Somos Primos

 March 2006 
Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-6
Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues
 
Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research
Celebrating 20th Anniversary 
1986-2006

East L.A. 
Marine

The Untold 
True Story

 of 

Guy Gabaldon

Documentary 
by 
Fast Carrier Pictures

 
Finally a documentary that focuses 
on the man 
behind the deeds.

What motivated Gabaldon 
to accomplish 
the impossible?

Fearless and determined

Single-handedly capturing about 1,500 Japanese prisoners 
in Saipan,
 800 at one time.

Photo credit: Library of Congress

Guy Gabaldon, seated in Center, poses for a photo with actor Jeffrey Hunter, left, who portrayed him in the 1960 movie "Hell to Eternity," with Vic Damone and David Janssen.

For more information, please Click

  Letters to the Editor : 

"To ignore our past, betrays our future."

Douglas Westfall, 
http://www.specialbooks.com

United States

Education
Cesar Chavez  & Bernardo de Galvez
Successful marriages confer academic benefit on children
Hispanic advocates sue Texas over ESL and bilingual programs
Yahoo discussion Groups
Nuestra Family Unida podcast project    
WALKOUT Screening  > March 1, 2006, HBO > March 18th
Octavio Gomez, Cameraman Helped Cover Latino Civil Rights Movement 

Culture 
Latino TV characters seen as  the hot gift 
Sibling Writing Team Surprises Again 
Prestigious festival accepts S.A. filmmaker's maiden effort
Adding Color to Red, White and Blue

Business
The inexorable rise of Latino USA
New Latina Voz on the Web 
For Hispanics, Farming is a Growth Industry
Some day laborers report being abused and cheated in their pay

The Library of Congress' Junior Fellows' Summer Intern program offers undergraduate and graduate students insights into the environment and culture of the world's largest and most comprehensive repository of human knowledge. Working with the staff, curators, and the incomparable collections of the Library of Congress, interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: preservation, reference, access standards, information management, and the U. S. copyright system.

No previous experience is necessary, but internships are competitive and special relevant skills are desirable. Selection will be based on academic achievement, letters of recommendation, and in most cases an interview with a selection official.  Please act quickly:  http://www.loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/

This internship program is a great way to get international experience and expose yourself to career fields you may never have considered. Please do not let any part of the application intimidate you! If you need help, that's my job to help you. It is completely doable! Also, the application states that you must pay for your own transportation to your job site. If that is a financial problem, still apply and we'll see how we can find you financial assistance.

Again, if you have any questions or you decide to apply PLEASE LET ME KNOW! And please pass this email on to any other students. Thank you!

Lillian Gorman, Program Analyst 
USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program, 
1400 Independence S.W., Rm. 3912-S Washington, D.C. 20250 
(202) 720-6506 (phone) (202) 720-5336 (fax) lgorman@ars.usda.gov 

Internships at the Smithsonian
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/rtp/other_opps/otherintro.html

Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History features many opportunities for students of all ages seeking to contribute their time and energy toward the care and keeping of the US National Collections and supporting the research efforts of our professional staff. 
Next focused application review date for general internships: 26 April 2006

Notes of meeting held on – Feb 8, 2006, sent by Gilbert Sandate, gsandate@loc.gov

Meeting convened by LULAC, NPRC, and ASPIRA to address in a more concerted manner the issue of under-representation of Hispanics in the federal government. The NHLA Chair, Ronald Blackburn Moreno, made a commitment to work on this issue and to begin addressing it on a more consistent basis, making it a major initiative over the next few years.

Over 40 attendees, representing Federal agencies as well as Hispanic advocacy organizations, discussed ideas for addressing the problem of Hispanic under-representation in the Federal workforce. The discussion focused on setting a strategic plan of action under the NHLA banner that all could endorse, support and implement. The goal is to have a strategic plan that all organizations and Federal employees can support and help implement. Key points include the following:

Strategy Discussion:

Media Strategy
1. Prepare media strategy and press conference around the GAO report due May/June 2006
2. Develop message; change language from semantics of discrimination to cultural divide; get everyone on same page; speak with one voice; don’t use an attack and retreat strategy; stay focused, persistent, consistent

Communication Strategy
1. Obtain commitment from White House to address Hispanic employment
2. Establish partnership with African-American, i.e., Blacks in Government
3. Prepare agency Hispanic employment profiles and hold meetings w/agency leadership

Congressional Strategy
1. Request Congressional hearings after GAO report is issued
2. Prepare Legislative proposals to fix broken Federal personnel hiring system
3. Address the challenge of leadership accountability
4. Link performance in Hispanic employment to rewards (program budget and bonuses)

Research and Assessments Strategy
1. Collect plans from the different agencies to develop overarching agenda
2. Determine challenges, i.e. no funds to do base activity-work
3. Determine opportunities
4. Evaluate systemic institutional barriers, i.e., legal case history interpretations
5. Examine discrimination suits – reverse discrimination suits
6. Examine past work to determine what didn’t work, i.e., MOUs are not being applied
7. Find out how many Latinos apply by agency

Infrastructure
1. Organize smaller committees to create specific recommendations
2. Establish the NHLA Advisory Commission of Federal Retirees to capitalize on retiree expertise
3. Develop training on federal personnel process to better educate ourselves about hiring practices – use federal retirees
4. Ensure follow-up

Assignments:

1. Collect Plans - Gil Sandate
- Data and Statistics
- Federal Diversity Data
- Problem and Causes
- Proposed Solutions
- Best Practices

2. Prepare Media Strategy and Press Conference on GAO – Manny Mirabal

3. Meet with Agencies & Conduct Letter Writing Campaign - Ron Blackburn Moreno

4. Create Legislative Strategy: Senate/House Government Reform Committee Hearings – Brent Wilkes, Emma Moreno, and Gabriela D. Lemus

5. Define Accountability Issues for Legislation
- Organize structure at the White House and Agencies
- Tie accountability to SES Bonus System
- Tie accountability to budget

6. Create Commission/Review Board of Federal Experts 
- Conduct education/outreach effort
- Hold seminars on importance of diversity in workplace
- Hold seminars on Federal HR processes
- Hold Federal career events for young Hispanics
- Hold seminars on the Federal application and hiring process
- Develop database of Federal experts – Harry Salinas

7. Report Card: Federal Service – NHLA

8. Gather Intelligence - NAHFE
- Identify barriers specific to agencies, i.e., OGC, etc.

Cesar Chavez's birthday on March 31st. is being honored by Fred Blanco in a new production, Cesar Chavez y Bernardo de Galvez: Sons and Souls of California.

Fred Blanco and Bruce Buonauro, both being educational performers, produced shows individually, predominately for educational venues, such as schools and libraries.  They both had an interest in telling  Chavez and Galvez' stories.  They decided to widen their audience and create versions that contained enough depth to engage older audiences .  The production explores the humanity of these two men revealing to the audience, two people, as opposed to just two historical figures. Click for more information.

A new study published in the Journal of Divorce & Remarriage clearly shows that parents who make their marriage successful are conferring a remarkable academic benefit on their children - especially their daughters.

By using data for 265 seniors enrolled in a Colorado Springs public high school, researcher Barry D. Ham assesses "the impact of divorce in relation to students' academic achievement." And the pattern is clear: "Adolescents from intact homes perform better academically and maintain better school attendance than do those students from either single-parent or remarried homes."

Ham calculates that in comparison with peers from other family structures, students from intact families earn GPAs that average more than 17% higher. He further calculates a distinctively low rate of absenteeism among students from intact families, who missed 78% fewer class periods than peers from non-intact households.

While some have supposed that parental remarriage will erase the harmful effects of parental divorce, Ham finds that, overall, "children in remarried households performed no better than children in either single-mother or single-father families." More careful parsing of the data, however, indicates that "when a stepparent is brought into the home, the males somehow benefit" while females do not. Highlighting it as "one of the most significant findings of this study," Ham points to statistics indicating that "females were more negatively impacted" than males by living in a stepfamily created after parental divorce.

Ham does not comment on the irony of his findings in a social world in which feminists generally regard parental divorce and the stepfamilies it produces with indifference. He does see in his findings strong indications that, compared to peers in non-traditional homes, "those students residing with their two biological parents appear to be given an increased chance to excel educationally."

(Source: Barry D. Ham, "The Effects of Divorce and Remarriage on the Academic Achievement of High School Seniors," Journal of Divorce & Remarriage 42.1/2 (2004) The Howard Center & the World Congress of Families. 1-800-461-3113    934 North Main Street Rockford, Illinois 61103 

Puerto Rican teacher Manuel Hernandez created a Yahoo group for the discussion of literature and education. HispanicVista highly recommends this effort and urges its readers to join and participate. mannyh32@yahoo.com  or visit and join at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/latinoliterature
 
Week's essay. http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/Columnist/mhernandez/020106hernandez.htm 

For more within this issue of Somos Primos article on Sal Castro . . . Click

Project Director Arminda Figueroa, displaying a Maya doll, based on one of the lead characters on the "Maya & Miguel" PBS program, said Scholastic "looked at the future and saw that the country is becoming more multicultural."

"Los Tigres del Norte are a huge inspiration in my filmmaking," Véliz says. "They're my No. 1 inspiration, above filmmakers, because they tell the inspiring stories. In songs they tell them in about three minutes. I tell them in about 90 minutes."

Véliz was driving on Interstate 10 when "José Perez Leon," a ballad by Los Tigres del Norte, came on the radio. The song tells the story of a man who dies trying to cross the border into the United States. Listening to the lyrics, Véliz was moved to tears. "I just literally started weeping, right on the highway," he says. "People (were) looking at me like 'Is this guy OK?'"  

Véliz went home and sat down at his computer. He typed in his pj's as he listened to the song over and over. Eight hours later, Véliz had "La Tragedia de Macario."

Véliz used his savings from working part time for the youth arts program SAY Sí and videotaping quinceañeras to buy a digital camera and editing equipment. Filming began in late January."I remember we didn't even have rehearsals," says actor Rogelio Ramos, 29, who plays Macario with a soulful gravity. "We would show up and it was 'You know your lines?' 'Yeah.' 'All right. Go for it.'

"It was really guerrilla filmmaking, as Pablo says. It was a guy with a camera, a guy with a light, and a guy with a boom mike and we shot it."  The film won an award for best feature at the 2005 Cine Cuauhtemoc Pan American Film Festival in Houston and screened at the 2005 CineFestival en San Antonio in November. 

ps: Podcasting is just a little over one year old. There is much room for a wide variety of podcasts on many subjects related to our people. If you have a message that would benefit the community please contact me and we can work through the technology to get you up and running. The time is ripe. Never has there been an easier and low cost way to get your message out to the community. If you have something to say let's work together in saying it. 

pps: to subscribe and automatically get new material from the Nuestra Familia Unida podcast delivered to your computer as it becomes available you need to download free aggragator software from the net: iTunes is a good choice. Then when you pick the "subscribe to podcast" option you would insert this RSS feed: http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com/rss.xml into the subscribe window. Otherwise you can listen to or manually download the podcasts from the website.

Additional information added from Hispanic Link Weekly report, Vol. 24.8, Feb 20, 2006.

TURIN, Italy, Feb. 8 Midwest, The U.S. team is considered  the most racially and ethnically diverse in the history of the Winter Games.It will include a Cuban American from Miami, a Puerto Rican American from Chicago, a Japanese American from Seattle and African Americans from Chicago, Alabama and North Carolina, all among the country's strongest medal hopes. At least 23 of the 211-member U.S. team have Hispanic or non-white backgrounds, and the team includes natives of Florida, Georgia and Texas, as well as South Korea, Russia and Japan.

Though the U.S. Olympic Committee does not keep official records on race or ethnicity, the number of black, Asian American or Hispanic athletes on the U.S. team is more than double that at Salt Lake City in 2002, which included at least 12 minorities. It is nearly four times the number on the U.S. teams that competed in 1998 in Nagano and 1994 in Lillehammer.

"I've definitely seen the winter sport side of it evolve," said men's bobsledder Randy Jones, an African American who has competed in two previous Olympics and won a silver medal in 2002. "There's more color getting involved in all sports."

The evolution of the U.S. team has major implications for the U.S. Olympic Committee, whose congressionally defined mission includes increasing the number of minorities in athletics, and its various winter-sport national governing bodies, which for years have fought what was often a losing battle to attract more of the country's top minority athletes. Sports officials say there is no greater recruitment tool than a more diverse lineup of American Olympians.

Derek Parra of Carson, Calif., who was the first athlete of Mexican descent to win a Winter Olympic medal when he claimed a gold in 2002; Ryan Leveille, who is part Native American; and Jennifer Rodriguez, who is of Cuban descent and in 1998 became the first Hispanic American to compete in the Winter Games.

(Hispanic Link by Miguel Garcia) The five Latinos on the United States Olympic team winter competing in Turin, Italy are:
Jennifer Rodriguez, 29, of Miami, Fla., closed the 2005 speedskating season with 14 medals.  She set two new track records, became world champion, and hold five U.S. and four track records.
Derek Parra, 35, of san Bernardino County, California, qualified for his third U.S. team by finishing third in the men's 1,500-meter competition of the 2006 U.S. Long Track Championships at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Maria Garcia, Carson, Calif. will be competing in Short Track Speedskating. She is ranked fourth overall at U.S. Short Track National Championships in 2005.
Mason Aguirre, 18, of Mammoth Mountain, Calif., a snowboarder in the men's halfpip event, place fourth.
Ben Agosto, 24, of Northbrook, Ill., with Tanith Belbin are entered in ice dancing.

Anti-Spanish Legends

File photo: Bloomberg News

In 1511, Spain's King 
Ferdinand exhorted his conquistadors: 
"Get gold, humanely if 
possible, but at all hazards, 
get gold." '

"A lust for gold was the driving force behind the conflicts that developed as a diverse group of participants each fought for a share of the promised fortunes. Violence and lawlessness ran rampant in the 1850s, recording the highest homicide rate in the history of peacetime US "
writes reviewer: Harry Pandolfino.

