A Very Early Black Resident

Thank you for your Uplifting Black History issue. Readers may be interested to know that Santa Barbara was the longtime home of one of the first Black men in California, who came here when the presidio was founded in 1782 working as a tailor until his death in 1810.

Quintero was from Jalisco, Mexico. He and his family were among the 11 families which settled the original Pueblo of Los Angeles in 1781 before coming to Santa Barbara. His daughter Tomasa and her two sons, Rafael and Leandro Gonzales, lived in adobe homes near Laguna and East De la Guerra Streets. Many of Quintero’s descendants live in our community today.