12 Facts About Josephine Talamantez

Josephine S "Josie" Talamantez is a historian from San Diego, California.

Josephine Talamantez co-founded Chicano Park in 1970 and helped develop it into a cultural National Historic Landmark containing the largest collection of artistic murals in the United States.

Josephine Talamantez was born and raised in the Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego.

Josephine Talamantez received a master's degree in public history from California State University, Sacramento.

Josephine Talamantez's grandmother moved to Logan Heights in the early 20th century, and Talamantez is the third generation to live in that area.

Josephine Talamantez served as the executive director of the Centro Cultural de la Raza, and was on the board of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.

Local residents, including Josephine Talamantez, responded by staging a 12-day occupation and successfully demanded that the space be allowed to remain a park.

Josephine Talamantez, who was 18 years old and a student at San Diego City College at the time, helped found the Chicano Park Steering Committee to negotiate with officials on behalf of the park.

Josephine Talamantez is currently working towards opening a Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center inside a nearby city-owned building that used to house the Cesar Chavez Continuing Education Center.

Josephine Talamantez successfully submitted the nomination of Chicano Park to the National Register in 2013.

In 1997, Josephine Talamantez began the process of placing Chicano Park with its artwork and murals on the National Register in order to prevent the city from damaging the murals while retrofitting Coronado Bridge.

Years later, Josephine Talamantez traveled to Washington, DC to make a case before a national review and advisory committee, and Chicano Park was successfully designated as a National Historic Landmark in December 2016.