". . these people stole from other folks in a wide variety of ways and made an art out of shooting and cutting up friends as well as enemies. " Reviewer: Leon Metz 

The New York Herald printed news of the discovery in August 1848 and the rush for gold accelerated into a stampede. Gold seekers traveled overland across the mountains to California (30,000 assembled at launch points along the plains in the spring of 1849) or took the round-about sea routes: either to Panama or around Cape Horn and then up the Pacific coast to San Francisco. A census of San Francisco (then called Yerba Buena) in April 1847 reported the town consisted of 79 buildings including shanties, frames houses and adobes. By December 1849 the population had mushroomed to an estimated 100,000. The massive influx of fortune seekers Americanized the once Mexican province and assured its inclusion as a state in the union.    http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm

"Quarreling and cheating form the employments, drinking and gambling the amusements, making the largest pile of gold the only ambition of the inhabitants."   http://www.cyberwest.com/cw17/goldrush.html

Who would have been foolish enough to travel through hell to get to a place where a person's ears were cut off for stealing and murder was commonplace. (No Place for a Woman? Patricia Cronin Marcello)  

New March 2006 issue, Smithsonian, page 42, next to a gold Funerary Mask, 100 B.C. to A.D. 800 "The Spirit of Ancient Colombian Gold" show  . . says HURRY IN . . . 

Spanish explorers would have killed (and did) for a collection of Colombian gold as large as the one on view at the National Museum of Natural History through April. 

In neither the cartoon, newspaper article, nor the Smithsonian magazine did the anti-Hispanic statement have to be included.  It did not augment the statement with facts, but was purely an editorial comment added as a humorous innuendo.  The writers apparently feeling safe in thinking that their inclusion was historically correct and therefore generally acceptable, adding their comment, even though clearly the statements are demeaning to the history of the Spanish colonists. 

These debasing comments appear frequently in the media, reinforcing negative attitudes towards the early Spanish colonizers.  It supposes that either descendants of the Spanish colonists do not exist, or because of the accuracy of their comments that we do not take a stand in defense of our ancestors.  

Notice too in those quotes, one refers to the Spanish as conquistadors and the other as explorers,
yet, the English are referred to as colonists, Pilgrims, Puritans.  The "49ers" are referred as such, even though most were lusting after gold, adventurers and thugs driven by gold fever. 

We support the use of those terms when we use them ourselves, forgetting that the colonization took place with Spanish and other Southern Europeans families who immigrated first in the earliest colonization of the Americas. Using the term Spanish conquistadors is inaccurate.  They were soldiers, just as all the other armies forces were soldiers.  They came as cooks, bakers, tailors, doctors, barbers, etc.  They came with families, wives and children.

The problem persists because incorrect history has shaped a very negative perspective towards  the role played by the Spanish in the American continent. The Smithsonian is suppose to reflect the discoveries and achievements of America, but the Hispanic/Latino is still not an acceptable part of the vision.  Our story has not been told because we are telling it in the right places and to the right people. 


"Latinos in the Smithsonian Revised"

In 1997, a 5-year report on the the Hispanic presence in the Smithsonian revealed that in 1996 Latinos were 3.1% of the Smithsonian staff.* 

We need Hispanic/Latinos on the staff of  museums,  historical sites, in national parks, concert halls, performing arts centers, PBS and educational channels. Most agencies, public or private reach out with internship programs.  For more information about research and scholarship at the Getty in California, go to www.getty.edu/research

For information on internship programs at the Smithsonian, Click.   

Military Heroes and Research

Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii News
June 6, 2004.
http://starbulletin.com/2004/06/06/news/story10.html

Guy Gabaldon, 
‘Pied Piper’ returning
to Saipan

The Chicano recipient of the
Navy Cross will revisit the site
of a historic WWII battle 

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

For information on obtaining a copy, please
contact producer Steve Rubin, 213-300-1896
www.fastcarrier.com  
steve@fastcarrier.com .

East L.A. Marine: the Untold True Story of Guy Gabaldon

A professional performer, Bruce is well known for his portrayal of Father Serra at Knott's 
Berry Farm.

PATRIOT ANCESTORS FROM CUBA 
(Part 2, F-J)
Information compiled and edited by Granville Hough, Ph.D.

This continues the listing of Cuban Patriots who served during the period of Jun 1779 until Sep 1783. For more information, and the A-E listing, see the February 2006 Somos Primos. This listing is made for the benefit of those who descend from the soldiers or other patriots listed and who wish to join the Sons of the American Revolution. The author, Granville W. Hough, is available at gwhough@oakapple.net to assist those who wish to join that organization.  One might ask how one can access the records in Cuba which would be most helpful. The first answer is that this listing can be downloaded and saved for the future. I can assure anyone that Fidel Castro will not be an impediment to research, on-site, in Cuba, forever. I am his age and know he is just as mortal as I. The second answer is that it may now be possible to hire researchers in Cuba to go into the archives and find what you need. I do not know who has tried that approach. It should work just as well in Cuba as in the United States, Mexico, or Spain. Genealogy is non-political, or always has been, in my experience.

F . . .
Juan Fabre. Adjutant, 1799, Plana Mayor del Bn de Morenos, Havana, Legajo 7264:VIII:8.
*Antonio Fajardo (1756 Galicia - ). SubLt in 1779, Lt in 1780, with Comp. Islas, San Juan de Ulua, Capt, Inf Puebla, 1800, Havana, Legajo 7277:VI:24.
*Jorge Farragut. C:71, pp 269-270, Spanish privateer during Spain's 1779-1783 War with England.
*Manual Faus. K:123, 125, drill instructor who whacked a negro soldier who strayed out of line during drill so hard he killed him. Legajo 7264:VIII:2, Capt in 1799, Plana Mayor del Bn de Morenos, Havana.
Manuel de Febles. Sargento, 1799, Militia Inf, Havana. Legajo 7264:XIII:116.
*José de Félix Cordoba. Capt, 1796, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7263:XXIII:74.
Gaspar Feo. SubLt, 1789, Mil Cav, Havana, Legajo 7260:X:43.
*Joseph Feran. A3:XI:57, soldier, c 1781.
*Andrés Fernándes. Capt of Grenadiers, 1789, Mil de las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7260:XIII:3.
*Antonio Fernández (1721 Zilleros, Spain - ), entered service in 1738, Capt, grad Lt Col in 1781, 1786, and 1788 in Dragoons of America, married. Tanner:41, Lt Col in East Florida in 1784 sent to bring in McGirt outlaws. Legajo 7263:I:6, Col in 1797, Estado Mayor de San Cristóbal, Havana.
*Antonio Fernández Trebejo. Mob:216, 691, engineer at Mobile, 1780.
*Benito Fernández. Ch1:11, soldier of the 20th Comp., arrived in Havana, Mar 1779.
Eduardo Fernández. Cadet, Cav. Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:80.
Felipe Fernández Lugo. Sgt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1792. Legajo 7261:VII:69.
*Francisco Luís Fernández (1741 Antequera - ), Sgt in 1777, Sgt, 1st Comp, Dragoons of America, 1786, “casada con Mujer Decente.” Adjutant, 1800, Plana Mayor of Santiago, Cuba, Legajo 7264:I:3.
José Fernández. SubLt, 1786, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:XII:52, probably the person who was aide to Governor Zéspedes in East Florida.
*José Fernández (1750 - ). Entered service 1768, 1st Sgt, Havana Cav, 1787, Lt, 1799, Cav Mil of Havana, Legajo 7264:XII:26.
*José Fernández del Cueto (1741 Esquibias - ), Sgt of Grenadiers, 1778, SubLt, Havana Regt, 1786, single. Lt of Grenadiers, 1799, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7264:XVII:29.
José Domingo Fernández. Sgt, Bn Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1797. Legajo 7263:VIII:45.
José María Fernández. Sgt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:79.
*Juan Fernández (1770 Havana - ), Cadet in 1782, Cadet in 3rd Comp, Dragoons of America, 1786 and in 2d Comp, 1788.
*Juan Fernández. Mob:546, soldier, Regt of Havana, killed at the Village, 1781.
Juan Fernández de Lara. Cadet, Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:61.
*Juan Fernández Remedios. Capt, 1796, Corps of Arty, Havana, Legajo 7263:XXI:4.
Lazaro Fernández. Lt, 1800, Estado Mayor of San Cristóbal, Havana, Legajo 7264:II:7.
Manuel Fernández de Lara. Cadet, Militia of Cuarto Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:62.
Tomás Fernández. Sgt, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIV:38.
*Andrés Fernero and brother of Havana. Chávez:225, in 1781 lenders of money for French Navy.
*Domingo Ferradas (1723 - ), married. Entered service 1747, Lt, 1787, and 1789, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7260:IX:72.
Francisco Ferraez. A2:IX:39, mentioned c 1779.
*José Ferraras. Soldier and Cpl, 1770-1785, Regts Saboya and Corona, in Veracruz, Havana, and Guarico operations, 1st Sgt, Inf of Mexico, 1800, single, Legajo 7277.
*Luís Lorenzo Ferrazas. A2:VIII:62, 63, Naval Lt, c1778. R80II:101, wounded Mobile, Mar 1780.
*??? Ferrer. Mob:448, head of transport boat, Pensacola convoy, 1780.
*Josef Ferrer. Mob:546, fusilier, wounded at the Village, 1781.
*José Ferrer (1741 - ). Entered service 1760, Capt, 1st Comp, 1787 and 1799, Mil Inf de Cuba y Bayamos, Legajo 7264:XI:9.
José Antonio Ferrer. Cadet, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:131.
Miguel Ferrer. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIV:104.
Rafael Mariana Ferrer. Cadet, Inf Militia of Cuba y Bayamo, 1799. Legajo 7264:XI;27.
*José Feu of Havana. Chávez:225, in 1781 lender of money for the French navy.
*Antonio Figueroa. Capt, 1800, Commandant, Castillo de Atarés, Estado Mayor de San Cristóbal, Havana, Legajo 7264:II:10.
Faustino Figueroa. Cadet, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:108.
*José María Figueroa (1756 Havana - ), entered service in 1777, at Pensacola in 1780, SubLt in 1781, 1786, and 1788, 1st and 2d Comp,
Dragoons of America, single. Legajo 7265:II:169, Adjutant Major, Esquadrón Dragoons of America, 1809.
Juan Figueroa. Surgeon, 1799, Mil de las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7264:X:73.
*Patricio Figueroa (1734 Havana - ), Lt in 1779, at Pensacola in 1781, Lt, grad Capt, Havana Regt, 1786, married. A3:XI:61, Lt, c 1781. Legajo 7261:XII:7, Capt, Cuban Inf, 1792.
*Pablo Figuerola. Starr:208, Haarman:130, 131, Naval officer, 1781.Mir:185, commanded trenches at Pensacola, 1781.
*Pedro Figuerola of Havana, Cuba. Chávez:225, in 1781 lender of money for the French navy.
Diego de Fleytas. Sgt, Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:42.
*??? Florentín. Mob:719, his Mobile sloop assigned to Regt of Havana, 1781.
Martin de Flores Quijana. SubLt, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:67.
*Felipe de Fonsdeviela y Ordeano, Marquis de la Torre. Chávez:26, Captain-General at Havana in the early part of the war at the time Unzaga was Governor of Louisiana.
*Mariano Fontdorrona. A3:XII:21, 29, Capt, c 1782.
*Manuel Fous (1741 - ). Entered service 1751, Adjutant for the Morenos, 1787.
Francisco Franco. Sgt, Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1793. Legajo 7262:XXVII:34.
*Gerónimo Franco. Ch1:20, soldier, Havana Regt, sailed for LA picket, Aug 1779.
*Isidro Franco (1743 Canary Islands - ), 1st Sgt in 1778 and 1786,
Havana Regt, single. Legajo 7263:XIV:46, SubLt, Inf of Havana, 1797.
*Cristóbal Fresneda (1747 - ). Entered service 1766, 2d Sgt, Havana Cav, 1778, Sgt, 1789, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7260:X:65.
*Juan Manuel de Fromista (1753 - ), entered service 1769, Sgt 1st Cl and Adjutant Garzón, 1787, Plana Mayor de Pardos de Cuba y Bayamos, Legajo 7259:IX:6.*Alonso Frutos (1736 - ), Adjutant, Pardos of Cuba y Bayamo, 1787. Adjutant, grad Capt, 1799, Mil Inf of Puerto Rico, Legajo 7264:XIV:3.
José María de Fuentes. Sgt, Cav. Militia of Havana, 1797. Legajo 7263:X:52.
*Juan Antonio Fuentes (1753 - ), entered service in 1773, Adjutant, 1787 and 1799, Plana Mayor Bn de Pardos, Havana, Legajo 7264:V:5.
*Antonio Fundora (1759 - ), entered service 1773, 2d Sgt, Havana Cav, 1787. Sgt, 1793. Legajo 7263:XX:59.
Antonio Fur. SubLt, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:43.

