Pioneers in a region once controlled by Spain, the Dominguez dealt with California changing hands to the Mexican government and then to the United States, facing all kinds of challenges in the process. Floods, earthquakes and even a battle fought on their property during the Mexican-American War, were some of the obstacles they overcame.
The Dominguez were instrumental in writing the first Constitution for the state of California, and they put Los Angeles on the world map and made aviation history in the twentieth century. The documentary is dynamic and full of rich history, and combines never-before-seen interviews with historians, community leaders and family descendants.
The Dominguez legacy remains strong today and proves that if an individual can affect the course of history, we all can do something to make this world a better place.
Original Music by: Jorge Alberto Sanchez
Narrated by: Hector Diego Medina
Produced by: Katie Skow and Ricardo Villarreal
Directed by: Ricardo Villarreal
“The Dominguez” is a powerful and revealing documentary that tells the story of one family that helped shape the history of Los Angeles and California. In 1784, the Dominguez family was given the first land grant in all of California, called Rancho San Pedro, which covered 75,000 acres southwest of Los Angeles.