Magdalena Huertas Byrne was just as surprised as anyone when she received the email related to the Pennsylvania Latino Convention.
As part of their ALMA Heritage Initiative, honoring the history, legacy and future of the Latino community, they informed her she was, in fact, not only the first Latina mayor in Lansdowne but also in all of Pennsylvania.
“No, that can’t possibly be,” she replied.
But, she was told, she was.
And for her that moment has been a coming full circle from a childhood where it was deemed dangerous to admit to who you are to being celebrated for that very lineage today.
“When I was growing up, my mom was a single mom and we lived with my grandmom,” the 51-year-old said, noting that her family was from northern Spain and then immigrated to Puerto Rico, then New York. “They lived in a time when it wasn’t safe to be Hispanic. For me growing up as a kid, I was told to not tell anyone. It was very much, ‘You shouldn’t say anything. Don’t offer that information up. Please don’t say anything because we want to make sure you’re safe when you go to school.’ “
She said that stayed with her for some time.
“It took a long time to get comfortable in my own skin,” Byrne said.
“The past few years I think it’s been really important to talk about,” she added, saying she feels like many groups are being targeted for different reasons. “It has become necessary to talk about where I’m from and what my heritage is.”
She shared what the honor of being the first Latina mayor in Pennsylvania means to her.
“It really is very meaningful and personal and deep,” Byrne said, noting how she has come from a place where she couldn’t tell anyone to now being able to celebrate it and be proud of it. “This is who I am.”
She said the Pennsylvania Latino Convention has a recognition ceremony planned for September.
While many of her relatives have since passed, Byrne said she did share with her achievement with her aunt who still lives in Puerto Rico.
“Oh, I’m so proud of you,” Byrne said she responded.
Byrne also shared how she came to call Lansdowne home.
She and her husband, Ken, had been married for about three years when his employer transferred him from LaGuardia Airport to Philadelphia International Airport.
“It was really an excellent opportunity,” she said.
As a city girl, she wanted to live close to the city, to have good transportation and to have sidewalks.
“We just fell in love with this one house in Lansdowne,” Byrne, a senior analyst in compliance at a technology firm, said. “Our closest relative was an hour away. We really were shooting in the dark.”
What she found was more than a home.
“This community really took us in,” Byrne said. “They really made us a fabric of the town … I’m at home when I’m in Lansdowne.”
Byrne has served as Lansdowne’s mayor since 2022. Prior to that, she served two terms on borough council, two of those years as vice president.
At last week’s borough council meeting, Byrne was honored for this distinction.
Lansdowne Mayor Magdalena Huertas Byrne with Police Chief Ken Rutherford and the rest of the borough police department. (COURTESY OF LANSDOWNE)
During their presentations portion of the meeting, they surprised the mayor with a proclamation for her groundbreaking achievement and continued service to the borough.
“This recognition is not only about one individual, but about what it represents for our community and for the future of leadership in Pennsylvania,” Council President Jessica M. Pointer said. “Mayor Huertas Byrne’s leadership reflects progress, resilience, and the expanding voice of communities that have long contributed to the strength of our Commonwealth.”
In her remarks upon receiving the proclamation, the mayor said, “I am incredibly humbled by the recognition I received from State Rep. Gina Curry, Lansdowne Borough Council, and the Lansdowne Police Department. But more than anything, I’m grateful to this community for believing in me, supporting me, and allowing me to serve the town I love so much. Special thanks to everyone who came out to support me in this special recognition. It really meant the world to me to see such a filled room to celebrate.”
On Tuesday, Byrne shared what this recognition meant for her.
“I’m so very humbled and I’m so grateful and I really couldn’t do it without any of them,” she said of borough council. “They are the fabric of my life at this point because they’ve always been so inclusive … It’s what drives me to serve.”