"Young Mexican American women in Minnesota," 1950. Minnesota Historical Society.
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By 1865 there were just six latinos in Minnesota, and none of them were living in the state permanently. Then, in 1886, a Mexican orchestra, Los Aires Nacionales de México, toured Minnesota as part of the Minneapolis industrial exhibition. Luis Garzon, an oboist from the orchestra, fell in love with and married a Minnesota women. He settled down in Saint Paul, becoming the first Latino to live permanently in Minnesota. Garzon helped put down roots for the Latino community to come. He opened a Mexican grocery store, or tienda, and founded the first Minnesotan Mexican-American orchestra. By 1920, Saint Paul had a vibrant Latino community, with Garzon, his tienda, and his orchestra, at the center of it all.
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