Locals respond to Los Banos versus Los Baños debate | Opinion
Los Banos responds to tilde debate
“Why Los Baños should reclaim its tilde and heritage today,” (fresnobee.com, Nov. 14)
Your recent commentary on Los Banos and the use of the tilde raises interesting historical points, but it leaves out something essential: identity is defined by the community that lives here — and by the people who have carried this town through generations of change.
As the owner and publisher of the Los Banos Enterprise, and as someone who is both Western European and Native American, I have no intention of inserting a tilde into the name of my newspaper. That is a deliberate editorial decision based on the simple truth that the spelling “Los Banos” has been in continuous local use for more than a century.
History is not static, and neither is language. Los Banos has always been a working community shaped by Native Americans, ranchers, railroad workers, settlers from Europe, immigrants from across the world and generations of families who forged something uniquely their own. That shared identity isn’t “whitewashing”; it’s evolution.
I respect the Spanish origins of the name. I also respect the community I serve — one that overwhelmingly spells and pronounces its city as “Los Banos,” without the tilde, and has done so for more than 130 years.
People are free to use the tilde in conversation, in scholarship or in personal preference. But no one has the authority to declare that Los Banos is “disrespecting” its own history for choosing the spelling that generations of residents have embraced.
Michael W. Braa, Sr., JD
Owner and publisher, Los Banos Enterprise
In favor of the tilde
“Why Los Baños should reclaim its tilde and heritage today,” (fresnobee.com, Nov. 14)
I appreciated your recent article urging Los Baños to restore the tilde in its name. I agree with the conclusion, but I believe the most compelling argument was not mentioned: restoring the tilde is not only culturally appropriate, it aligns with a legal commitment the United States made more than 175 years ago.
When the Mexican-American War ended, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed that Mexican residents in the ceded territories would have their property, language and cultural traditions respected. Los Baños sits in that former Mexican territory, and therefore its name — in its original language — is part of that legally protected cultural heritage.
Seemingly minor bureaucratic changes, such as dropping a tilde, have long-term consequences for the cultural identity of the people connected to those names. This is precisely the kind of erosion the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sought to prevent by safeguarding Mexican language and traditions in the ceded territories.
Restoring the proper name is a small but meaningful way to honor both the town’s history and the promises made in that treaty. Upholding these commitments acknowledges our shared past and strengthens trust with the communities whose heritage shaped California.
Scott Hull
Clovis