G . . . .
*Mariano Gajate (1755 Pradilla - ), Cpl in 1775 in Regt of Aragon, Sgt, Inf of Havana, 1788, single. Legajo 7263:XI:98, Sgt, Militia, Havana Inf, 1797.
*Joseph Gallego. A3:XI:2, Capt, c 1781.
Domingo Gallegos. SubLt, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:68.
Miguel Gallegos. Cadet, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:115.
*José Gallegos. Cadet in 1781, at New Providence, Havana, and Guarico in 1782, Lt, Grenadiers, San Carlos de Perote, Regt Corona of New Spain, 1800, single, Legajo 7277:III:33.
*Narcisso Gallegos. Cadet in 1779, was in New Providence and Guarico operations in 1782, Capt, San Carlos de Perote, Regt Corona of New Spain, 1800, single, Legajo 7277:III:29.
Francisco María Gallos. Cadet, Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:59.
*Bernardo Vicente Pólinarde de Gálvez y Gallardo (1746 Macharaviaya, Málaga - 30 Nov 1786 Mexico City). Beerman:292-293, Caughey:247, Cummins:207, Governor of Louisiana, 1777-1784. Woods:77, Col., and Governor, md on 2 Nov 1777 Feliciana de St. Maxent. They bap ch in 1778
and later. RM2:57, 225, Major General and former governor of Louisiana, in 1783 designated head of French and Spanish forces to capture Jamaica from the British.
*José de Gálvez y Gallardo, Marqués de Sonora (1720 Macharaviaya, Málaga –1787 Aranjuez). Caughey:140-141, Spanish Minister of the Indies, 1776-1786, after being Visitor-General for King Carlos III in New Spain. He was apparently first married to María Magdalena Grimaldo y Lucía
Romet and secondly María Concepción Valenzuela.
*José Ganuza. Capt, 1792, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7261:XII:15.
Bartholomé Garaballo. Ch1:19, unmd CI recruit, deserted in Havana, Aug 1779.
*Manuel de Garay. Mob:444, brought supplies to Mobile on Felicité in 1780.
*Agustín García (1746 - ), entered service 1764, Adjutant Garzón, 1787 and 1793, Plana Mayor de Blancos dn Bn Pardos Mil de Cuba y Bayamos, Legajo 7262:XVI:4.
Alonso García. Lt, 1800, Estada Mayor (Major Staff) of San Cristóbal of Havana, Legajo 7264:III:15.
Andrés García. Lt, 1799, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7264:XIII:26.
*Antonio García (1735 Cuchia - ), entered service 1754, SubLt in 1777, Lt, 2d Comp Dragoons of America, 1788, Lt, 3rd Comp, Dragoons of America, 1786. Legajo 7261:X:2, Adjutant Major, Esquadrón, Dragoons of America, 1792.
*Antonio García (1745 Granada - ), entered service in 1762, Sgt in 1778, Sgt, 4th Comp, Dragoons of America, 1786, 3rd Comp in 1788. Legajo 7260:VII:18, Sgt, 1789, Dragoons of America.
*Antonio García. K;185, SubLt, 1st Bn, Vol Inf Regt of Cuba, 1781.
Antonio García. A3:XV:64, soldier, c 1787. This may be the person in Legajo 7263:XI:104, in 1797 a Sgt in Militia Inf of Havana.
*Diego García. A3:XI:24, 36, 2d Cpl, c 1781.
Esteban García. Distinguished Soldier, Cav. Militia of Havana, 1763. Legajo 7262:XX:76.
Francisco García. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuba & Bayamo, 1795. Legajo 7262:VII:35.
Gaspar García. Adjutant, 1799, Plana Mayor del Bn de Morenos of Havana, Legajo 7264:VIII:6.
Ignacio García. MP:24, servant to Saavedra in 1780.
*José García (1748 - ). Entered service in 1773, 2d Sgt, Havana Cav in 1787, Sgt, 1789, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7259:VI:70.
*José García. Capt, 1799, Mil of las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7264:X:3.
*Joseph García. A3:XI:31, soldier, c 1781.
*José García-Pizarro. K:114, SubVisitor of Qiito, South America, 1781.
*José Antonio García. Capt Adjutant, Mil de las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7261:IV:11.
José María García. SubLt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:38.
*Juan García. A3:XI:35, mentioned c 1781. This may be the soldier who was Sgt, Plana Mayor Bn. Militia Pardos of Cuba y Bayamo. Legajo 7263:VII:8.
*Pedro García. Capt, 1799, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7264:XVII:24.
*Pedro García de Lerena (1755 - ). Entered service 1771, SubLt, 1788, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:II:61.
Ramon García. Sgt, Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:37.
*Roque García. Mob:113, App G, Lt, 2d Bn of Spain, recommended for promotion after Mobile, 1780.
*Tomás García (1753 Havana - ), entered service, 1770, SubLt in 1776 and grad Lt, Havana Regt, 1786, married. Lt, 1788 and 1792, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7261:XI:24.
Tomás García. Sgt, Militia of Cuatros Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:46.
*Jaime Garcini. Legajo 7264:XVI:14, Capt, Havana Inf, 1799.
*Vicente Garciny. Ch1:Attachment, Col, Pensacola Staff, 1781.
Antonio Garnery. Sgt, 1790, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7260:II:91 or 61.
*Antonio Garro y Sayas (1766 - ). Entered service in 1782, Capt in 1787 and 1795, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7262:VIII:9.
*Jayme Garziny (1757 - ), entered service in 1772, Lt, Inf Vets of Havana, 1788.
Conde de Gasola. H:24, Inspector-General of Artillery, 1778.
Antonio Gasau. Sgt, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1792. Legajo 7261:VII:33.
Juan Gascon. Sgt, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:75.
*Ignacio Gatica. Mob:277, Capt, goleta Del Rey San José, Mobile, 1780.
Antonio Gavilan. Surgeon, 1793, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7262:XXI:120.
*Luis Gavilan (1756 - ), entered service 1778, Cadet, Inf Blancos of Havana, 1787. He was probably the Capt, Inf Militia of Havana in 1809. Legajo 7265:I:89.
*Rafael Gavilan (1763 - ), entered service Mar 1783, Cadet, Inf Blancos of Havana, 1787.
*Joseph Gavino Tamayo (1747 - ), entered service 1764, SubLt, 2d Comp Blancos Cuba y Bayamo, 1787.
*Antonio Gelabert. Mob:245, soldier, Catalonian Company, taken prisoner, 1780, at Mobile.
José Antonio Gelabert. Cadet, Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1795. Legajo 7262:V:63.
*Juan Gemmir Lleonart. Lt Col, 1792, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7261:XI:90.
*??? Genes. Mob:448, head of transport boat, Pensacola convoy, 1780.
*Pedro Georget. Mob:196, owned balandra Belona, used in Mobile, 1780.
Diego Gerardo. Lt, Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIV:16.
*Juan Germón. Mob:207, 210, Capt, Baton Rouge, to Mobile, 1780.
*Conde de Gibacoa. Col, 1799, Mil Dragones de Matanzas, Legajo 7264:VII:1.
*Agustín Gil. V:Jesu:74, 1779. Ch1:19, unm CI recruit who joined Matanza Dragoons of Havana, Aug 1779.
Fernando Gil. A3:XI:36, mentioned c 1781.
Mariana Gil Reinoso. SubLt, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:70.
Vicente Gil. A2:VI:69, soldier, c 1776. Legajo 7264:XIII:24, Lt, Mil Inf of Havana, 1799.
*Manuel Gilavert. In 1787, he had served 12 years 11 months 23 days. Lt Inf Puebla, 1800, Havana, Legajo 7277:VI:38.
*Antonio Gili (1759 Sineu - ), “En America conel Exto Operations,” Sgt, Havana Inf, 1788. Legajo 7262:XI:17, Sgt, Comp Inf of Cataluña in Havana, 1794.
*Andrés Giron. Capt, 1799, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7264:XVII:16.
*Gerónimo Girón y Montezuma, Marqués de las Amarillas (1741 Ronda – 1819 Sevilla). Beerman:294, M:13, 49, 59, 71, Col and Division Commander at Mobile, 1780. Caughey:210, Haarman:129, 132, Spanish infantry assault commander at Pensacola. Thonhoff:75, descendant of Moctezuma. His wife was Isabel de las Casas.
Joaquin Godoy. Sgt, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:80.
*Juan Godoy (1760 - ), entered service in 1777, Lt, 1788, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:II:38.
*Miguel de Goicoechea. M:73, 106:App C, Commander, frigate El Cayman,
1780, during Mobile campaign. Mob:667, ZPR:233, Capt of frigate Santa Cecilia, Pensacola 1781.
Miguel Félix de Goicoechea. CubaP:49, 99, and others, probably the same person as above.
*Antonio Gomez (1741 - ), entered service 1771, Sgt, 1st Comp, 1787 and 1789, Mil Inf de Cuba y Bayamo, Legajo 7260:XIX:37.
*Antonio Gómez. Sgt, Inf of Cuba, 1791, Legajo 7261:XXVI:44.
*Bartolomé Gómez (1731 - ). Entered service in 1750, Adjutant Major, grad Capt, Blancos, Cuba y Bayamo, 1787.
Francisco Gómez. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1795. Legajo 7262:IX:111.
Josef Gómez. A2:IX:67, soldier, c 1779. This may be José Gómez, Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1791, Legajo 7261:XIX:36.
*Jose Antonio Gomez. Lt, 1795, Bn de Mil de las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7262:V:17.
*Juan Gómez. Capt, 1799, Dragoons of Matanzas, Legajo 7264:VII:10.
Juan Jesús Gómez. SubLt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:51.
*Julian Gómez (1743 Murcia - ). Entered service in 1760, 1st Sgt of Carabineros, Havana Cav, 1787, Lt, 1799, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7264:XII:22.
Lucas Gómez. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:43 (bis).
*Nicolas Gómez (1742 - ), entered service 1759, SubLt, Blancos of Havana, 1787. Capt, Inf Militia of havana, 1809, Legajo 7265:I:84.
Agustín González. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1797. Legajo 7263:XIV:114.
*Alonso González (1751 - ). Entered service, 1770, 1st Sgt, 1787, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:V:61.
Andrés González. Chaplain, 1793, Mil Inf de las Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7292:XVII:71.
Antonio González. Cadet, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIV:49.
*Antonio González (1726 - ). Entered service in 1740, Lt, grad Capt, 2d Comp, Cuba y Bayamo, 1787. A2:VII:37, 42, Capt, c 1778. This may be Lt Col, grad, Mil Inf of Cuba y Bayamo in 1795, Legajo 7262:VII:18.
Antonio González Terino. Cadet, 1790, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7260:IV:97.
*Bartolomé González (1760 - ). Entered service in 1776, 2d Sgt, Havana Cav in 1787. Portaestandarte, 1799, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7264:XII:54.
*Benito González (1750 - ), entered service in 1768, Adjutant Garzon for Morenos, 1787. In 1799 Sgt, Cav of Havana, Legajo 7264:XII:58.
Bernardo González. SubLt, Inf Militia of Cuba y Bayamo, 1799. Legajo 7264:XI:21.
*Cristóbal González. Capt, 1795, Mil Inf of Cuba and Bayamo, Legajo 7262:VII:8.
Diego González Noroña. SubLt, Inf Comp. of Cataluña in Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:VI:12.
Domingo González. Sgt, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1795. Legajo 7262:X:34.
*Francisco González (1762 - ). Entered service Feb, 1783, Cadet, 1787, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:V:84.
Francisco González. SubLt, 1791, Comp Independent Cav, Cuba, Legajo 7261:XXVIII:8.
Joseph Gonzáles. A2:IX:37, mentioned c 1779, prob one of those below.
*José Gonzáles. Ch1:17, soldier from Veracruz to LA on La Matilde, Feb 1780 (prob. one of those below.)
*José González (1754 - ). Entered service 1772, Sgt, 1788, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7259:II:71.
*Jose González (1747 - ), entered service 1774, 2nd Sgt, Havana Cav, 1787.
José González. Sgt Major, 1792, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7261:VII:3.
*José González. Lt, 1795, Mil Inf, Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7262:V:13.
José González. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:112.
José González. Portaestandarte, 1795, Mil Cav of Havana, Legajo 7262:VIII:47.
*José González. Capt, Adjutant, 1799, Mil Inf of Cuba and Bayamos, Legajo 7264:XI:3.
José Antonio González de Rojas. Cadet, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:57.
José Manuel González. SubLt, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:56.
José María González. Sgt, Militia Dragoons of Matanzas, 1795. Legajo 7262:III:31.
José Mariana González. Cadet, Inf Militia of Cuba y Bayamo, 1799. Legajo 7264:XI:33.
*Juan González. A3:XII:22, soldier, c 1782.
Juan Antonio González. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1793. Legajo 7262:XVII:45.
*Juan Benito González. Capt, 1799, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7264:XVI:8.
*Luís González (1735 - ), Entered service 1749, Capt, 1787, 3rd Comp, Mil Inf de Cuba y Bayamo, Legajo 7259:X:10.
*Luís González de Rojas. Capt of Grenadiers, 1799, Mil Inf de Cuatro Villas, Legajo 7264:X:4.
*Luís González de la Torre. Lt, 1792, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7261:XI:99.
*Manuel González (1750 - ). Entered service 1773, 1st Sgt, Inf Blancos of Havanna, 1787. A3:XII:57, Sgt, c 1782, may have served in Louisiana.
Probably the Sgt, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:77.
*Manuel González. Capt, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1795, Legajo 7262:X:5.
Marcos González de Rojas. SubLt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:23.
*Miguel González (1760 - ). Entered service 1776, SubLt Blancos of Havana, 1787. Capt, 1799, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7264:XIII:68.
Pedro González. Sgt, Militia Dragoons of Matanzas, 1792. Legajo 7261:II:34.
*Pedro González. Capt, 1799, Mil Inf of Cuarto Villas, Legajo 7264:X:10.
Rafael González. SubLt, Inf Militia of Cuba y Bayamo, 1799. Legajo 7264:XI:20.
Santiago González. FD3:382, he and wife Micaela Rodríguez had a family in Santo Domingo during war years.
*Sebastián González (???), wartime service in Inf de Navarra, 1st Sgt since 1784, Havana Regt, 1786 and 1788. Lt, 1796, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7263:XXII:28.
Vicente González. Distinguished Soldier, Cav Militia of Havana, 1793. Legajo 7262:XX:103.
José Goy. Lt, 1799, Plana Mayor del Bn Pardos, Havana, Legajo 7264:V:6.
José Goy. Adjutant, garzón, 1793, Plana Mayor Bn Morenos of Havana, Legajo 7262:XV:10.
Calixto de Gracia. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuartro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:34.
*José Graciós. Mob:449, head of transport boat, Pensacola convoy, 1780.
Miguel Granados. Sgt, Inf Militia, Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:41.
Miguel Grande. A3:XI:37, mentioned c 1781.
Rafael Grande. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:105.
*Feliz Grau. Mob:18, commanding galley El Santo Cristo del Calvario, at Mobile, 1780.
Andrés Grillo. Sgt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:75.
*Enríque Grimarest (1741 Cataluña - ), widower, son of Brigadier. M:111:App F, Capt, Navarre Regt, Sgt Major of Trenches at Mobile, wounded, Mar 1780, later Governor of Mobile. Legajo 7296:IV:1, Col and Lt of the King, Estado Mayor de la plaza de Campeche, 1787.
*Juan Gruel. A2:X:29, mentioned c 1780.
*Pedro Guarch. A3:XV:26, 41, Capt, c 1787.
Agustín Gregorio de la Guardia. Sgt, Comp. Cav. Urban, of Cuba y Bayamo, 1797. Legajo 7263:XVIII:9.
Francisco de la Guardia. Cadet, Militia Dragoons of Matanzas, 1799. Legajo 7264:VII:36.
*Juan Güell. Mob:207, commanding galley Santa Rosalia at Mobile, 1781.
Francisco Guerard. A3:XII:25, Capt, c 1783.
*Santos Guérin (1759 - ), entered service, 1778, 1st Sgt, Inf Vets of Havana, 1788.
*Joseph Guerra. A3;XI:67, soldier, c 1781.
*Luís Guerra. Capt, 1799, Bn Mil Inf of Puerto Príncipe, Legajo 7264:XIV:8.
Manuel Guerra. SubLt of Grenadiers, Inf Militia of Puerto Príncipe, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIV:19.
José Tomás Guerrero. Distinguished Soldier, Cav Militia of Havana, 1763.
Legajo 7262:XX:111.

