Maria_Rita_Valdez

Maria Rita Valdez

Maria Rita Valdez

Afro-Latina rancher and farmer

María Rita Valdez (1791–1854)[1][2] also known as Maria Rita Valdez Villa, was an Afro-Latina rancher and farmer. Her 4,500-acre ranch, El Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas, later became the Los Angeles County city of Beverly Hills.[3][4]

Biography

Valdez was born in Nueva España (New Spain) in 1791 to Sebastiana and Eugenio Valdez.[4] Her mother was the daughter of Luis and Maria Quintero, two of the original settlers of Pueblo de Los Angeles (present-day Los Angeles, California).[3][5] Her great-grandfather was an enslaved African.[4]

Maria married Spanish soldier, Vicente Fernando Villa, in 1808. The couple had three children.[4]

In the 1830s, after her husband's death, Valdez was granted the roughly 4,500-acre El Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas where she ran a cattle ranch, farm and garden. Her adobe was located at what is now Alpine Drive and Sunset Boulevard.[3] Valdez had paid employees, most of whom were native to the area.[4]

In 1854, Valdez sold the ranch to investors Henry Hancock and Benjamin D. Wilson for a $4,000.[3]

The Beverly Hills Hotel now stands near the site of her home. A nearby plaque commemorates Valdez and her ranch.[4]

References

  1. [1]
    Corp, Eddie. "María Rita Valdez, the Mexican with black roots whose lands became the opulent Beverly Hills". Digis Mak. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  2. [2]
    "María Rita Valdez, la mexicana descendiente de esclavos cuyas tierras se convirtieron en el opulento Beverly Hills". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  3. [3]
    Stuart, Gwynedd (2021-02-02). "Black History Month Spotlight: Maria Rita Valdez Villa, Foremother of Beverly Hills". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  4. [4]
    "Maria Rita Valdez, the Afro-Latina and granddaughter of slaves whose land is now Beverly Hills". Al Día News. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. [5]
    "First Beverly Hills Land Owner". www.laalmanac.com. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
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