Yesterday marks the first day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and we’re exploring Latinx icons of Maryland featured throughout our collections. Maria Sanchez was born in Washington, D.C., in 1943 to Maxamilliano Mariano Sanchez (1909-1990) and Marguerite Ellis Sanchez (1915-1997). Her mother’s family traces back at least five generations to St. Mary’s County; her father was a seventh-generation Mexican/New Mexican. Sanchez spent the first five years of her life in St. Mary’s County before her family moved back to her father’s home state of New Mexico. She graduated from the University of New Mexico before becoming an airline hostess for Trans World Airlines (TWA) for the New York/San Francisco route. It was in San Francisco that she met her husband Dante R. Simi, Assistant VP of the Shasta Beverage Company based out of Baltimore. The two married in 1966, ultimately resulting in Sanchez’s return to the area. In early 1973, Sanchez received a cold call from Maryland painter...