*Miguel Guillemas. A3:XII:50, soldier, c 1782.
*Ventura Guinea. Mob:245, SubLt, sloop Baton Rouge, at Mobile, 1780.
Domingo Guiral. Cadet, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:83.
*Manuel de Guirior. Mob:xxix, wartime Spanish official in America.
José Ignacio Gutiérrez. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:115.
*Juan Gutiérrez. A3:XI:1, Capt, c 1781.
Onofre Gutiérrez de Rojas. Lt, 1799, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7264:XVII:45.
José Guzman. Distinguished soldier, Cav Militia of Havana, 1793. Legajo 7262:XX:109.
*Juan de Dios Guzman (1743 - ), entered service in 1780 but prior service in Havana Inf Mil, 1st Sgt, Havana Cav, 1787.

H. . . . .
*Gaspardo de Hair. Appeals Case 95, mariner in Nov 1782 on Spanish San Antonio.
*José Ricardo Harrill (1749 - ). Entered service 1764, 2d Capt and Comandante, grad Lt Col, Havana Cav, 1787.
Francisco de Heredia. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:120.
Vicente de Heredia. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:121.
Agustín Hernández. Legajo 7262:X:26, SubLt, Inf Mil of Puerto Príncipe, 1795.
*Andrés Hernández (1749 - ), entered service 1763, SubLt, Inf Blancos, Havana, 1787. Capt, 7261, Capt, Inf of Havana, 1792. Legajo 7261:VI:57.
Francisco Hernández (1751 - ). Legajo 7261:XVIII:44, SubLt, Cav Mil of Havana, 1787 and 1791.
*José Hernández (1748 - ). Legajo 7264:IX:4, entered service 1772, Adjutant Garzon, Pardos, 1787, Lt, Bn Pardos Mil of Cuba y Bayamo, 1799.
José Hernández. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:109.
José Hernández. Sgt, Cav Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XII:76.
*José Damián Hernández (1731 Salamanca, Spain - ), married by 1788. Legajo 7290, Capt grad, 1782, Inf Vols of Santo Domingo. FD4:38, he and wife Josefa María Gutiérrez Galán de Vargas of Malaga, Spain, had ch in Santo Domingo during war years. Legajo 7265:I:30, Lt Col, Inf Mil of
Havana, 1809.
Juan Antonio Hernández. Sgt, Inf Militias of Havana, 1797. Legajo 7263:XI:103.
*Manuel Hernández (1741 - ), entered service 1763, 2d Sgt, Mil Inf de Havana, 1787, Legajo 7261:VI:90.
Manuel Hernández. Surgeon, 1795, Plana Mayor del Bn de Morenos de Havana, Legajo 7262:IV:11.
Manuel Antonio Hernández. Legajo 7262:XVII:41, Sgt, Inf Mil of Las Cuartro Villas, 1793.
Manuel Hernández de Vera. SubLt, Inf of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVI:69.
Miguel Hernández. A4:XVII:60, Cpl, c 1790. Legajo 7264:XII:71, Sgt,
Militia Cav of Havana, 1799.
Miguel Hernández de Mesa. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:110.
Nicolás Hernández. Legajo 7262:IX:107, Sgt, Havana Mil, 1795.
Dionisio Herrada. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:48.
*Francisco de la Herran (1736 Gamano - ), SubLt of Grenadiers in 1782,
Lt, Havana Regt, 1786, widowed. Capt, 1799, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7264:XVI:13.
*Ignacio Herrera (1765 prob Cuba - ). K:187, Capt, Vol Regt of Cav, Cuba, age 44 in 1809. Legajo 7264:XII:14, Capt, 1799.
*Juan de Herrera. Mob:17, commanding galley San Peregrino, for Pensacola, 1781.
*Miguel Antonio de Herrera. K:187, Capt, Vol Cav Regt, Cuba, 1781.
Legajo 7261:XVIII:3, Primer Comandante, Cav Mil of Havana, 1791.
Miguel Herrero. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legaho 7264:X:33.
*José Antonio Herrezuelo (1742 Cuba - ), in taking of Pensacola, 1781,
Lt, Havana Regt, 1786, single. Legajo 7264:XVI:4, Capt, Havana Inf, 1799.
Pedro León Hidalgo. Sgt, Inf Militia of Cuba y Bayamon, 1799. Legajo 7264:XI:24.
Félix de Hita y Salazar. Cadet, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:110.
*Juan Hogan. Irish:223, Capt, Irish Brigade, Pensacola, 1781. Chávez:225, Paymaster, Regt of Hibernia/Ybernia, of Havana, in 1781 lender of money to the French navy.
*Miguel Hormigo (1749 - ), entered service 1767, 1st Sgt, Inf Blancos, Havana, 1787, Legajo 7262:XXI:81.
*Pedro Horruitimer (1739 San Agustin, Florida - ), entered service 1779, Lt, 1787 and 1795, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7262:IX:17.
*Joaquin Horruitinel (1766 Havana - ), entered service 1780, Cadet, Inf Vets of Havana, 1788, Havana Inf Regt, single. Lt, 1799, Inf of Cuba, Legajo 7264:XVII:39.
*José Horruitinel (1739 Florida - ), Lt of Grenadiers in 1782, Capt, Havana Regt, 1786, single. Capt, 1792, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7261:XI:94.
Tomás de Horta. Cadet, Inf Militia of Havana, 1793. Legajo 7262:XXI:116.
**Carlos Howard (1739 Ireland - ). Tanner:26-27, Secretary to Governor Zéspedes, 1784. He had served with Spanish forces since 1761. H:129,
Col, 1806, LA Regt, in Expedition to America, 1780, and served on Santo Domingo, single. Legajo 7292:X:2.
*Hoyos. Mob:275, blacksmith/armorer, Mobile, 1780.
*Pedro Hoytaben (1744 Veran, Galicia - ), 1st Sgt in 1777, at Pensacola
9 Apr 1781, 1st Sgt, Havana Regt, 1786, single. Lt, 1796, Inf of Havana, Legajo 7263:XXII:39.
*Luís Huet. Caughey: helped plan attack at Pensacola. M:7, Engineer involved in attack on Mobile, 1779. Tides:72, figure 13, maps of Cuba,
1776. Ch1:Attachment, Brigadier and Quartermaster, Pensacola, 1781. Lewis:7, 19, 112, as a Col., he prepared the plans for attacking the Bahamas in 1781.
*Bautista Hugón. Mob:444, commander of detachment of Morenos from Havana, 1781. H:245, Capt, NO Mul Mil, 1792.
*Francisco Hurtado. Ch1:Attachment, Lt, Engineers, Pensacola Staff, 1781.

I . . .
*Fernando Ibáñez. Ch1:11, family of Malaga, wife & 3 ch, arr in Havana, Apr 1779.
*Miguel Ibañez of Havana. Chávez:225, in 1781 lender of money to the French navy.
*Agustín de Ibarra (1754 - ). Entered service 1770, Adjutant Major, Arty of Havana, 1788. Capt, 1796, Corps of Arty, Havana, Legajo 7263:XXI:3.
*José Caridad Ibarra (1753 - ). Entered service Feb 1783, Surgeon, 1787 and 1789, Plana Mayor de Pardos de Cuba y Bayamo. Legajo 7260:XVII:11.
*Benito Icarel. A2:IX:16, Lt, c 1779.
*Pedro Imán. Mob:17, owner brig San Juan Bautista, for Mobile in 1780.
*Martín Inega/Iñigo/Iñago. A3:XII:27, 28, Cpl, c 1781.
*Francisco Infanta. Ch1:8, sent from Havana to LA Bn, Nov 1779. A2:X:21, mentioned 1780.
*Francisco Javier Infante (1744 - ). Entered service 1760, Lt, 1779, Adjutant 1787, Plana Mayor Bn Pardos Mil de Cuba y Bayamo. Legajo 7264:IX:2.
*Lorenzo Inhavrige. Ch1:18, soldier, Veracruz to LA, June 1780, on Santa Rosalia or San Jose.
Ignacio Insunsa. Cadet, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:109.
Manuel Interiano. Distinguished Soldier, Cav Militia of Havana, 1793. Legajo 7262:XX:92.
Clemente Iribarren. Sgt, Inf Militia of Havana, 1797. Legajo 7263:XI:93.
*Diego de Irra (1757 - ), entered service 1773, Lt, Arty of Havana, 1788.
*Francisco Irujo ( - 1787). FD4:93, soldier, and wife Francisca González may have been alive in Santo Domingo during war years. All identified ch had died.
*Mateo Irungaray (1739 Garzuine, Valle de Bastun - ), entered service as Lt in 1781. Lt, 1794, Dragones de Guatemala, Legajo 7269:IV:12.
Pedro Iruretagoyena (1751 Vizcaya - ), single in 1787. Lt, 1784, Mil Regladas de Inf de Blancos de Maracaibo, Legajo 7293:VI:8, prior service not recorded.
Julian Izaguirre. A2:VI:81, Capt, c 1776.
*Francis D. Izoguirre. Jersey:469.
*Juan Izquierdo. Sgt, 1788, Inf of Voluntarios Blancos Valles de Aragua, Legajo 7293:XII:28.
*Juan de Dios Izquierdo (1742 Grenada - ), single in 1787. 2d Sgt, 1774-1784, Zueta garrison. Sgt, 1787, Inf Veterana de Caracas, Legajo 7293:II:38.
*Julián Izquierdo. Adjutant, 1799, Mil Discip de Blancos de Carupano, Province de Cumaná, Legajo 7295:VII:31.
*Manuel Izquierdo (1740 - ), entered service 1762, Lt 1788, Capt, 1796, Corps of Artillery, Havana, Legajo 7263:XXII:9. Mob:565-566, SubLt of Artillery, at Mobile.

J . . . .
*Bernardo Jeas. M:350, Capt of schooner galley Jesus Maria in May 1782 invasion of Nassau.
Antonio Jiménez. Cadet, Militia Dragoons of Matanzas, 1799. Legajo 7264:VII:35.
Diego Jiménez. Sgt 2d class of Grenadiers, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:39.
Eusebio Jiménez. Garzón, 1800, Bn Inf of Pardos Libres of Panama Province, Legajo 7282:X:3.
Félipe Jiménez. Cadet, Militia Dragoons of Matanzas, 1799. Legajo 7264:VII:34.
*Francisco Jiménez (1752 Argot - ). Sub-Lt, 1782, Lt, 1795, Mil Discip Inf of Puerto Rico, married, Legajo 7289:VII:36.
*Jose Jiménez. Lt, grad Capt, 1799, Mil Inf of Havana, Legajo 7264:XIII:71.
*Juan Jiménez (1753 Sadava, Aragon - ), in Expedition to Providence in 1782, 1st Sgt, Havana Regt, 1786.
Juan Jiménez. Lt, 1799, Plana Mayor Bn Pardos Mil of Cuba & Bayamo, Legajo 7264:IX:3.
*Juan de Dios Jiménez. Capt, 1799, Mil Dragones of Matanzas, Legajo 7264:VII:24.
Juan José Jiménez. SubLt, Inf Militia of Cuatro Villas, 1799. Legajo 7264:X:26.
Pedro Jiménez. A3:XI:40, c 1781.
Enrique Jimeno. Sgt, Dragoons of America, 1799. Legajo 7264:XV:30.
Mariano Jimeno. Sgt, Dragoons of America, 1797. Legajo 7263:XIII:27.
*??? Josef. R80I:346, in 1780 Capt of the San Justo, a Spanish naval vessel with 600 men.
*Tomás Juara (1749 - ). Entered service in 1781, Surgeon, Morenos, 1787.
*Bernardo de Junco. Capt, 1799, Mil de Dragones de Matanzas, Legajo 7264:VII:25.
Vicente del Junco. Cadet, 1799, Dragoon Militia of Matanzas, Legajo 1764:VII:22.
*Antonio Jung. Appeals Case 95, steward in Nov 1782 on Spanish San Antonio.
*Antonio Jurado. A3:XII:20, soldier, c 1782.
Francisco María Justiniani. Cadet, Inf of Cuba, 1799. Legajo 7264:XVII:103.
*Ambrosio de Jústiz. K:119, Capt, Cav, Havana, 1779.
Andrés José Justis. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1791. Legajo 7261:XXV:127.
Francisco de Justis. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1796. Legajo 7263:XXII:101.
José de Justis y Landa. Cadet, Inf Militia of Havana, 1799. Legajo 7264:XIII:54.
José María Justis. Cadet, Inf of Havana, 1791. Legajo 7261:XXV:126.
José María Justiz. Cadet, Comp. Cav, Urban, Cuba y Bayamon, 1797. Legajo 7263:XVIII:4.
*José Santiago de Jústis/Jústiz (1754 Havana - ), entered service 1771, SubLt in 1781 and 1786 in Havana Regt, single, SubLt of Grenadiers in 1788. Legajo 7264:XVI:22, Lt, grad Capt, Havana Inf, 1799.
*Manuel del Jústis. Legajo 7260:VIII:31, Lt Cuban Inf Regt, 1789.
*Vicente Jústiz (1733 Havana - ), Lt Col of Grenadiers in 1776, married. Legajo 7259:XII:6, Capt of Grenadiers, grad Lt Col, Havana Inf, 1786.

References are found in the Feb, 2006, issue of Somos Primos, except for the following:
Abbey:page. Abbey, Kathryn, “Efforts of Spain to Maintain Sources of Information in the British Colonies before 1779,” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol XV, pp 57-68.

Beerman:page. Beerman, Eric, España y La Independencia de Estados Unidos, Madrid, Editorial MAPFRE, 1922.

Chavez:page. Chavez, Thomas E. Spain and the Independence of the United States: An Intrinsic Gift, Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 2002.

Chevalier:page. Chevalier, Louis Eduard, Histoire de la Marine Francaise, pendant la Guerre de L’Indépendance Américaine, Paris Librairie Hachette et Cie, Paris, 1877.

CubaP:legajo number. Saturnino, Reyes Siles, Documentos Relativos a la Independencia de Norteamérica Existentis in Archivos Españoles, II, Archivo General de Indias, Sección  Papeles de Cuba: Correspondencia y Documentación oficial de los Gobernadores de Luisiana (Años 1777- 1803), Ministero de Asuntos Exteriores, Dirreción General de Relaciones Culturales, Madrid, 1980.

