ABSTRACT
Latinos and Latinas in the United States have two sets of “founding fathers”: the North American revolutionaries of the eigh teenth century and the earlier monarchs and conquistadors of the Spanish Empire. While the Anglo “fathers” founded a nation, the Spanish established the foundations of Latina and Latino identity. The Catholic faith, Spanish language, and Spanish legal and cultural traditions that they brought to the New World continue to have a lasting presence, sustaining a powerful collective memory.
