This collection houses newspapers, correspondence, subject files, books, and artifacts documenting the Franco family's involvement with central Arizona's Mexican and Mexican American communities between the 1930s and the 1990s. Among the subjects shown are the creation and celebration of the Fiestas Patrias; the founding and publication of El Sol; Jesus Franco's work as Arizona's Mexican Consul; Franco's involvement with the Mexican Blue Cross; and the family's participation in such organizations as the Vesta Club, the Alianza Hispano-Americana, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the Friendly House. This collection has not been processed in full and can be viewed only by appointment. Contact Archives and Special Collections for more information.
Identification:
2016-05018
Language:
Material in English and Spanish.
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Chicano Research Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
The Franco family, whose members include a Mexican foreign official, the founders and publishers of El Sol (one of the first Spanish language newspapers in Phoenix), and the originators of the Fiestas Patrias, were prominent in central Arizona's Mexican and Mexican American communities during the mid-20th century.
Jesus Monreal Franco was born in Mexico in 1888 and graduated from the Mexican Military Academy in 1919. He joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1921 and was stationed in San Francisco, California, where he represented the Mexican government and helped to organize the Mexican Blue Cross (a charitable organization designed to help Mexican nationals return to Mexico during the Repatriation Movement). Franco moved to El Paso, Texas in the 1920s, where he married Josephina Carascosso (1897-1972) on May 5, 1926. The couple had two daughters, Juanita Violeta (Franco) Martin (1933-) and Maria Josephina "Mary Jo" (Franco) French (1936-2015).
The Franco family settled in Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1930s. Here, they established the Fiestas Patrias in 1934 and founded El Sol, one of the first Spanish language newspapers in Phoenix, in 1938. Jesus Franco served as Arizona's Mexican Consul from 1947 to 1953, during which time Josefina and Mary Jo Franco continued to edit and publish El Sol. As Consul, Franco provided legal counsel to Mexican citizens to resolve legal and socio-economic problems they experienced in Arizona and used his newspaper to express his strong sense of Mexican patriotism. After Jesus Franco's death in 1974, the Franco family continued to publish El Sol until 1980.
Scope and Content Note
This collection houses newspapers, correspondence, subject files, books, and artifacts documenting the Franco family's involvement with central Arizona's Mexican and Mexican American communities between the 1930s and the 1990s. Among the subjects shown are the creation and celebration of the Fiestas Patrias; the founding and publication of El Sol; Jesus Franco's work as Arizona's Mexican Consul; Franco's involvement with the Mexican Blue Cross; and the family's participation in such organizations as the Vesta Club, the Alianza Hispano-Americana, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the Friendly House. This collection has not been processed in full and can be viewed only by appointment. Contact Archives and Special Collections for more information.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.
Access Terms
Personal Name(s)
Franco, Jesus (Jesus Monreal), 1888-1974
Franco, Josephina C. (Josephina Carascosso), 1897-1972
French, Mary Jo (Maria Josephina Franco), 1936-2015
[Identification of item], Franco and French Families Papers, 2016-05018, Arizona State University Library.
Provenance
Laura Franco French donated these materials to the Chicano/a Research Collection in 2016 (Accession #2016-05018).