Cummins:page, Cummins, Light Townsend, Spanish Observers and the American Revolution, 1775-1783, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA, 1991.

FD:volume:page. Larrazabal Blanco, Carlos. Familias Dominicanas, 9 volumes, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, 1967.

HamV:page. Hamilton, Peter J., Colonial Mobile: An Historical Study, Largely from Original Sources, of the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin and the Old Southwest from the Discovery of the Spiritu Santo in 1519 until the Demolition of Fort Charlotte in 1821, Part V, “Spanish West Florida, 1780-1813,” Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1910, reprinted by Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, 1991.

Irish:page. Murphy, W. S. “The Irish Brigade of Spain at the Capture of Pensacola, 1781,” Florida Historical Quarterly.

Lewis:page. Lewis, James A., “New Spain and the American Revolution: A Viceroyalty at War,” PhD dissertation, Duke University, 1975.

MP:page. Morales Padron, Francisco. Journal of Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis durint the commission which he had in his charge from 25 June 1780 until the 20th of the same month of 1783, University of Florida Press, Gainesville, FL, 1989.

Neeser:page. Neeser, Robert Wilden, Letters and Papers Relating to the Cruises of Gustavus Conyngham: A Captain of the Continental Navy, 1777-1779, Kennikat Press, Port Washington, NY, and London, 1970, originally published in 1915.

R:year:volume:page. The Remembrancer: or Impartial Repository of Public Events for the year, London, printed for Mr. J. Almon or Mr. J. Debrett, opposite Burlingto House, Piccadilly, (for each year, 1775 through 1784).  CubanPat2, 4 Feb 2006.

SURNAME

Generation No. 1
1. DOCTOR ANTONIO-FERNANDO2 LAFON-CHAPA (RAMON1 LAFON) He married MARIA-EUGENIA MANAUROU in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. 
Children of ANTONIO-FERNANDO LAFON-CHAPA and MARIA-EUGENIA MANAUROU are:
2. i. ANTONIO B.3 LAFON-MANAUTOU.
ii. MARIA-DE-LOS-ANGLTLES LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 28 Dec 1851, Nuestra Sra del Refugio, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
iii. MARIA-MATILDE-EUFRANCIA LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 16 Apr 1855, La Purisima Concepcion, Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
iv. MARIA-EUFROSINA LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 10 Jan 1857, La Purisima Concepcion, Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico; m. MARIANO GONZALEZ-TREVINO, 16 Jan 1875, Sagrario Metropolitano, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
v. MARIA-FELIPA-TERESA LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 11 Nov 1858, La Purisima Concepcion, Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
vi. MARIA-JOSEFINA-DE-GUADALUPE LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 29 Sep 1861, Sagrario Metropolitano, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
vii. MARIA-EUGENIA-DE-GUADALUPE LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 29 Jan 1863, Sagrario Metropolitano, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
viii. MARIA-DE-GUADALUPE-ESTER LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 05 Nov 1865, Sagrario Metropolitano, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
ix. RAMON-ALFREDO LAFON-MANAUTOU, b. 19 Aug 1868, Sagrario Metropolitano, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Generation No. 2
2. ANTONIO B.3 LAFON-MANAUTOU (ANTONIO-FERNANDO2 LAFON-CHAPA, RAMON1 LAFON) He married ISABEL BENAVIDES-SANCHEZ 29 Jan 1891 in Laredo, Webb County, Texas, daughter of JOSE-EULALIO BENAVIDES-CAMEROS and TEODORA SANCHEZ-GARCIA. She was born 1870 in Laredo, Webb County, Texas.
Children of ANTONIO LAFON-MANAUTOU and ISABEL BENAVIDES-SANCHEZ are:
i. HERMINIA4 LAFON-BENAVIDES, m. CLINTON P. REED.
ii. EUGENIA LAFON-BENAVIDES, m. LUIS S. MARMION.
3. iii. LUIS A. LAFON-BENAVIDES, b. 28 Jan 1894; d. Apr 1973.

Generation No. 3
3. LUIS A.4 LAFON-BENAVIDES (ANTONIO B.3 LAFON-MANAUTOU, ANTONIO-FERNANDO2 LAFON-CHAPA, RAMON1 LAFON) was born 28 Jan 18941, and died Apr 19731. He married MARIA-ANTONIA MERIWEATHER 18 Feb 1914 in San Agustin, Laredo, Webb County, Texas, daughter of JOSE MERIWEATHER and GENARA CONTRERAS-DE-LA-GARZA. 

Notes for LUIS A. LAFON-BENAVIDES:
[Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from A through L, Date of Import: Mar 29, 2003, Internal Ref. #1.111.4.132289.73]
Individual: Lafon, Louis
Birth date: Jan 28, 1894
Death date: Apr 1973
Social Security #: 454-07-4123
Last residence: TX 78040
State of issue: TX

Children of LUIS LAFON-BENAVIDES and MARIA-ANTONIA MERIWEATHER are:
i. DIANA-MARIA5 LAFON.
ii. THELMA-ISABEL LAFON, d. Feb 1940.
iii. LUIS A. LAFON.
iv. JOSEPHINE LAFON.

Endnotes
1. Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 4, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Social Security Death Index, Surnames from A through L, Date of Import: Mar 29, 2003, Internal Ref. #1.111.4.132289.73

El apellido Lafon lo he encontrado también en registros y actas de Nueva Orléans, desconozco la historia del mismo, pero veo que algunos de sus primeros miembros fueron bautizados en la iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Refugio, en Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México.  Posiblemente tengan la misma historia que mi familia.   

Saludos, Luis G. Dessommes Zambrano  From: ingedis1@ggp.com.mx

CUENTOS

SELLING 
THE SAN ANTONIO LIGHT 
DURING WWII, 1944

By: Frank M. Sifuentes

Se trata de dinero..a stab at pure fiction
by Frank M. Sifuentes

The sounds of Esperanza's rolling pin as she made tortillas de arina kept wakening Efrain.CLOPITY CLOP CLACKILY CLOP..time to get up a ir al trabajo.

But the same monotonous rhythm also lulled him back to sleep and steal a few more winks of night's sleep from the day. He was waiting to hear the sounds of the frying pan when Esperanza refried the beans.

Before when they lived en el rancho his eyes automatically opened in the first light of day. And he felt refreshed. He quickly would dash  to the field nearby after grabbing the long sack, to get the cotton in when it still had the weight of the dew.

Now after over fours years living in the outskirts of East Austin, Efrain was seeing it had become more difficult. The pressure of improving production at the AusTex Chili Factory. Its inclement heat  during the long Texas summers; and having to come home to three noisey early school aged children was not exactly a reward for being the sole provider of the family.

Espi had gotten ideas from English magazines that encouraged  parnership in economic matters. Efrain had not accepted the new ways.

He knew how to budget and with the exception of dropping in a couple of times a week to have one beer, and the full evening on Saturday, had allowed him to be full of pride, as un hombre cumlido -que no re raja- and attends to all his family's necessidades.

Espi however knew how to count too. And had come to the realization that Efrain was spending less and less on their needs at home. After all she couldn't send the children to school without new clothes, and their shoes wore out fast the more energy they used at school and in play. What if they were to get sick. Where would the money for a doctor come.

And further more the year before Joaquin had to go to a loan shark to pay for the County property tax. He had bitten the bullet and severely curbed his love of beer and la cantina De los Tres Aces.

Once he paid fully he began to reward himself with a couple of nights out on his own. A chance to remember and to forget, and see the world through the gaiety of the many wonderful men and women  singers in the Mexican tradition: With top notch musicos en mariachis.

When Espi poured the beans in the frying pan - with water and all!- mixing the contents into hot grease, it caused a large flame to shoot up in the air over two feet! 

Efrain caught the image in his sleeping state and it became the final reminder he had to maintain full consciousness and the brutal awareness of the depth on his hangover.

Still he refused to get up reflecting on his borrachera and how hard it was going to be getting through the day at the Chili factory with the summer heat. He made a determined effort to fall asleep again but was aroused by the thought that he was two payments behind on the automatic washing machine he had bought at Montgomery Wards  almost a year ago. 

'Its not going to hurt them to wait a little more. Besides they know  they are going to get all their money!'

The day before as Efrain was walking home he passed right by the Cantina de los Tres Aces. And was struck with an absolute thought,  that he could at least stop and drink one beer. ever so slowly.

Buenas, Vito! Que tal..siveme una Pearl.las mas fria que tienes.

'Sera mi placer, Efrain. Con mucho gusto.' Vito said with grand style and placed the chilled beer in front of him.

Pos, como le vas en la Chiliria Efrain..me dicen que tambien van a poner spaggetti en los botes.'

Si simon, hace dos meses que empesamos con esto. Mucho mas dificil que poniendo Chile con carne en los botes.'

Me imagino, Efrain. me imagino Vito replied with a vivid interest.

And then Vito quickly left to go and put a nickle in the Nicolodium.

It was as the sly Vito knew Efrain's all time favorite: Una Noche Serena y Escura..a tear jerker of lost love that appealed so much to  Efrain though he had not lost Esperanza and was now father of two  girls and boy. And was making payments on his own home.

No, the nostalgia and of the pain of lost love as the worse a man  could endure was a form of mourning: for la vida serena de los  campos. And for the Mexico of his early youth so filled with dreams of how he was going enjoy his manly destiny.

His breast feeling a full effect of self-pity: Over what might have been, in the sacred land of his ancestors of ancient and brilliant  civilizations. He felt the rich blood of the Aztecas through his 
veins.

Suddenly though his revelry was broken by the sounds of his primo  Antonio voice as he walked in a shouting: Vito..Otra! Pointing at Efrain.

Vito and Efrain quickly realized it was the lst of the month: Antonio's payday. For he worked for the County digging grave in  their cemetery. And Antonio had prepared the burial site of Austin'  citizens.  It was a tough job but secure. And Antonio was daily counting the money he was accumulating in his pension plan, know not many of Austin's workers had that kind of secure future. He made it seem he had Austin's entire governmental agencies behind him.

Antonio immediately started his ritual: One for the thirst, the second one to get the smell of death out of his nostrils. 

And the third, inevitably someone would ask. 

Poz..!! Pa'la borrachera!! Then he go and put five nickels to play  his all time favorites: The vivid stories of Pancho Villa and  Emiliano Zapata y las Revolucion! The the last a romantic gesture to his first love, that refused to marry him even though she was caring his baby. A boy! And he had left them behind, never to see them again.

That alone was good for one whole night of borrachera.

Vita was delighted he was going to have a great Wednesday night, with Antonio's monthly payroll in his pants. And he was counting on Efrain to buy a round in return. And quickly went to place more beer to get chilled in the refrigerator.

However, he had a another stroke of luck. In walks Pete Martinez who own all the music machines in East Austin.

"Ola, Vito! Como sigue mi vitrola. Ta' functionando?

Oh, si Don Pedro como siempre, los homres se mueren si no oyen su musica ranchera!

Ta' suave, entonces. Ponles otra a Efrain and Antonio. He told him.

Con justo..muy agradecido por los hombres de mi communidad, que son los que hacen todo trabajar en el mundo.' 

Pete brought in new songs..and place a coin for each to play to test la mas nuevas de los festivales a la musica ardinete mexicana.

Efrain had separated his mind from Antonio who was already enjoying gaiety conversing with Pete Martinez and Vito as a peer.

While the music kept playing and the others were raising their voices to hear each other, Efrain reflected as he often did on how he and  his family ejected from their country to seek refuge and steady work  in central Texas. Austin had been hiring during the entire 39 years of the century continued having big construction and building  projects. The gas line laid created a big need for ditch-diggers.  and that was the way Antonio had gotten his start.

The bricks had to be laid along Congress Ave all the way to the Capital and many State, Federal and County lands needed maintenance workers. And the home building kept steady with the addition of  State jobs and incoming University students and research and  development.

Efrain had not been as lucky. Though there were still workers who even envied him. After all he could save a lot of money by the food  he got for free, from the bent cans. A real break for Efrain who could feel less guilty for squandering money and do hard labor, 50 hours  a week.

It was not the hard times which had paid off well, nor loss of  opportunity that surrounded Efrain' being. 

He was still harboring deep resentment and anger over the way they were forced to flee, with a scarce number of belongings after long days of nothing but work from sunrise to sunset. nor even anger  over how the troop of Villista that barged in their homestead and  took everything they could eat or use one way of another.

He had gotten in fact deliriously excited when rebel had captured his  imagination over the glories ahead for the soldiers of the  Revolution of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata: Men who were going  to transformed Mexico into a rich nation that shares everything with  the people ..every worker.

Efrain never thought he actually would ever been offered a way out of the slavery of farm work. He had not even considered his  father was going to have a say, and could already see himself riding a big black horse with a nice saddle.

When he ran up to his father, Don Benjamin, to tell him of the great  opportunity that had opened up to him to join in liberating the country from the rich. 

Don Benjamin looked him straight into his eyes and said: Cabron..! Mejor te mata yo..que dejarte ir con esos pingos. And judging from  the severe beatings he had been given for simple disobedience he  knew he meant what he said.

The recruiting sergeant just looked at the disappointment in Efrain's  face and didn't even admonish Don Benjamin, he simply eyed a juicy  looking goat being raised  for Teresita's baptism. The sergeant quickly  went shot the goat dead and had his men prepare to load it on a  horse, for that evening's supper.

Don Benjamin had even withheld looks of hate our of fear for his life. And instead kept giving Efrain the dirty looks instead.  A safer option, indeed.

Soon after a half dozen of Federales came to their farm, and saw that they had turned their goods over to the Villistas. And cracked  Don Benjamin of the head, telling him 'destraciado..tu debes darnos  gracias porque somos soldados en defensa de la patria. and porque no te vamos a fusilar!

And they left in a hurry to get to the next ranch house still untouched by the Villistas.
As soon as they were a good distance away he had the wagon hitched  to their two horses: They were going to take as many implements and household items, clothing and remaining edibles and take a 200 mile trip to the Texas-Mexico Border.

Efrain remembered it all as nothing but responsibility and devotion as his father demanded. And it was another five years before he was able to leave by falling in love with Esperanza to be on his own.

Don Benjamin had only hardened in the new land with strangers from another land. He had the will to survive and was able to assure them he was a money maker. He found satisfaction in having absolute control of his wife and three son and two girls.

