At four, Manuelita de Atocha (Mela) Lucero Leger read Spanish-language newspapers to her blind grandfather in Colonias. Although New Mexico's constitution protected Spanish-speaking students, schoolchildren were often punished for speaking Spanish. As a pioneer in bilingual education, Mela changed that by founding one of the nation's first bilingual multicultural schools, developing curriculum, training teachers, and helping write the historic 1973 Bilingual Education Act.