Esther Herrera Manzano

First Woman Owner and Publisher of a newspaper in Kern County

By: Judy Newman

Esther Herrera Manzano is a Kern County businesswoman whose roots are deep in the rich agricultural heritage of Kern County. Ms. Manzano, her two sisters and a brother were raised in the Delano area. Esther’s grandfather was a sugar beet farmer and her parents were farm workers who followed the crops. When Manzano was very young, her mother and father divorced and Esther watched as her mother struggled to provide for her family by working long, hard hours working the crops. She was determined not to follow her mother into the fields.

Esther greatly respected the work of Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union. She helped to start and then worked in a childcare center established at "Forty Acres", the Union’s Delano based headquarters. She volunteered as a tutor to elementary school ages students at about the same time.

In 1980, Esther published the first edition of El Mexicalo, Kern’s original Spanish language newspaper. Esther describes El Mexicalo as "the voice of the Hispanic community". She reflects that it wasn’t started as just a business, it was a cause. She was determined to give her community important information in the language that was most familiar.

Esther credits much of her success to her husband, Tony Manzano, saying that he believed in her. He helped her to reach her goals, as she has become a leader among minority businesswoman in Kern County. The Manzanos have two children Tony Jr. and Linda, both work with Esther at the paper. Over the years of their marriage, 22 other children spent time living in their home. Esther’s father was raised in an orphanage and she never wanted to see a child without a safe home, so the Manzanos opened their doors to many. Sadly, Tony Sr. passed away 8 years ago. Esther misses him, she thinks often of the philosophy that guided his life – "know yourself, set goals, don’t let anything get in your way".