sentences:  Since the election of Dennis Chavez and Joachim O. Fernández to the House in 1931, Hispanics have continuously been represented in Congress.Most Hispanic members of Congress, including all elected prior to 1970, were of Mexican descent with the exception of Herman Badillo, who won election in 1970, becoming the first Puerto Rican from a mainland state in Congress.Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was elected in 1989 as the first Cuban American congresswoman.