Cástulo de la Rocha has led AltaMed, one of the largest community health centers in the US, for 34 years. He came to the US from Mexico at age 11 and learned English in school, eventually earning multiple advanced degrees. Inspired by the civil rights movement, he has advocated for healthcare access for underserved communities. Under his leadership, AltaMed has grown from a small storefront clinic to a network of 43 sites. The annual East LA Meets Napa fundraising event highlights Latino contributions to food and wine and benefits AltaMed's programs.

1. Cástulo de la Rocha and the Growth of AltaMed
As President and CEO of AltaMed for the last 34 years, Cástulo de la Rocha has propelled the nonprofit to become one of the largest
Community Health Centers in the nation. Many who know him say that what is most amazing about Cástulo is how he got to where he
is today. Imagine coming to the United States as an 11 year old boy, and attending formal school for the first time in sixth grade.
The de la Rocha family story is similar to many stories in this publication. His father gained entry through the Bracero Program and then
brought his wife and children as soon as he could make arrangements for their paper work to be processed. In Chihuahua, Mexico—
where they were from—electricity, public education and automobiles were luxuries. Upon entering school, Cástulo caught up quickly
in the span of 7 years, gaining acceptance to the Political Science program at UC Santa Barbara, where he earned his Bachelors.
He quickly moved on and continued his higher education, receiving a Certificate in Management from Stanford University, and a Juris
Doctorate from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.
During those 7 years, when the Civil Rights movement was at it’s height in the 1960’s, Latinos in East Los Angeles were anxious to
bring attention to police brutality, sub-standard housing, lack of access to education and little to no access to health care. The visibility
and momentum of the Black Panther Party inspired the formation of the Brown Berets. These groups targeted and organized the
youth of East Los Angeles to help voice the concerns of the community through staged walk-outs in high schools across multiple
neighborhoods. This was the generation that Cástulo was a part of and his passion for social justice was sparked early on, guiding him
to this day.
He was around to witness some of the best and worst moments of the fight for equality during that time. Social justice has been an
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3. integral part of his life and his role at AltaMed has allowed him to fulfill his calling to advocate for his community in pursuit of access to
quality health care.
The first AltaMed clinic was a modest storefront on Whittier Boulevard in the business district of East Los Angeles. Hours of operation
were from 4 to 10 p.m., a time when volunteer doctors, nurses, and social workers could serve working people seeking medical
services. It was a familiar sight to see individuals and families lined up around the block waiting to be seen at the clinic. Still, no one
was ever turned away. In its first year, the clinic received a start-up grant for $10,000. With resources from that grant, the clinic served
11,000 people—less than one dollar per patient.
In the early seventies, the federal government responded to the growing number of individuals not receiving health care services by
creating the Urban Health Initiative. This initiative defined what a community health center should do and ELA Barrio Free Clinic changed
its name to La Clinica Familiar Del Barrio, which was designated as a federally qualified health center, providing services in a “medically
underserved area.”1
After eight years of scraping together the funds for basic clinical supplies while overseeing the hard work of dozens of volunteer doctors
and other health professionals, La Clínica received its first federal grant in 1977. The grant enabled the clinic to increase its services
and the organization changed its name for the last time. AltaMed Health Services Corporation hired Cástulo de la Rocha that same
year for a three-month temporary assignment. Shortly thereafter, he accepted the position as President and CEO and has spent his life
advocating for health care access, creating a system of care that spans over 43 sites throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
AltaMed has a long and distinguished history of providing quality care to the underserved communities of Southern California. They
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5. operate an impressive network of health care centers assisting the medically underserved with multiple services including primary
medical care, dental, and complete senior long-term care services, including Adult Day Health Care Center (ADHC) services, senior case
management, and the Program of All Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE).
As an example of their breadth, AltaMed also delivers disease management programs, health education, youth services, specialty HIV/
AIDS care, and substance abuse treatment. Their holistic approach to community well-being is explicit in their varied programs and has
made Los Angeles healthier. Their reputation as a caring, socially conscious organization is solid and they are known for patient-centered
care delivered through a team of culturally competent health care professionals. Their services are integrated and they emphasize
prevention and healthy living to reduce health care disparities and minimize costs.
As head of AltaMed, and as one of the nation’s most influential Latinos, according to the Hispanic Business Magazine, Cástulo assists
thousands of underserved families each year. His leadership in the community spans nearly three decades, and for his dedication and
success in providing affordable, accessible health care, Mr. de la Rocha has gained national renown in the field of community health as
well as a number of commendations, including the U.S. Surgeon General’s Gold Medallion for Public Health in 1992; the Community
Service Award in 1995 from the American Diabetes Association; the Significant Achievement Award in 1995 from the Chicanos for
Creative Medicine; the VNA Vantage Award in 1996 from the Visiting Nurses Foundation; the Pioneer for Justice Award from the Mexican
American Bar Foundation in 2009; the Tribute Award from the Latino Coalition for lifetime achievements in 2010; and the Champion Health
Award from the National Medical Fellowships in 2010.
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7. The Birth of East LA Meets Napa
The motivation for Cástulo over these last 30 years has been his tireless commitment to social justice and his deep held belief
that health care is a right and not a privilege. He has personally spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours advocating for the
underserved and giving voice to those who would otherwise go unheard.
This same passion is what sparked the creation of this publication. Six years ago, AltaMed was looking to start a new
fundraising event and several dedicated volunteers and long-time friends of AltaMed formed the Wine Committee and started
East LA Meets Napa. The group wanted to bring recognition to the hardworking families of East LA, who owned and operated
some of the best Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. These restaurants were then paired with wines from the Napa Valley
produced by Latino vintners and families.
The first event took place in 2006, hosted 200 people and raised just over $12,000. There were 7 restaurants and 13 wineries
that participated. Over the course of the next few years the Wine Committee worked tirelessly, to bring on additional chefs
and winemakers and to increase the event’s visibility in order to attract the support of corporate sponsors. In 2010, just five
years later, the event hosted over 1,400 guests, and had 23 restaurants and 30 wineries present. The event raised $207,000 in
support of AltaMed’s programs and services.
Today, East LA Meets Napa has become one of the premier wine tasting events of Southern California. Its success has been
due to the generosity of the restaurants and wineries who donate the food and wine that hundreds come to taste annually. Every
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9. year, the event grows more popular adding new participants, each with a unique flare that ties back to A special thank you to
Latino contributions to the food and wine culture that continues to spread across the globe. the East LA Meets Napa
Wine Committee:
In Their Own Words—Latino Contributions to the Wine Making Industry in the U.S. is a brief but Event Chairs
powerful glimpse into the lives and histories of Latino winemaking families in Napa Valley. AltaMed Jorge Jarrin
partnered with two senior professors from UCLA, a historian and a sociologist, both in the Department Armando de la Torre
of Chicana/o Studies, to undertake a study of Mexican and Latino contributions to winemaking in the Ricardo Robles
Napa Valley. Together, they developed a research project that involved documenting the oral histories
Committee
and biographies of the vintners highlighted in the following pages. The researchers conducted and
Marlene Fulps
transcribed interviews that informed the content of this book, including primary archival research cited
Janie Guentert
in the prelude essay to the biographies.
Robin Guentert
Dion Hannum
The Wine Committee, the authors and contributors of this report, along with Cástulo are grateful
Kathleen Hannum
to each of the wineries highlighted herein for their contributions to East LA Meets Napa. They have
Maggie Jarrin
donated their wine, their time and their expertise to help produce an extremely successful fundraiser
Suzy Mullen
benefitting AltaMed’s health care programs.
Debbie Robles
David Shaw
Angel Zapata
José Rizo
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