Još Marciano "Shorty" Aguayo Ybarra (November 2, 1897-December 7, 1979) and his wife Jovita Ortega Gonzalez Aguayo (1908-2000) were Mexican American immigrants who lived in Sedgwick, Colorado. They both emigrated from Mexico, Marciano from Aguascalientes in 1917 and Jovita from Chihuahua in 1926. They married in 1929 and had seven children: Herlinda (1931-), Anita (1933-), Alberto (1935-), Alicia (1937-), Emilio (1939-), and Još (1941-), and Celia (1944-). Marciano worked as a laborer in the sugar beet fields for the Great Western Sugar Company, then from 1941 to 1973 he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad as a section man. His correspondence with the Embassy of Mexico (Washington D.C.) and Denver's Consulate of Mexico demonstrates his advocacy for worker's rights, detailing exploitation and repatriation faced by other Mexican laborers. Both became naturalized U.S. citizens in 1955. Marciano died in 1979 and Jovita in 2000.
Još Aguayo (1941-) is a founder and the first director of the Museo de Las Am̌ricas in Denver, Colorado. A U.S. Army veteran, Aguayo returned from his service in the Vietnam War and pursued a career in advertising. He earned an A.A. in Advertising Design, a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Museum Studies. After working at the Colorado History Museum as the Director of Design, Aguayo founded the Museo with several other Denver artists with the intent to celebrate and honor Latino art and culture. Aguayo served as the director from 1991, then stepped down from the role to run for Denver City Council in 2003. Aguayo has since gone on to advocate for Latino veterans, and has published books on military and Latino history.
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