And though he did not prosper or able to afford luxury, he did well as a share-cropper. Efrain had been a good and loyal son. And when he married he had his full blessing.

Efrain's reflective spell and romantic notions of having missed the most important happening his country ever had, ended with the wild laughter of Chensha and Olivia Renteria, hermanas vistitidas con vestidito demonstrados pierna hasta las nalgas.

Mas pintadas y chifladas reteready pa' tirarse bialar un alegres, un corrido con cuento de el Tauro que vivio como un cyclone.

Antontio hasta le'taba saliendo babas. y hay vay con la Chench chistosas con sus cachetes llenos de su mascara.

Vito casi ni lo podia creer que tuvo una noche en la media semana.

Al fin Efrain se deconto porque de por si habia gastado los centavos que iba necesitar el dia sigunete. De por si ya se habia puesto bien  kikiriki, llengo a su cama bien pedo con haber tomado 8 birongas.

Tan pronto que pego el colchon se apago como un foco.

Ezperanza se quedo livido con ver a Efrain borracho y apestoso con el horrible olor de cerveza. Hasta se lavanto y se fue a  acostarse con las ninas.

Pobre hermano.. To make matters more terrible for him, Kiko was an early role model for ADD kids of the future: FREEDOM to remember and forget whatever you want! Out right disassociation!!

I had better make this more low key. Benny may still want to give Me the whipping he never gave me. Though once I remember he wrestled me to the ground and tickled me until I starting crying for him to stop. What a great brother to ‘teach’ me how to laugh! Carmen’s adjustment at school was not easy, because she would not stand for any harshness from the teachers no matter how much they claimed it was for her own good. Was she ahead of her own time or not?? At least half of the teachers were still in the l9th Century. Carmen was a model 20th Century at 10 years old. And being a full time surrogate mom did not help in any real way either. She ended up in the 5th grade with me. And because we looked a lot alike, both chubby, we soon became known as boy girl twins. (Hard to imagine, I was just as pretty as Carmen!)

From the time we started living in East 7^th \Carmen had been hearing  and seeing in movies and reading in magazines that going camping was the ultimate experience for young children: being in the out doors, in the wilderness.

So did I and I also might have enjoyed the trip Ben made as a Boy Scout too. The truth is that I went camping just about any day of the week I wanted. The Colorado River and los montes all around Austin were  a veritable jungle of Cedar trees, Oak and best of all, a smattering of Pecan trees.  I should just be grateful and not make myself out worse than a spoiled brat. We had seen pictures in books and scenes in the movies of what going camping was like. Austin was a paradise for a 7 year old to grow.

When I was ten years old I got a chance to go camping. I had been dreaming of going to summer camp for the previous three years. And would picture myself running through the woods laughing with my friends, finding all kinds of treasures, dreaming under the stars!

And at last my dream was going to come through. I was going to camp!! The fact that it was only one day camp didn’t matter. I could still make new friends, run through the woods, and who knows what else.

We had been given a list of things to bring: a change of clothes, a blanket, an empty oatmeal box, etc. I wondered what the oatmeal box had to do with camping. "I’ll bet it’s for carrying all the treasures I will find when I go for a walk in the woods." I thought to myself. I hardly slept the night before the event. I kept going over the list in my mind. I would not allow myself to think of the condition of my blanket, or that my clothes were not what I thought one would wear to camp. The important thing was to get there with everything on the list.

I was to meet the group at the park by the Colorado River on First St. I knew I had to take the 7:a.m. bus to get there on time. I had to go into town and transfer to the Congress Ave bus South. I was up at six o’clock. Mama had the bathwater warming on the stove. I took a quick bath and dressed in what Mama though were suitable clothes for camping I was ready to leave!

As I started for the door, I remembered the bus fare. Oh no! In all the excitement I had forgotten the most important part of all and it was taking Mama too long to find the money. "I’m going to miss the bus!, I cried. "I’ll miss camp;!" I barely heard Mama saying that they would wait for me, they knew I was coming. In my heart I knew this was not true , but with her encouragement I started for the bus stop.

We lived at the bottom of a hill. the bus goes up the hill, around the neighborhood and down another hill before it gets to our stop, it was full of people going to work. It is ‘standing room only" and ‘to the rear of the bus’ time. I struggled with my bundle, working my way to the back of the bus. It is a hot day, and the humidity was unbearable. I can feel the hopelessness of my situation trying to take over. My head started to pound. I hear a couple of women talking about me.

"Where is this fool girl going with that blanket in this heat?" I hug my gear close. Can’t they see I am on my way to camp?

I make good connections at 6^th and Congress. It is a good ride; the bus is not too full. I can almost feel a breeze. For the first time, I feel like I am on my way. Soon we are at my stop. I ring the bells to get off, and stand by the door. The driver asks if I’m sure this is where I want go get off. Under any other circumstances, I would question that decision myself. First and Congress is not a place for a ten year old to be all alone. "Yes, yes, I say, ‘Let me off. I’m on my way to camp."

I walk a few blocks, struggling with my f\gear. I have to get to the meeting place. My heart begins to pound as I get closer. Maybe Mama was right and they are waiting for me. No, they are gone. I sit under a tree by the picnic tables. A little breeze comes up and I grab a candy wrapper as it blows by. I wonder who the lucky kid was who ate the candy and made it to camp. I try to picture that kid running through the woods with his oatmeal box, filling it with all kinds of treasure. My eyes start to fill with tears.

After a while, I know it’s time for the long journey home. I stand up, pick up my bundle, and wonder, "What am I doing with this dumb blanket?"

Frank M. Sifuentes says this is his all-time favorite photo, taken at his daughter's graduation from University of Southern California and his 50th Wedding Anniversary, August 7, 2004.
What a time of pride in accomplishment, a beautiful family. Belated Congratulations.

Story in Chicken Chisme: The Fine Art of Gossiping by Ben Romero
Published with permission, dedicated to all chismosos

Slap, slap, slap. That was the sound that woke me on many mornings during my youth. It was the sound of my grandmother making tortillas, the cornerstone of a nutritious Mexican breakfast. The sizzle of a skillet full of hot manteca was music to my ears; fifty thousand calories per serving and more flavor than you could imagine. I loved walking into the kitchen with crusty morning eyes and watching the magical ritual of cooking, and also the fun byproduct of being in my grandmother's midst: chisme.

My grandmother was the world's heavyweight champion of gossip, and was proud of that hard-earned title. She would tell me the most scandalous stories about assorted family members and acquaintances. I reveled in the feeling of knowing something secret and forbidden. The more illicit the better.

One morning, my grandmother took a seat at the table after finishing breakfast and we enjoyed each other's company over drinks; mine was milk and hers was Mexican coffee, brewed in a pot with black grit floating inside of it. She liked to 'link' her spoon against the rim of the mug as she told about her brothers. None of them was any good except her older brother, Mike.

I asked about her younger brother who I once met at a funeral. She laughed and said he was the worst of all.

"Could Uncle Rey be that bad? He seemed nice at the funeral."

"Mijo," she said, in her raspy voice, "His name is Salvador. My mother called him 'Rey' because he was always the little king in her life. He's a spoiled little man."

"He showed me his scar from the war at the funeral." I had seen a large pink area on his back when he bent over to throw dirt onto the casket. That was when Uncle Rey told me he was burned by enemy troops who caught and tortured him in hopes of getting secret U.S. military information.

Grandma leaned close and said, "Do you want to know something about Uncle Rey's scar? It wasn't from the war."

"What happened to him?"

"He was home from the military where he had picked up a smoking habit. My mother was a big smoker herself, but she didn't want her kids smoking. So he hid the addiction from her. One day he went to the outhouse and lit one up. He was reading the JC Penny's catalog while he was there, since the pages would soon become toilet paper. Did you know that is where they got the expression 'shop till you drop'?"

I shook my head. She continued, "when he finished his cigarette, he still wasn't finished doing his business, so he lit another and dropped the flaming match between his legs. The outhouse exploded and he went flying into the weeds."

I loved that story and repeated it as often as possible. I enjoyed seeing people's reactions and used to tell it to everyone I knew. It became one of the stories I carried in my arsenal of gross and scandalous musings.

One day in high school chemistry class, I told the story to the class. The teacher explained that it was impossible for the filth in an outhouse to produce enough methane gas to explode. I told him that my uncle had a scar from it and that it was a very true story.

He shook his head. "Some stories are told so often that they become urban legends."  I was distraught at the notion that my grandmother was telling me something that was not genuine. I was determined to get to the bottom of the story and spent weeks going over books in the school library in an effort to find any cases of exploding outhouses or theoretical notions that would make it possible. I was obsessed.

I found that the school library was inadequate for my needs, so I headed to the city library after school with my red binder and an assortment of writing instruments. I was always interested in chemistry and science, and knew I could write better than most kids in my school. I figured I could make one heck of a report to turn in one day. And any successful student knows that having a backlog of reports is essential to victory in school.

I was heartbroken to find there were no case studies proving my theory correct. Chemically speaking, there was no way for sewage to create the methane needed to cause an outhouse to explode. I went over many books and found nothing but urban legends and tales of exploding toilets by fanciful writers.

Then came a breakthrough. I saw my Uncle Rey at a family gathering and asked him point blank about the scar. His eyes lit up. The Germans caught me and poured gasoline on me. They said if I didn't translate an Allied code for them, they were going to fry me. I gave my name, rank, and serial number. The next thing I knew, I was on fire. I rolled on the ground to snuff out the flames. They locked me up without water. When it got dark I picked the lock on my cell with a wire coat hanger and killed the guard with a sharpened lid from a tin can. Then I made my way out of enemy territory and used a spoon to send Morse code to the Allied troops with the sun's rays.

It was a fascinating story. He told it so passionately that I hated to burst his bubble. I asked about the outhouse and his pride melted away. The once boastful man hunched over and looked like his spirit was broken by my words.

"My sister was right," he said. I dropped the match into the mire and BOOM! I was shot out of there like a circus clown getting shot out of a cannon. I got flaming caca all over my back and that is what burned me."

"How did it catch fire?" I asked. "My teachers say outhouses can't explode."

Uncle Rey smiled. Those teachers must be spoiled rich kids who had flushing toilets all their lives. But we, campesinos know about relieving ourselves in the strangest of places. Let me tell you where your teachers are wrong. The caca-water is not what exploded. It was the kerosene my mother used to dump in there to break up the caca. She had just dropped a gallon can of it into the toilet before I went in. Since I was smoking, I couldn't smell the fumes. And that is what caused the explosion."

I must have looked really excited, because he decided that this story was better and more scandalous than the one he'd been telling. From then on, he never used the war story again. And each time he told it after that, the explosion got bigger and the wounds got worse. I guess that shows that even a true story can become an urban legend with enough retellings, and there is nothing greater than a hot tortilla with a side dish of chisme.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

Bringing History to life for students
The Orange County Register Friday, February 3, 2006 

Ana Vengas, The Register

Photo Ana Vengas, The Register

Castro spoke to about 300 students, teachers and parents on the role of Hispanics in history.

"Teachers have to demand high expectations of our kids, but also bring into the class enrichments so that all kids can feel at home.

His most powerful message was to stay in school and get a college education. It is one of the only ways they will succeed, he said, noting the high dropout rate among Hispanic students.

"I'm really happy that he helps the Hispanic have a voice.  We take part in American's history." Karren Hernandez

"If you know where you come from and know your history, no one can put you down.  Don't be ashamed of who you are." Jennifer Perez

March 11: SHHAR Quarterly Meeting: Ruben Salaz Marquez

New Mexico Educator
Ruben Salaz Marquez
to speak on his book

Orange Multi-Regional Family History Center
674 S. Yorba
City of Orange, CA   
2-4 p.m. 
No cost, everyone invited!!
More Information: 714-9894-861

Ruben Salaz M. has broadened the study of Southwest History to include multicultural aspects as well as important discussion items often neglected by various writers. ..EPIC is a more complete history of the Southwest where documented facts take the reader where they may. EPIC is intended for everyone interested in a valid introductory history to our eight southwestern States but especially for readers young and old who wish to get beyond standard concepts of American historiography...

"Señor Sálaz’s book is definitely a welcome resource for the average person: for the high school student, the college student, the amateur historian, and for persons who have an appreciation of Southwestern and Chicano history in general.  As the author states in the Foreword, the intention of this book 'is to lay an introductory historical foundation' to the Greater Southwest. The book is easy to read, succinct and informative, and once read, will make a handy reference guide to be used time and again."   By John P. Schmal, Co-author of Mexican-American Genealogical Research: Following the Paper Trail to Mexico; A Mexican-American Family of California, In the Service of Three Flags; and The Indigenous roots of a Mexican-American Family.

BOOK: Epic of the Greater Southwest   620 pages, $39.95
Published by: Cosmic House, P.O. Box 7748, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194.
Website: http://www.historynothype.com  Available online at Borderlandsbooks 

March 18: Keynote speaker GEORGE RYSKAMP
Director of the Center for Family History and Genealogy, BYU

It gives me the greatest of pleasure to announce this Riverside conference. The first Hispanic family history conference that I ever attended was Buscando Nuestras Raices, held and organized in Riverside by George in 1985.  The experience ignited a torch within me, still burning. He made me realize that I could be successful in searching my Hispanic heritage. Seven Buscando Nuestras Raices  conferences were held by George, prior to leaving his law practice to take a teaching position in the Department of Family History at BYU. George is world-renowned, has made presentations all over the world, accepted as the only non-Hispanic in several Hispanic International heritage organizations.  George at the Pentagon on the subject of Hispanic research, organized the two Hispanic heritage conferences ever held at the National Archives in Washington (D.C. 2004 and 2005) and travels to Spain yearly to continue researching Spanish language records.  Don't miss this opportunity. 

Free classes in English & Spanish
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Riverside Family History Center 
5900 Grand Ave.
Riverside, California 92504


Classes will be taught by 
Dr. George Ryskamp 
Author of "Finding your Hispanic Roots"
and family history students from BYU - Provo

For more information: 

9:30-10:30

Opening Comments: "Trabajad en la Obra" por George Ryskamp

Track/Room

Principiantes

English/Inglés

Intermedio

Países Particulares

10:15-11:15

Cómo empezar

Parish and Civil Registers 

Registros de matrimonios

México

11:30-12:30

Cómo usar "Personal Ancestral File" 

Reading the Old Handwriting

La parroquia se quemó, ¿qué hago ahora?

