How much do you know about Rockford’s Hispanic and Latino culture and community history?
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Rockford Register Star has partnered with La Onda, a newly formed nonprofit organization working to share and celebrate the impact of Hispanic and Latino people, businesses and organizations in and around the Rockford area.
September 15 through October 15 each year is observed as National Hispanic Heritage Month. Visit rrstar.com or the Rockford Register Star newspaper each day to read about the people and places that make up Rockford’s Latino community.
This week we are highlighting the biographies of notable Latino leaders who have made historic strides in Rockford, and it has been both an honor and a challenge to summarize the contributions of just a few incredible people in our community in one week.
Teofelo “Taffy” Quiñones was a military veteran, businessman and dedicated community servant. Quiñones was the first Latino elected to the Winnebago County Legislature in the 1970s. He used his voice and political savvy to help people.
In 2017, he was elected to the City Council, representing the 11th District in south-central Rockford, which includes the Broadway business district, and campaigned on supporting small businesses and revitalizing the neighborhood.
Quinones was re-elected in 2021, focusing on public safety and infrastructure improvements. Quinones suffered a stroke and passed away on Feb. 26, 2023. Isidro Barrios, who moved to Rockford in 1997, was appointed to serve out the remainder of Quinones’ term.
Barrios continues Quinones’ legacy by using that same spirit to help others. He and his wife founded EL Barrio, a community center to help area residents, and served on the Winnebago County Commission from 2009 to 2012.
This year, Isidro and El Barrio Community Center continued their annual Hispanic Heritage Month parade and celebration with the “Viva Mexico Celebration” on September 14, 2024 at Key Malquisto Park.
Patricia Chavez Jimenez is a member of the newly formed Board of Directors for La Onda, whose mission is to serve as a cultural leader for all people to celebrate the traditions and diversity of Latino identity and communities throughout the Rockford region.
