Two Valley Latinas recognized by Mexican government for their leadership
Federal judge Ana de Alba has been recognized with the 2024 Ohtlí Award from the Consulate of México in Fresno.
The Ohtlí is awarded by the Mexican government through the Institute of Mexican Abroad to individuals who devote their work to the advancement of the Mexican community.
The Nahuatl word “Ohtli” means road or path, and the award honors those who have paved a path for fellow Mexicans.
De Alba, who was born in Merced to migrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico, grew up helping her family in their agricultural work. This experience shaped de Alba’s sense of justice and professional ambition.
In an interview with Vida en el Valle in 2022, de Alba said she went into law after her mother and other women worked an entire summer without getting paid by a farmer who declared bankruptcy.
De Alba attended the UC Berkeley earning her doctorate in jurisprudence from the university’s School of Law.
In 2023, de Alba became the fourth Hispanic woman to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. President Joe Biden nominated de Alba in April 2023.
“We know it matters to have someone from a family of farmworkers — who watched her mother and grandmother struggle with unfair treatment — protecting a country of working families,” U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, who introduced de Alba twice to the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in May 2023.
Head Consul Nuria Zúñiga presented the award to de Alba at an awards ceremony in Fresno last month.
The Distinguished Mexicans Award
The ceremony also included the presentation of the Distinguished Mexicans Award, which was created in 2018, to recognize Mexicans abroad who have an outstanding career that raises the profile of México.
This year, the Consulate of México in Fresno presented the award to Graciela Santillan, California Highway Patrol officer for her work in El Protector, the CHP’s traffic safety outreach program to the Hispanic community in Fresno.
Santillan’s dream to become “El Protector” came after watching a Spanish television commercial “El Protector, Protejiendo Su Familia, Protejiendo Su Futuro,” with its logo alongside the CHP logo as a young child.
The bilingual and bicultural officer was in elementary school when she found her calling, and while she didn’t know where to start, Santillan said she knew she wanted to give back to the community.
Santillan was born in El Paso, Texas to Mexican migrant parents and graduated from the California Highway Patrol academy in 2003. She was tasked with building trust between the Latino agricultural working community and the CHP, making “El Protector” program a model for other CHP offices in the state.
While she recently retired as CHP officer, she said being the face of the CHP for the Hispanic community was a rewarding experience.
Besides Santillan, the award has been given to: Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez Sandoval (2021), Radio Bilingüe cofounder and director Hugo Morales (2022), and Juan Esparza Loera (2023), former editor of Vida en el Valle. Santillan is the first woman to receive the award.