Italia

12:30-2:00

Almuerzo

2:00-3:00

Cómo encontrar el lugar ancestral y sus registros 

Hispanic Internet Sites and Searches

Cómo organizar su historia familiar 

Archivos de España, Portugal, y Latinoamérica 

3:15-4:15

La historia familiar debe ser interesante para todos 

Helping Latin Americans in the FHC

Registros de emigración e inmigración 

Investigación de la historia familiar en Centroamérica

4:30-5:30

Cómo usar registros civiles y parroquiales

Finding Hispanic Peoples and Places in the FHLC 

Casos avanzados – respuestas a sus preguntas

Argentina

Excerpt from OC Register 11-15-2005

Bowers Kidseum
By Ibasheda@ocregister.com (714)796-6027 

Genevieve Southgete, director of Bowers Kidseum, 
is charged with teaching Orange County's children
to appreciate all cultures. "It's as if I've prepared my whole life to be right where I am."

Her father immigrated here from Zacatecas, Mexico. His wife, Ruth, was born in Los Angeles to parents who came from Guanajuato. With his grocery store and her work as a florist, the Barrios were middle class. But some of the middle class wasn't ready for the Barrios.

Genevieve remembers when they moved to a white neighborhood near 17th and Haster in the 1950s and a man (who the year before had been given a good neighbor award from a civic club) circulated a petition saying Mexicans weren't welcome. A group of Anglo neighbors showed her father the petition - and then ripped it up in front of him. The Barrios moved in.

In 1959, Genevieve was nominated for homecoming queen at Mater Dei High School. Some students weren't happy. But a backlash ensued and she was crowned queen. After school, she got a job as a VIP hostess at Disneyland, escorting every-one from Liberace to the king and queen of Afghanistan to little Ronnie Reagan around the park

In the '60s it, was off to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a receptionist for a senator. That's where she met her husband, Bill Southgate, a New England Yankee and descendant of pilgrim John Alden. They; moved to New Jersey and she worked in Fifth Avenue jewelry store, meeting clients the Rockefellers. 

When it was time to start a family, Genevieve returned to Santa Ana, where her hus-band started a company that distributes business forms. That's when the first opportunity to follow in her father's footsteps presented itself. Her son, Matthew, returned home from first grade one day to report that the kids were saying "bad things" about Mexicans.

She recalled "her father's words: "One thing he would al-ways says is: 'Daughter, you've got to do the right thing when you see injustices. But when ever you take a public stand, just do it because it's the right thing to do; Don't ever do it for any other reason. Not for applause or praise for the fight."
Genevieve was angry. But I thought, " No, no, no. There's a real positive way to do this."

A stay-at-home mom at this point, she offered to go to her son's school, give a simple Spanish lesson to the students, bring them Mexican pastries. She would show the children what a beautiful culture hers was.  "I wanted a positive experience related to the word 'Mexican,' " she said. Soon she was introducing kids at other schools and libraries to the Mexican culture.

As her outreach grew, she began volunteering at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, and later started classes toward a degree in Chicano studies at Cal State Fullerton. In the early '80s she helped start the museum's Hispanic Arts Council, putting on festivals and bringing in speakers on Mexican art and culture.

When the Kidseum opened 11 years ago, she was offered the job as director. Five years later she put together a free after-school program (funded by the city and corporate sponsors) at the museum for neighborhood children.

Sixty-five children are enrolled in the program, all Hispanic, and a waiting list just started. My struggles are not as dramatic now," Genevieve says, comparing her after-school program to the causes her father took up. "The struggle now is to help these children realize that there are opportunities and a world beyond their immediate neighborhood."

It's why, she believes, cultural programs like the one she runs are critical. "What held many people back so many years were prejudices of other people and prejudices against themselves. If they're not educated in the beauty and strength of their own culture, they're open to the negative connotations that will inevitably come their way"

Children who go to the museum find traditional masks, instruments and clothing from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. They make Mexican clay pots and they listen to folk tales like the Chumash Indian creation tale "The Rainbow Bridge." Walking through, the children realize that "although we have our differences and traditions, the dreams are the same.

"That's what I love about my job. It gives me a chance to reach out to my Santa Ana community in whatever little way I can. I really have a love for my people."

Cesar Chavez 
y
Bernardo de
Galvez

Sons 
& 
Souls 
of 
California

Presented 
at the 
Sierra Bonita Stage

 March 24, 25, 31st and 
April 1st

1444 N. Sierra Bonita Ave.

Los Angeles, 
Ca. 90046

Bernardo de Galvez as the Spanish Governor General Louisiana and Florida during the American Revolution.   In the years of 1776-1781 Galvez led the Spanish contribution to the American Revolution.  Both these men were from different times but contributed so much to the growth of what we know as today's California.

The production is two one-acts, separately depicting the life and times of each man through the style of "one-man" performance.  Bruce Buonauro will portray Galvez, in the first half of the production, and Fred Blanco will portray Chavez in the second half.  There will be interludes of live traditional Latin music in between.  

For more information, contact Fred Blanco, 818-337-9267  fredbla@yahoo.com
                                              Bruce Buonauro  626-451-0257  bectolife@world.att.net

Sent by Sergio Hernandez, chiliverde@earthlink.net

Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera is fortunate to count with these wonderful contributors.  

Welcome aboard Dino and Carlos!

CALIFORNIA

March 2006 marks the 40th anniversary 
of Cesar Chavez’s historic 1966 march

Glendale, Calif. – The Cesar E. Chavez Foundation has developed links to several publications to help you plan volunteer, educational and cultural activities in your communities on and around Chavez Day, including age-appropriate toolkits, service-learning resource guides, coloring books, and more.  For more information, please visit our Web site at http://chavezfoundation.org or contact our Programs Department by E-mail at jrodriguez@cecfmail.org.   http://www.cesarechavezfoundation.org

Our State began when voters approved its Original Constitution and elected our first officeholders on November 13, 1849.  Recognizing this Constitution, the U.S. Congress admitted California to the Union, September 9, 1850.  We became the 31st Star in the America Flag.

The Father's of the State Constitution drafted and submitted the Original Constitution in Spanish and English. For two of the signers, neither English nor Spanish was a first language.  Some of the rest spoke only English or only Spanish.  Some spoke both.  Their proceedings and the Original Constitution were officially published in Spanish and English.

Los Amigos of Orange County want California children to relive the same intercultural goodwill that those who wrote our Original State Constitution demonstrated.  Almost half of California's public school children are Hispanic.  The State-mandated Fourth Grade California History-Social Science Standards ignore the very important fact among its 32 sub-expectations.  The important fact:
In bilingual balloting, the Spanish Californios and newly arrived non-Spanish approved the Original State Constitution their elected delegates had written in English and Spanish.  

The simple story of how they worked their way through this bicultural civic joint venture remains a vivid human relations lesson to this day.  Taught simply, it is one ten-year-olds can understand.

Please join Los Amigos of Orange County in their effort to unite Californians, send a quick email to  supporting the need to include in the 4th grade curriculum this very simple fact: 
The Original California Constitution was a Spanish-English document.

Galal@lworld.net  or write to Los Amigos, 1585 W. Broadway, Anaheim, CA 92802
Please include your zip code.  Requested by the Department of Education.


 

Two very dedicated volunteers were also honored at the Annual meeting. George W. (Bud) Decker and Jim Elwell Martinez were appointed as Life Honorary Members of the Trust. Included are the proclamations for these men which highlight their accomplishments.

Jim Martinez poses with award as soldados Jack Romero, David Martinez, Rene and baby India, and Ben Valenzuela look on

Bud Decker and wife, Pam, show award proclamation

Whereas, Jim Elwell Martinez began his involvement with El Presidio de Santa Bárbara over fifteen years ago as a founding member of Los Soldados del Real Presidio de Santa Bárbara in April of 1990; and

Whereas, Jim translated and implemented the Spanish Manual of Arms of 1808 from an original document obtained from the Los Angeles County Museum and took it upon himself to be drill instructor for Los Soldados to implement historic marching evolutions with the authentic firing of period muskets; and

Whereas, Jim Martinez located the first model 1757 Spanish reproduction muskets from suppliers in Historic Saint Augustine, Florida, and made it possible to purchase and acquire them for use at Trust events; and

Whereas, Jim for a number of years has served as the president of Los Soldados del Real Presidio de Santa Bárbara and was responsible for naming the group; and

Whereas, Jim Elwell Martinez has served Los Soldados since its inception as Sergeant of the Guard adopting the first person interpretive role of Pablo Antonio Cota, who was with the Portolá expedition in 1769, Sargento at Santa Bárbara in 1782, and Alférez at Santa Bárbara in 1788; and

Whereas, Sargento Martinez (Cota) directed the military escort for Prince Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, Prince of Asturias, in June of 1995; and

Whereas, Jim Elwell Martinez’s interest in presidio soldiers is rooted in his military background, as well as in his family’s history since he is related to soldiers who served in the American Revolution and is a direct descendant of Lieutenant José Francisco Ortega, founder and first Comandante of the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara in 1782; and

Whereas, Jim Martinez is currently serving in the interpretive role as teniente (Lieutenant) José Francisco Ortega with Los Soldados in honor of his ancestor; and

Whereas, teniente Martinez (Ortega) continues to volunteer as a distinguished soldier of Los Soldados del Real Presidio de Santa Bárbara and has participated in literally hundreds of events contributing unselfishly of his time, energy, and expertise in the finest tradition of military excellence in honor of the original soldiers of the Royal Presidio of Santa Bárbara, and

Whereas, Jim Elwell Martinez, is a military veteran and served in the US Army as a Green Beret during the Vietnam Conflict

Therefore, in recognition of these accomplishments, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation designates Jim Elwell Martinez a Life Honorary Member.

Proclamation For George W. (Bud) Decker

Whereas, George W. ( Bud) Decker began his involvement with El Presidio de Santa Bárbara over forty years ago as one of the original Presidio Volunteers and served as director of the chapel site excavations in 1968 and continued work on the project until 1974 where he received letters of gratifying support from UCSB and California State Parks Officials; and

Whereas, Bud made the transition from builder to interpreter, becoming the Presidio’s first uniform soldier in 1969 in a soldado uniform designed by Russell A. Ruiz and hand sewn by Russell’s wife, Alice Ruth Clay Ruiz; and

Whereas, Bud has generously donated that uniform to the Trust as a valued part of the artifact collection; and

Whereas, George W. Decker was one of the original founding members of Los Soldados del Real Presidio de Santa Bárbara in April of 1990 where he assumed the role of Alferéz (Ensign) and with soldado, Michael Hardwick, drafted a set of bylaws for the organization; and

Whereas, Alferéz Decker adopted the first person interpretive role of Alferéz José Dario Argüello, who was Alferéz at the Royal Presidio of Santa Bárbara in 1782, Comandante from 1807-1815 and Governor of Alta California form 1814-1815; and

Whereas, Alferéz Decker (Argüello) met and provided military escort for Prince Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, Prince of Asturias, in June of 1995; and

Whereas, Bud Decker engineered, designed, and built two four-pound cannon carriages for Trust fineable cannons and redesigned the cannon carriage for a small cannon which was originally donated to the Trust by Russell A. Ruiz; and

Whereas, Alferéz Decker continues to volunteer as a distinguished soldier of Los Soldados del Real Presidio de Santa Bárbara and has participated in literally hundreds of events contributing unselfishly of his time, energy, and expertise in the finest tradition of military excellence in honor of the original soldiers of the Royal Presidio of Santa Bárbara, and

Whereas, George W. Decker, as a World War II military veteran, served in the US Army Air Corps as a pilot of B-17s from 1943-1946

Therefore, in recognition of these accomplishments, the Santa Bárbara Trust for Historic Preservation designates George W. Decker a Life Honorary Member.

Bud Decker (Alferéz Argüello) poses with the mayor of the City of Santa Barbara, Marty Blum

LOS CALIFORNIANOS RECOMMENDED READING LIST by Maurice L. "Duke" and Marcy Bandy

2. David J. Langum, Law and Community on the Mexican California Frontier. University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. out of print.  A good study of Mexican law at that time and the response of the Anglo-American immigrants. Includes specific cases with names. •

While no direct connection can be established to link California more closely to the Revolution, other events tie the two together. In 1778 the English Captain James Cook had sailed to the Pacific on what was ostensibly a scientific expedition. While the Crown had ordered Cook not to interfere with the Spaniards, he was given secret instructions to reconnoiter areas of future colonial interest as part of a scheme which possibly sought to secure new colonial territories in the Pacific Northwest. With the outbreak of the North American Revolution the Mexican government was forced to suspend its costly explorations up the Pacific Coast in 1779, thus averting a confrontation with England in the Pacific which would likely have become entangled with other aspects of the revolution.