Container List
Box
1/OV3
Accion Independente, 1946 September 11
1/OV3
Calexico Chronicle, 1957 September 26
1/OV3
El Fronterizo, 1934 October 5
1/OV3
El Tucsonense, 1947 October 7
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1948
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1951 September 28
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1952 April 18, July 11
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1955 September 30
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1956 June 1, June 15, June 22, July 20, August 3
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1957 September 6
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1958 January 3, January 17, February 7, February 14, February 28, November 21
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1961 September 15
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1967 October 20
1/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1968 June 28, September 13
Box
2/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1972 February 18, March 24, June 2, June 9, July 14, December 8
2/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1973 April 20, October 12, December 28
2/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1974 March 22, April 12, May 3, May 31, June 7, June 21, June 28, July 5, July 19, August 9, September 20, October 6, October 11, November 8, November 15, November 22, December 6, December 13
2/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1975 January 3, January 10, January 17, January 31, February 7, February 14, February 28, March 7, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4, April 25, May 23, June 6, July 25, August 15, August 22, September 5, September 19, September 26, October 10, October 17, October 24, October 31, November 21, November 28, December 5, December 12, December 19
2/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1976 January 2, January 9, January 16, January 30, February 20, February 27, March 5, March 12, March 19, April 9, April 16, April 23, May 21, May 28, May 30, June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30, September 10, September 24, October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22, October 29, November 5, November 12, November 19, November 26, December 3, December 10, December 17, December 24
Box
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1977 February 4, February 11, February 18, February 25, March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 22, April 29, May 20, June 10, June 17, June 24, July 1, July 15, July 22, August 5, August 12, August 19, September 2, September 9, September 16, October 14, October 21, November 4, November 11, November 18, November 25, December 9, December 22, December 30
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1978 January 6, January 20, January 27, February 1, February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24, March 3, March 17, March 24, March 31, April 7, May 5, May 12, May 19, May 26, June 2, June 16, June 30, July 7, July 14, July 21, August 4, August 11, August 25, September 1, September 8, October 6, October 20, October 27, November 17, November 24, December 1, December 8, December 15, December 22
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1979 January 19, January 26, February 2, February 9, February 16, February 23, March 2, March 9, March 16, March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13, April 20, April 27, May 4, May 11, May 18, May 25, June 1, June 8, June 15, June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20, July 27, August 3, August 10, August 17, August 24, August 31, September 14, September 21, October 5, October 12, October 19, November 2, November 9, November 16, November 23, November 30, December 7, December 14, December 21, December 28
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1980 February 8, February 15, February 29, March 14, March 21, March 28, April 4, April 18, April 25, May 23
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1981 November 25
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1982 October 1
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1989 April 21, September 8
3/OV3
El Sol Newspaper, 1991 January 18, August 30
Box
Folder
4/OV3
1-2
Newspaper Clippings
4/OV3
3-4
Arizona Newspapers
4/OV3
5-7
Mexican Newspapers, circa 1940s-1960s
4/OV3
8
Awards and Certificates (Oversized)
Box
5/OV3
Mary Jo Franco Award (Oversized)
Box
6
Alma de la Gente Award, Eagle Statue
Box
Folder
7
1
Manuscript Written by Jesus Franco
7
2
Mexican Blue Cross, circa 1920s
7
3
Family Directory
7
4
Arizona Mexico Commission, 1979
7
5
Mexican Cultural Affairs Committee, 1967-1969
7
6
Mexican Fashion, 1971
7
7-8
Correspondence, 1935-1999
7
9
LULAC Event, 1999
7
10
KPNX Minority Advisory Committee, 1993
7
11
30 Poems by Alfonso Cortez, 1952
7
12
Friendly House, 2013
7
13
UNIDOS Organization, 1988
7
14
Mexican Chamber of Commerce, 1973
7
15
Valle del Sol, 1994, 2000
7
16
Friends of Mexican Art (FOMA), circa 1970s
7
17
America Military Events, circa 1980s
7
18
Miss Arizona Pageant, Lynda Carter, 1973
7
19
Phoenix Rotary Club Ribbon, circa 1950s
7
20
Fiestas Patrias, Rules and Regulations, circa 1940s
7
21
Newspaper Clippings
7
22
El Sol, Statement of Ownership
7
23
Ceremonia del Grito
7
24-25
Vesta Club
7
26
Governor Raul Castro
7
27
El Sol, Award
7
28-31
Alma de la Gente
7
32
ASU Annual Report, 1973
7
33
Governor Evan Mecham
7
34
Governor Bruce Babbitt
7
35
Postcards
7
36
Fiestas Patrias Parade, circa 1960s (Negatives)
7
37-38
Fiestas Patrias Parade, circa 1940s-1950s (Photographs)
7
39-43
Fiestas Patrias Parade, circa 1980s (Photographs)
7
44-45
Cambio! Magazine, circa 1980s-1990s
7
46
Fiestas Patrias Ephemera
7
47
El Sol, Financial Records
7
48-49
Alianza Hispano Americana Correspondence, circa 1930s-1940s
7
50
Proclamations, Mexican Independence Day
7
51
PRI Political Party in Arizona, circa 1940s
7
52-53
Historia Grafica de la Revolucion, circa 1940s
7
54
Scrapbooks, Mexican Consul
Box
8
Alianza Hispano Americana Badges, circa 1930s-1940s
