Spanish language in California
[14] Hispanic Californians make up the largest demographic group in California, accounting for nearly 40% of the population,[15] or approximately 15,574,882 people.
[17] In Las sergas de Esplandián, California is described as being an island kingdom of warrior women ruled by a queen known as Califia.
In 1835, Zamorano published the first book in the history of California, "Manifesto a la República Mejicana", written by Governor José Figueroa.
[22][23] While Spanish initially continued to be used in schools and government following the Mexican Cession in 1848, the Anglophone American settlers migrating en masse to California during the California Gold Rush would eventually establish their language, culture, and law as dominant, displacing Spanish in the public sphere.
[24] By 1855, California declared that English would be the only medium of instruction in its schools, as a way of ensuring the social and political dominance of Anglos.
[21] Despite the displacement of Spanish from the public sphere, most of California continued to be home to Spanish-speaking communities through the 19th and 20th centuries into the modern day.
Following the U.S. Conquest of California and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the U.S Government initially guaranteed the rights of the Spanish-speaking citizens in the Mexican Cession.
[27] All laws, decrees, regulations, and provisions emanating from any of the three supreme powers of this State, which from their nature require publication, shall be published in English and Spanish.By 1870, the English-speaking American population had become the majority in California.
[35] The city of San Francisco recognizes Spanish as one of its official languages, alongside English, Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese.
[37] LA council members regularly hold bilingual English/Spanish press conferences and often participate in Spanish language immersion courses in order to communicate directly with the high number of Spanish-speaking constituents.
[37][38] The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) requires that "high quality and inclusive community engagement must be conducted in English and Spanish",[39] while the LA Department of City Planning requires all city planning materials to be published in both English and Spanish.
[77] La Opinión, based in Los Angeles, is the largest Spanish-language news publication in the United States.
[85] In 2014, The Orange County Register launched a Spanish language newspaper, Unidos en el Sur de California.
Telemundo and Univision, the two largest Spanish news broadcasters in the United States, maintain local affiliates across California.
[93] LéaLA - La Feria del Libro en Español y Festival Literario de Los Ángeles is an annual Spanish language book fair, held at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles.
[109] Contemporary Californian authors that write in the Spanish language include Juan Felipe Herrera, Javier O. Huerta, Richard Rodriguez, Francisco Jiménez, Aurora Guerrero, Francisco Aragón, Alex Espinoza, Stephen D. Gutiérrez, Reyna Grande, Rubén Martínez, Ivan Argüelles, and Daniel Chacón.
El Teatro Campesino is a historic Chicano theatre company based in San Juan Bautista, California, performing in both Spanish and English.