With the publication of Admiral Cook's journal following the war, there was unleashed, to use the words of Warren Cook, a "flood tide of empire" throughout the Pacific Northwest. American and British merchants and explorers increasingly moved into the area to engage in the lucrative sea otter trade and the very profitability of this venture caused a renewal of European rivalry which had lain dormant since the days of Drake. In 1789 a Spanish expedition dispatched from Mexico to Nootka Sound, located on the western shore of Vancouver Island, found British, American, and Portuguese ships lying at harbor. Although the Spanish drove them off, when England threatened war Spain was forced to renounce its claims to the area and pull back its borders to San Francisco, primarily because it could secure no aid from the French, then embroiled in their own Revolution. In 1790, with the signing of the Nootka Treaty, Spain reversed a foreign policy which had been aggressively expansionist since the sixteenth century. In so doing, it caused California to become more exposed to the threat of attack.28

As the Pacific Northwest opened to foreigners after 1790, European, and later North American, visitors became more common in Alta California, and their collective observations provide us with a closer look at the tiny Spanish province. French, Russian, English and American visitors alike were astonished at the frailty of the Spanish hold over the area: they found Alta California to be a society without schools, without manufactures, without defenses, administered by a military governor and a quasi-feudal mission system, and inhabited by a population that barely exceeded 1500. Travellers complained of difficulties in obtaining supplies, lack of transportation, and absence of skilled workmen, poor houses and furniture, sour wine, indifferent food, and persistent fleas. So backward was the region, they sniffed, that the plows and oxcarts seemed holdovers from medieval times. So disorganized were the Californios that dairy products had to be secured from the Russian colony at Fort Ross and leather shoes were shipped from Mexico, and later Boston. George Vancouver, the British commissioner sent to implement the Nootka Treaty, visited California three times between 1792 and 1794, and appeared scandalized that the tiny presidios of San Diego and Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Francisco, should represent the European presence in California. Few of their cannon were functional, due to exposure to the elements and neglect, and so scarce was the supply of gunpowder that Commandant Sal in San Francisco had been forced to borrow enough from the Russians to fire a salute in Vancouver's honor. Earlier, in 1786, the Comte Jean Francois Galaup La Perouse, a French geographer, echoed the same sentiments. Perouse felt that California needed intervention if it were to have a society worthy of its beauty, but predicted that another century would pass before this occurred since California was so isolated.29

As first expressions of how California struck the foreign imagination, these accounts went far to shape the expectations of those who followed these explorers to California. Taken together, they allow us to make certain conclusions regarding the society of late Spanish California. First, California society was poor, backward, and small. While the Californios remained confined to a small coastal strip, within that area, however, they were widely dispersed, thanks in large part to the development of the rancho economy. Taking Santa Barbara as an example, by 1800 nearly half of the 850 residents were reported to be living on ranchos outside the city, a situation duplicated throughout the province. Thus, California was far more rural than metropolitan areas such as Mexico which were dominated by a network of towns.30 Because most of the Spanish land grants were located in the central part of the province, where sufficient water and excellent grazing conditions were available, this area progressed at the expense of the northern and southern regions, antedating a regionalism which is still evident in the state to this day. The failure of the Spaniards to explore the Central Valley of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range meant that gold was not discovered until after the period of Spanish control and insured the preservation of this ranching and agricultural economy.

Second, Californio society was far from aristocratic and only nominally Spanish, being populated almost exclusively by the poor and low-born of Mexico. While a large plebian group characterized societies as different as those of Bourbon Mexico and Tudor England, the ability of this group to transcend its social limitations made California society unique. Unlike most socially stratified areas, the availability of land and the need for trained administrators allowed certain members of the lower social groups exceptional opportunities for upward social mobility, well beyond the prescribed limits generally granted to plebians. Although rank and skin color counted in the definition of social status, they were not absolute determinants. An excellent example of this is the presidial soldier, who rose largely on the basis of talent and loyalty to the Crown. Arriving in California with a status which was both ethnically and corporatively-derived, the presidial achieved considerable mobility through the presidial command structure, due in large part to the military nature of early California. Through the grant of land from the King, the soldiers gained new prestige as a provincial aristocracy. Lacking competition from a commercial or entrepreneurial group, the soldiers married and began large families which retained a pre-eminent position in the province long after Spanish rule had disappeared.

A list of the most influential men in the late Spanish and early Mexican periods of California 

history indicates this upward mobility. Jose Dario Arguello, for example, arrived as an enlisted man from Queretaro, Mexico where he had been born of undistinguished parentage. After serving eight years in the ranks his administrative talents won him a commission and command in Santa Barbara and later San Francisco. He was later appointed interim governor. This process was followed by his son Luis Antonio who was able to secure a cadetship and a commission within two years of entering service, becoming the commandant of the four Southern California missions and the owner of a 50,000 acre ranch in the Mission Valley area of San Diego.

The Arguello story is typical, it would seem. The fathers of the Mexican governors Alvarado and Pico and of the Generals Vallejo and Castro had all begun as presidials, as were the founders of the important California houses of De la Guerra, Ortega, Peralta, Valencia, Sanchez, Bernal, Alviso, Galindo, Carrillo, Moraga, and others.

Finally, and perhaps most important, this extreme social mobility infused California society with certain characteristics which have continued to persist long after the Spanish period. Foreign visitors and Spanish governors alike recognized that California was a unique area, although they disliked and disagreed with many of its features. In 1794, the jovial Basque Governor Diego de Borica filed glowing reports on the province to his Mexican superiors, calling it "a great country, the most peaceful and quiet in the world," where "one lives better than in the most cultured courts of Europe." Blessed with sufficient water, fertile soil, and a good climate, Borica noticed that all who remained there "are getting to look like Englishmen."31

Although it is likely that Borica's remarks were designed to help in finding him a willing replacement, his conception of the province probably squared more nearly with that of the first Californios themselves than did the European travellers' generally unfavorable accounts of the province. Because of their poor backgrounds and the almost complete lack of opportunity afforded these soldiers and settlers in their native Mexico, they were grateful for the opportunity to receive land and remain in California. Not only did the Crown offer them a chance to improve themselves, but the granting of land transformed these men into rancheros which immeasurably improved their social position and allowed them an opportunity for profit through trade with foreign visitors who began to arrive in increasing numbers after 1800. Within the space of a single generation the presidial group at least had begun to transform itself into something quite resembling a provincial aristocracy, although a relatively poor and remotely located one to be sure.

Many historians have developed the story of Mexican and Anglo-California after 1846 as the ultimate frontier, or, to use the words of Kevin Staff, "the cutting edge of the American Dream."32 This short paper has attempted to illustrate that dreams of a better future and the hope of self- determination, while usually associated with the Anglo-American culture, are not the exclusive preserve of that civilization. This is a point well worth remembering, not in order to diminish our own achievements, which were formidable indeed, but simply to extend them to include persons of other climates and cultures who struggled in a sometimes quite similar fashion to achieve a better life for themselves.

Spaniards in sixteenth century New Spain had created California as a province of the mind, both a concept and an imaginative goal, immediately following the conquest of Mexico. For two centuries afterwards the dream was sorely tested as Spain moved forth into other areas in pursuit of mineral wealth and high Indian civilizations. With the exploration and conquest of the Pacific Coast in the eighteenth century the dream was revived by a small group of presidial soldiers who successfully transformed themselves into a ranchero aristocracy. Far from the metropolitan capital of Mexico City, California largely avoided the revolutionary movement which had swept Spanish South America.33South American independence had occured in 1826 partially at least as a result of the conquistadores' failure to establish a seigneurial society, something their creole descendents continued to demand from the Spanish ruling groups. In California, however, the inhabitants were able to create a pale image of a landed society almost free of Spanish control. Located far from Mexico, on the very rim of Christendom, the province was freed from the vicissitudes of imperial politics. For this reason as much as any, Mexican rule was quietly accepted in California in 1822. The Californios had successfully created a way of life that met their expectations. It is one which has symbolically been preserved to this day and one to which many Californians still aspire.

FOOTNOTES
1. Frederick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History (New York, 1962),
2. Robin A. Humphreys, "The Fall of the Spanish American Empire," History, 38 (1952), 213.
3. Herbert Eugene Bolton, "The Epic of Greater America," American Historical Review, 38 (1933), 448-474.
4. Zoeth S. Eldridge, The Spanish Archives of California (San Francisco, 1901), p. 8.
5. Bernard De Voto, The Year of Decision, 1846, 2nd ed. (Boston 1961), p. 13; Leonard Pitt, The Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish-Speaking Californians, 1846-1890 (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1971), p. vii.
6. Oakah L. Jones, Jr. ed., The Spanish Borderlands: A First Reader (Los Angeles, 1974), pp. 9-10.
7. Nellie Van De Grift Sanchez, Spanish Arcadia in California (Los Angeles, 1929).
8. Carey McWilliams, "Why the Cult of the Missions?" in Davis Dutton, ed., Missions of California (New York, 1972), pp. 149-150.
9. Leonard Pitt, The Decline of the Californios, pp. vii-viii.
10. See the bibliography on "Exploration" and "The Church" in Jones, The Spanish Borderlands, pp. 243-244. Charles E. Chapman, A History of California: The Spanish Period (New York, 1921), pp. 388-389.
11. James Lockhart, "The Social History of Colonial Latin America: Evolution and Potential," Latin American Research Review, 8:1 (Spring, 1972), 6.
12. Herbert I. Priestley, Jose de Galvez: Visitador-General of New Spain, 1765-1771 (Berkeley, 1916).
13. See John Francis Bannon's The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513-1821 (New York, 1970), pp. 143-166.
14. Charles F. Lummis, "Regulations and Instructions for the Garrisons of California, 1781," The Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, 42: 1 (1960), 90-92. This supplemented the 1772 regulations for the frontier military units of northern New Spain, translated in Sidney B. Brinkerhoff and Odie B. Faulk, Lancers for the King (Phoenix, 1965), pp. 9-67.
15. Problems of supply are discussed in Charles E. Chapman, "The Alta California Supply Ships, 1773-1776," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 19: 2 (1915), 184-194, and Max L, Moorhead, "The Private Contract System of Presidial Supply in Northern New Spain," Hispanic American Historical Review, 41: 2 (February, 1961), 31-54.
16. Census data for colonial California are rare and vary considerably. See the padrones (censuses) in The Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, 42:2 (1960), 210-211; 42:3 (1960), 313; The Historical Society of Southern California Annual, 16 (1931), 148- 149; Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico: The Spanish-Speaking People of the United States (New York, 1968), pp. 89-90.
17. The social backgrounds of the presidials are described in Leon G. Campbell, "The First Californios: Presidial Society in Spanish California, 1769-1822," Journal of the West, 11: 4 (October, 1972), 582-595.
18. The published correspondence of the Franciscan fathers is replete with criticism of the soldiery. See, for example, Zephyrin Engelhardt, The Missions and Missionaries of California, 4 vols. (San Francisco, 1908-1915). The priests resented that the governor held control over the soldiers, which restricted their control over the men.
19. Walton Bean, California: An Interpretive History (New York, 196 8), pp. 40-41. References to the friars can be found in the governors' correspondence, located in the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley, California Archives, Provincial State Papers, vols. 1-3.
20. Social derivations can be established from the biographies in Hubert Howe Bancroft, Register of Pioneer Inhabitants of California, 1542-1848 (Los Angeles, 1964). I have based much of my information about the soldiery on their service records, located in the Archivo General de las Indias in Seville, Seccion Audiencia de Lima, Legajo 1503 (hereafter AGI: AL 1503).
21. Bean, California, p. 43.
22. Campbell, "The First Californios," 591-592.
23. "Duhaut-Cilly's Account of California in the Years 1827-1828," California Historical Quarterly, 13 (1929), 311. The author was a French naval officer.
24. Max L. Moorhead, "The Soldado de Cuera: Stalwart of the Spanish Borderlands," Journal of the West, 8: 1 (January, 1969), 53.
25. See, for example, the case of New Mexico, in Marc Simmons, "Settlement Patterns and Village Plans in Colonial New Mexico," in Jones, The Spanish Borderlands, pp. 54-69.
26. Landholds to presidials is described in William W. Robinson, Land in California (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1948), pp. 45-58, and in Campbell, "The First Californios," 592-593.
27. Janet R. Fireman, "Mentality of an Innocent Bystander: Reaction in Spanish California to the American Revolution," paper presented to the Fourteenth Annual Conference of the Western History Association, Rapid City, South Dakota, October 5, 1974.
28. The Cook expedition and the Anglo-Spanish conflict over the northwest are described in Warren L. Cook, Flood Tide of Empire: Spain and the Pacific Northwest, 1543-1819 (New Haven and London, 1973).
29. An excellent summation of these visitors' accounts is provided in Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915 (New York, 1973), pp. 3-48. For a detailed analysis of the Nootka conflict between Spain and Great Britain, see W. R. Manning, "The Nootka Sound Controversy," American Historical Association Annual Report, 1904 (Washington, D. C., 1904), pp. 279-478.
30. See, for example, D. A. Brading, "Government and Elite in Late Colonial Mexico," Hispanic American Historical Review, 53: 3 (August, 1973), 389-414.
31. Cited in Bean, California, pp. 53-54.
32. Besides the work of Pitt, on the decline of the Californios after 1846, see Starr's superb analysis of the development of the American Dream in the province, Americans and the California Dream, pp. 46-48.
33. See George Tays, "Revolutionary California: The Political History of California During the Mexican Period, 1820-1848," unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1934.

Suggested further reading
Edwin A. Beilharz, Felipe de Neve: First Governor of California (San Francisco, 1971).
John Francis Bannon, The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513-1821 (New York, 1970).
Herbert L. Bolton, "The Mission as a Frontier Institution in the Spanish American Colonies," American Historical Review, 23:1 (October, 1917), 42-61.
Sidney B. Brinckerhoff and Odic B. Faulk, eds., Lancers for the King: A Study of the Frontier Military System of Northern New Spain, with a Translation of the Royal Regulations of 1772 (Phoenix, 1965).
Leon Campbell, "The First Californios - Presidial Society in Spanish California, 1769-1822," Journal of the West, 11:4 (October, 1972).
Sherburne F. Cook, The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization, 2 vols. (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1943).
Warren L. Cook, Flood Tide of Empire: Spain and the Pacific Northwest, 1543-1819 (New Haven and London, 1973).
Alberta Johnson Denis, Spanish Alta California (New York, 1927).
George H. Elliot, "The Presidio of San Francisco," Overland Monthly Magazine, (1870).
Jack D. Forbes, "Black Pioneers: The Spanish-Speaking Afro-Americans of the Southwest." Phylon, 27:3 (Fall, 1966).
Maynard Geiger, The Life and Times of Fray Junipero Serra, 2 vols., (Washington, D.C.). The Geiger book is not documented but scholars can easily check the author's sources by referring to the nominal indices of the California Mission Documents and the Serra Collection in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives. Also see Antonine Tibesar, ed., The Writings of Junipero Serra, 4 vols., (Washington, D.C., 1955-1966).
Maynard Geiger, "A Description of California's Principal Presidio, Monterey, in 1773," Southern California Quarterly, 49: 3 (1967), 327-336.
Charles Gibson, Spain in America (New York, 1966).
Florian F. Guest's unpublished doctoral dissertation, "Municipal Institutions in Spanish California, 1769-1821," University of Southern California, 1961, which is partially surmmarized in the same author's "Municipal Government in Spanish California," California Historical Society Quarterly, 46: 4 (1967), 301-336.
Kibbey M. Horne, A History of the Presidio of Monterey (Monterey, 1970).
Max L. Moorhead's The Presidio: Bastion of the Spanish Borderlands (Norman, Oklahoma, 1975), is a model study for the institution in the Spanish Southwest but excludes study of the California and Florida presidios because of the differences involved.
Max L. Moorhead, "The Soldado de Cuera: Stalwart of the Spanish Borderlands," Journal of the West, 8:1 (January, 1969), 38-55.
Donald A. