UCLA'S a virtually identical bill in that house. After NOT SPANISH, BUT MEXICAN
the Senate passed that bill, Del Valle then
successfully guided it to approval in the
Assembly as well; and on March 14, 1881,
"An Act to Establish a Branch State Normal
AFTER UNSUCCESSFUL CANDIDACIES FOR
School" in Los Angeles was signed into
A SEAT IN THE U.S. CONGRESS IN 1884
law. At the opening ceremonies of the Los and for Lieutenant Governor of California
FOUNDATION Angeles State Normal School the following
in 1890, Del Valle remained active in
year, Del Valle proudly noted that this first Democratic Party politics but did not
AS A STATE ASSEMBLYMAN from 1880 to state institution in southern California was seek political office again. Respected for
1881, then as a State Senator from 1882 not "an asylum or a State prison, but a I his legislative skills, he was a lecturer
to 1886, Del Valle was largely responsible place where persons can be trained to teach i on parliamentary law at the Southern
for the legislation establishing and funding our children." California College of Law in 1892, and
the State Normal School at Los Angeles, and practiced law for most of his life. Although
giving it an independent administration. many of his cases involved paying clients,
he also represented some economically
disadvantaged Latinos free of charge. His
Early in 1880, a fire had destroyed the
equal fluency in Spanish and English
State Normal School (the publicly funded
enabled him to understand and argue
teachers' training college) in San Jose.
their cases effectively in the English-
While that institution would be rebuilt,
speaking legal system. The Latin Protective
California's legislature seized the
League recognized his pro bono legal work
opportunity to expand publicly funded
higher education in the state. Barely two with an award in 1925.
weeks after the fire, at the urging of former
California Governor John G. Downey, Del Bilingual and bicultural, he was prominent held romanticized notions about its 18th-
Valle introduced a bill to establish a Branch in southern California's Atlantic-American and 19th-century past. They preferred to
State Normal School in Los Angeles. He and society and a sought-after figure at social think of the Latino settlers of California
Downey agreed that securing this institution events, and at the same time belonged to before 1848 as "Spanish dons"-that
would provide a much needed educational many Latino organizations, such as La Junta is, people of white European descent like
and economic boost for their community. Patri6tica de Juarez, the Original Young themselves-who used to lead carefree
Spanish Americans, and the Club Cura lives of fiestas and bullfighting.
Yet he was not the only legislator trying Hidalgo. He was a popular speaker at
to secure such an institution for his Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence On hearing such descriptions of "the
community. Del Valle faced an uphill Day celebrations, and a source for good old Spanish days," Del Valle's blunt
fight, for, at the time, most of the state's historical societies and newspaper response often was "That's a lot bf bunk!"
population was concentrated in northern reporters interested in the real history of He objected when Atlantic-Americans
In 1919, the assets of the Los Angeles Latino California.
California, and so were all of its public referred to him or his ancestors as
institutions. But as young as he was, Del State Normal School were transferred to the "Spanish," and would explain that the
Regents of the University of California, and
Valle was a good negotiator and a master By the early 20th century, due to tremendous Californios were Mexican, not Spanish. He
provided the institutional platform on which
of parliamentary strategy. When his own bill migration from the East Coast and Midwest, was annoyed by the newcomers' anglicized
seeking to secure the Branch State Normal was founded the University of California, Atlantic-Americans had come to make up pronunciation of "Los Angeles," and liked
Los Angeles (UCLA), whose Westwood
School for Los Angeles was defeated in the the majority of California's population. to demonstrate how it easy it was to say the
Assembly, he persuaded a fellow Angeleno campus was dedicated in 1930. These new arrivals knew little about the Spanish name: "Just say Los Ang-hell-ess.
colleague in the State Senate to introduce state's history and for various reasons Everybody ought to be able to do that."