CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's one of the most prominent leadership positions in our city but what if we told you that the City of Corpus Christi elected its first Hispanic mayor only 14 years ago?
As part of our Hispanic Heritage Month coverage, 3NEWS spoke with the first elected Hispanic mayor Joe Adame, along with the family of first Hispanic mayor Gabriel Lozano about the significance of their time in those roles and the representation it brought.
History tends to be a mystery to those who don't know it but not for Rene Marroquin Jr. For him, it flows through his bloodline.
"He was my grandfather," Marroquin said referring to Gabriel Lozano, the first Hispanic mayor to take office in Corpus Christi.
Lozano, who was mayor pro-term under mayor Jason Luby in 1979, ascended into the mayor's role after Luby stepped down to run for senate.
Marroquin said serving the people, is something Lozano learned from his father.
"He was very happy where the city had come to, they had made a lot of accomplishments," he said. "Tourism was a big thing. Rights for Hispanics were very important to him and his father at that point, Vicente Lozano."
But change wasn't always simple.
"Things were not easy," Imelda Lozano said.
She said growing up, her father taught her that in their time not everyone sat at the same table.
"I wanted him to take me to a certain restaurant and he would say, 'No honey, we can't go in there and eat.' And I would ask, 'Why not?' And he would say 'Because we're not allowed to because we're Mexican American,' " Lozano said.
She said it was a difficult reality to accept.
"There's times that you're going to go in certain stores and they won't let you drink from the water fountain," Lozano said.
But reality also gave her hope.
"So many people that fought for the rights of minorities," she said.
Joe Adame told 3NEWS being the first elected Hispanic mayor of Corpus Christi in 2009 was emotionally overwhelming. He said it's still an eye opening experience.
"I couldn't speak, I just sat there in tears," he said.
Adame said that he takes pride knowing that he's a part of a rich history that won't end with just him
"Gabe Guerra, the president of Kleberg Bank, now he's on the Port commission. He's a port commissioner; quite a number of people and now I see them in leadership positions and I'm very proud of that," Adame said.