Bañuelos, Romana Acosta, << bah nyoo WAY lohs, roh MAH nah ah KOHS tah >> (1925-2018), served as treasurer of the United States from 1971 to 1974 under President Richard M. Nixon. She was the first Hispanic U.S. treasurer and the first Mexican American woman to hold such a high government post.
As treasurer, Bañuelos’s signature appeared on all paper currency. Her responsibilities included writing checks for funds spent by government agencies and destroying worn-out currency.
Bañuelos was born on March 20, 1925, in Miami, Arizona, and grew up in the Mexican state of Sonora. She began her career in 1949 with a small investment in a tortilla stand in Los Angeles. Her business grew into a food enterprise worth millions of dollars. In 1964, Bañuelos founded the Pan American National Bank of East Los Angeles. It was the only United States bank owned and operated by Mexican Americans. In 1969, she organized a college scholarship program for Mexican American students. Bañuelos died on Jan. 15, 2018.
