In 1940, Latinos comprised a small minority of California society, yet today more than 50 percent of babies born in this state are of Latino origin. By 2040, Latino adults will make up nearly half of California's population and have significant influence on American society and identity. These are among the topics covered in the book, La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State, that Dr. David Hayes-Bautista presented on August 26, 2010 as part of the Jornadas Mexicanas symposium “When immigrants think of their homeland.”

Jornadas Mexicanas is held under the auspices of UCLA, the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Los Angeles extension program, Plaza Casa Durango, the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA) and the University of Guadalajara Foundation-USA. The presentation of La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State took place at the offices of Oldtimers Foundation in Huntington Park, California, and was attended by Juan Marcos Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, Dr. José Luis Talancón, Director of the UNAM campus in Los Angeles and Dr. Samuel Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs of UDGLA.

During his presentation, Dr. Hayes-Bautista treated the audience to a number of anecdotes about the process of writing the book and gave an overview of statistical data about the occupational, family, business, health, and life expectancy status of California’s Latino population. He concluded by saying that the scope of the impact of Latinos on the “Golden State” will go beyond what can be expressed by statistics.

Dr. Hayes-Bautista is currently a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and earned his MA and PhD in Medical Sociology at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. In addition to La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State, published by the University of California Press, he is also the author of Healing Latinos: Fantasía y Realidad (1999), No Longer a Minority: Latino Social Participation in California (1992), and The Burden of Support: Young Latinos in an Aging Society (1988).