Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...

public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in the mid-19th century.

Early history

Bandini was born in 1800 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

to José Bandini, a Spanish sea captain. His father came to California in 1819 and in 1821 participated in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

. After the revolution, his father's family moved to

, arriving on September 1, 1834, on the brig ''Natalie''.

Marriage and family

Bandini married Marie de los Dolores Estudillo on November 20, 1822. She was born c. 1808, daughter of Captain

José María Estudillo José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego. Life Comm ...

. They had three daughters,

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

, Ysidora, and Josefa, and two sons, Juanito and one who died in childhood. Bandini's second wife was Refugia Argüello, daughter of

Santiago Argüello Santiago Argüello (1791–1862) was a Californio, a soldier in the Spanish army of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Las Californias, a major Mexican land grant ranchos owner, and part of an influential family in Mexican Alta California and post- ...

. They had three sons, Juan de la Cruz, Alfredo, and Arturo, and two daughters, Dolores and Victoria. Bandini built a large U-shaped house, Casa de Bandini, in 1829. Initially it had 12 rooms and was one-story. Bandini was forced to sell his house in 1859 due to financial losses. Part of the building was converted into a store. His house was later converted to the Cosmopolitan Hotel in 1869, with a second story and wraparound porch added. The house still stands in Old Town San Diego, at the east corner of the town square, and has recently been fully remodeled and reopened as a hotel and restaurant. Originally the house and hotel were not stuccoed—that was added in modern times to make it look "Spanish Colonial". Casa de Bandini-Cosmopolitan Hotel

Civic life

Bandini served various public offices such as member of the assembly, sub-comisario of revenues, and substitute congressman.

Rancho Jurupa

Bandini was granted and occupied

Rancho Tecate Rancho Tecate, or Rancho Cañada de Tecate was a land grant made to Juan Bandini in 1829, by the Mexican governor of Alta California, José María de Echeandía. He granted 4,439 acres (18 km2) of land in the valley of Tecate. A grant to Juan Band ...

in 1836. However he was soon driven to abandon it by raids to plunder the ranchos around San Diego by bands of fugitive neophytes, rancho employees, and natives from the interior in 1836-1837. This is now the town of

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inha ...

. In 1838, the Mexican government granted him

Rancho Jurupa Rancho Jurupa was a Mexican land grant in California, United States, that is divided by the present-day counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. The land was granted to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1838. Located along both ba ...

in modern-day

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

and

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

.Jurupa grant (Riverside and San Bernardino counties, Calif.): Juan Bandini, claimant : case no. 213, Southern District, 1838-1879.
from cdlib.org accessed May 21, 2014 During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, Bandini supported the Americans. With

Santiago Arguello Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

he issued an appeal to not resist the Americans. After the war, Bandini was increasingly critical of the U.S. government, especially the Land Act of 1851 that allowed Mexican land grants to be challenged. The

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

with Mexico, in 1848, had guaranteed the land grants would be recognized. During March 29–September 27, 1848 he was Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace) of San Diego Pueblo. In 1850 he opened a store in San Diego and built the Gila House hotel. Soon after he moved to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

then in 1855 to Los Angeles where he died in 1859.

Public perception

Bandini was dressed elegantly and always gracious, and cut a refined presence wherever he went. He was known as a charming public speaker, fluent writer, excellent dancer, fair musician, and fine horseman. His home was the social center of San Diego. Bandini had a gift of sardonic humor and enjoyed sarcasm.

Richard Henry Dana Jr. Richard Henry Dana Jr. (August 1, 1815 – January 6, 1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir ''Two Years Before the Mast''. ...

in ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the ...

'' said of him: :He had a slight and elegant figure, moved gracefully, danced and waltzed beautifully, spoke the best of Castilian, with a pleasant and refined voice and accent, and had throughout the bearing of a man of high birth and figure. Seeing him again one evening, Dana said he :gave us the most graceful dancing that I had ever seen. He was dressed in white pantaloons, neatly made, a short jacket of dark silk gaily figured, white stockings and thin Morocco slippers upon his very small feet. His lifestyle and hospitality often got him into trouble financially, requiring his children to bail him out in later years.

Notes

References

*
Biography from San Diego Historical Society
from Smythe's ''History of San Diego'', p. 164.

* ttp://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/65june/pioneer.htm "Pioneer Spanish Families of California", ''The Journal of San Diego History'' 11:3 (June 1965).Reprinted from ''The Century Magazine'' XLI n.s. XIX (January 1891), by Charles Howard Shinn. * * 1850 Census, San Diego, California, p. 275B

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bandini, Juan Californios Politicians from San Diego 19th-century Mexican politicians 1800 births 1859 deaths People of Mexican California People from San Diego History of Riverside, California American politicians of Peruvian descent American politicians of Spanish descent Peruvian emigrants to Mexico