Angel Taveras is an attorney and in 2011 made Rhode Island Latino history when he became the first Latino mayor in Rhode Island. Taveras also became the third elected and fourth serving Dominican-American mayor in the United States.
Anthony Affigne - Independent City Council, Third Ward. Experience, knowledgeable, outspoken. Athony Affigne has the courage and integrity to fight for you in City Hall.
This is a photo of Adriana Rozas Rivera during Hispanic Heritage Month 2022.
Adriana was born Puerto Rico and grew up in San Juan where she attended a bilingual school, which is part of the reason I became so passionate about bilingual storytelling. She moved to Amherst, Mass. in 2018 after Hurricane María to finish her undergraduate degree at UMass. It was her first time living outside the island.
These are photos of Sabina Matos, City Councilwoman of Ward 15 in 2010, first Latina City Council Chair in Providence, RI in 2015, and first Dominican American and Latina appointed as Rhode Island Lt. Governor in 2021.
Pablo Rodríguez of Puerto Rican heritage was the Medical Director at Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island and a practicing physician at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, RI. He went into private practice until his retirement in 2018. He was also a co-founder of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC).
Sandra Cano served on the the City of Pawtucket school committee in 2012 and was the first Latina ever elected in the whole city; she was then elected as the first Latina Pawtucket City Councilor in November of 2014 and reelected in 2016. Sandra won a special election for Senate District 8 in April of 2017.
Senator Juan Manuel Pichardo was the first Dominican American and Latino elected to the Rhode Island Senate, in 2002. He represented the people of Providence, Rhode Island's Senate District 2.
This building is referred to as Casa Grande by Colombians in Rhode Island. It was used as a social meeting place for countless Colombians in the Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island. The Colombian-American Society was founded in this location. It is where Colombians lived in the 1970s and 80s while working at Pontiac and Cadillac Mills, which were directly adjacent to this location.
Rep. Grace Diaz (D) is the first elected Dominican-American woman to a state legislature seat in the U.S. She has represented the people of District 11 in Providence since November 2004.
Bienvenido Garcia Bienvenido was a social worker and a program manager at the Urban League of RI, a founding member of both Club Juan Pablo Durarte and the Dominican-American Association of RI
Miguel Luna was the second Latino Councilman in Providence's history and the first Dominican American ever elected to the Council in 2003. He served as Ward 9 councilman until his death in 2011.
Manuel "Manny" of Cuban heritage, was, among many accomplishments, Inducted into the Rhode Island Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame - 2002 and President of the RI Heritage Hall of Fame from 1991.through 2000 and
Representative Anastasia Williams (D) is the first Hispanic elected to the Rhode Island the state legislature. She was elected to represent House District 9 in November 1991.
Antillas Restaurant, Caribbean Cuisine, was opened by Roberto González and Michael Reyes in 1979. They served food from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It closed in 1982.
Cecilia (Rodriguez) and Albert Saglio were instrumental in helping Spanish-speaking professionals and their wives and welcomed them to their home on Gallatin Street, Providence. Many of the immigrants came to Rhode Island on temporary assignments as doctors at St. Joseph Hospital in Providence, The couple was active at the International Institute of Rhode Island, where Cecilia founded the Club Panamericano which was made up primarily of women, the wives, of professional Latin Americans. She and Albert baptized many of the children of the couples they helped. Albert owned the Spaghetti Factory in Downtown Providence.
These are photos of Estela and Zanoni Ortega. Zanoni came to Rhode Island as a medical intern at Roger Williams Hospital in 1949. He joined his brother, Gimel, who had also arrived in RI as a medical intern in 1947. Zanoni, was a radiologist at Roger Williams Hospital and Gimel a pediatrician.
She was the first female Executive Director of Progreso Latino and the first Latina to hold a cabinet-level position in Rhode Island as Director of the Dept. of Children, Youth and Families under Governor Don Carcieri
Angel Taveras was elected 2011 as the first Latino and Dominican American mayor in the City of Providence, RI and in the U.S. In 2000 he was unsuccessful candidate for the 2nd Congressional District.
The Latin-American Community Center (LACC) was the first tangible site for services for Hispanics, donated by the Providence Catholic Diocese. It was dedicated in 1970.
The the Hispanic Political Action Committee (HPAC) was a nonpartisan organization that advocated for Latino rights in Rhode Island by connecting the community to the political sphere. It moved Hispanic politics from civic organizing to electoral mobilization, and focused on candidate recruitment.
The Hispanic Social Services Association (HSSA) is a nonprofit, community-based organization aimed at improving the quality of life of Hispanics in Rhode Island. In 1992 it becomes the Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy (CHisPA).
Victor Mendoza was co-founder of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations (Coalición Hispana) in Rhode Island in 1984 and the first Latin-American festival in Rhode Island in 1979 called the Latin American Festival of Music.
Miriam, Eduardo, and Tessie Salabert pose for a picture after they arrive in Iowa. Miriam, Eduardo, and Tessie were born in Cuba. They were sent to the United States on April 10, 1961, as a result of Operación Pedro Pan (Operation Peter Pan).
