Cali's Spanish Influences

As we all know quite well, Spain had a very large influence on America when they were exploring and colonizing it. Even though much of this influence may have involved the mistreatment of natives, we still see how they have changed our country. Whether it be cultures, heritage of peoples, names of places, or art and architecture, the Spanish influence is to be noted and appreciated for helping to form what our nation is today.

In history class, we spent a while learning about the Spanish exploration and colonization of America. There were great and successful explorers that we got to know such as Cabeza de Vaca, one of the first Europeans to cross North America by foot, and Ponce de Leon, the man who founded St. Augustine the first Spanish settlement in America. Also, let us not forget that along with Cabeza de Vaca’s accomplishments, he brought rumors of gold in the Americas to Spain which motivated many more Spanish expeditions to the New World. More down south, they had Hernan Cortes conquering the Aztecs in Mexico and Francisco Pizzaro conquering the Incans in Peru. With such feats by the Spanish, they earned their place in our history.

One state that still shows it has Spanish roots is California. It is on the west coast of the U.S., father away from Spain. They had to have traveled day and night to make it to Cali all the way on the other side of the country, plus mountainous terrain must have been a real obstacle. They had determination to expand their country’s land driving them and have made it apparent that they settled all over California.

              

Mountainous region
 (taken from plane)

Cali city
(taken from plane)

California is a beautiful and lush place that I just happened to visit for Thanksgiving very recently. There are many cities in Cali that have obviously Spanish names, including San Diego, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz. Another well-known city I spent the day in is San Francisco. This city is home to the famous Golden Gate Bridge and is just across the water from an old prison known as Alcatraz.
                                             

Alcatraz from the shore of San Francisco (taken by me)

With all these Spanish names of cities in not only California, but throughout the U.S., it shows that Spain had explored and settled all around where we are and became a big part of our history. They explored and conquered land and because of that, we will always have a part of Spanish culture and language in our country.