Products Working as a dishwasher by day and as a tortilla maker from midnight to 6 a.m., Acosta soon made enough money to save some. At 21, she married Alejandro Bañuelos and saved about $500, which she used to start a tortilla factory in downtown Los Angeles. Acosta bought a tortilla machine, a fan, and a corn grinder, and with her aunt helping her she made $36 on the factory's first day of business in 1949. Ambitious and driven, Acosta constantly sought opportunities to sell her tortillas to local businesses. As sales volume increased, she incorporated the company and named it Ramona's Mexican Food Products, Inc. There are differing opinions on how the business name came about: some say the sign painters made a mistake when spelling "Romana"; others insist "Ramona" was an early California folk hero; and still others believe it was a product of people's unfamiliarity with the name "Romana." By the mid-1960s, Ramona's Mexican Food Products, Inc. was thriving and Acosta had a daughter, whom she named Ramona after the business. Pan-American National Bank In 1963, looking for ways to help the struggling Latinos in her neighborhood, Acosta and some businessmen founded the Pan-American National Bank in East Los Angeles, California. The men had initially approached her husband with the proposal, but he was busy with political work and suggested the men talk to Acosta. The bank's main purpose was to bankroll Latinos who wanted to start their own businesses. Acosta also believed that if Hispanics could increase their financial base they would have more political influence and be able to improve their standard of living. In 1969 Acosta was appointed chairperson of the bank's board of directors and received the city's Outstanding Business Woman of the Year Award. Later that year, Mayor Sam Yorty presented her with a commendation from the County Board of Supervisors, and Acosta established a college scholarship fund, the Ramona Mexican Food Products Scholarship, for poor Mexican-American students. United States Treasurer With bank assets already in the millions and deposits climbing rapidly, Pan-American National's success caught the attention of the Richard Nixon's administration. The president was seeking to repay the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, which had played a strong role in his election. Acosta agreed to the nomination when asked in 1970 if she would consider the office of U.S. Treasurer. She was stunned when Nixon personally chose her as his candidate.