Latinas to the 4th Power was born out of our excitement and the energy generated at the first National Latina Day in the USA event held in Elgin, Illinois, in 2025.

Started in Texas ten years before in 2015 by Dolores “Loli” Alvarez Castilla who believed that Latina successes and contributions ought to be celebrated, National Latina Day was an idea that caught fire and now hundreds of such celebrations take place across the country.

The first event in Elgin took place on August 20, 2025 at El Pueblo Escondido, a restaurant in downtown Elgin. It was organized by a small group of Latina community leaders, including Jo Ann Armenta, founder and president of TAAFA(Trinidad Aguirre-Armenta Foundation for the Arts), Laura Carrillo Barth, Monica Espejal, a nd Danna Gallegos, all directors of TAAFA, along with support from Edith Pelcastre and Helen Lopez Strom. TAAFA is a non-profit that supports emerging Latina artists.

The participants agreed that it would be important to leverage the energy from this first event and keep the idea of bringing local Latina leaders together to find mutual support in all of our various enterprises. Since then, the name Latinas to the 4th Power (L4 for short) has been adopted by the growing gathering of Latina women for the space they hold to announce and celebrate their many leadership activities.

Latina leadership takes many forms and in 2026, Latinas to the 4th Power is organizing an event to be held in Geneva, Illinois, to celebrate Latina trailblazers and outstanding leaders across all of Kane County (Illinois). State Senator Karina Villa will be the keynote speaker.