Histories of Pasadena are rich in details about important citizens, time-honored traditions, and storied enclaves such as Millionaires Row and Lamanda Park. But the legacies of Mexican Americans and other Latino men and women who often worked for Pasadena's rich and famous have been sparsely preserved through the generations—even though these citizens often made remarkable community contributions and lived in close proximity to their employers. A fuller story of the Pasadena area can be provided from these vintage images and the accompanying information culled from anecdotes, master's theses, newspaper articles, formal and informal oral histories, and the Ethnic History Research Project compiled for the City of Pasadena in 1995. Among the stories told is that of Antonio F. Coronel, a one-time Mexican Army officer who served as California state treasurer from 1866 to 1870 and whose image graced the 1904 Tournament of Roses program.
Author Roberta H. Martínez is a well-known community advocate, historian, host, lecturer, television producer, city commissioner, trustee of the Armory Center for the Arts, and advisor for the Pasadena Historical Museum and Pasadena Unified School District. She gathered these vintage images from local families and the archives of the Huntington, Bancroft, Braun, Pasadena, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California libraries.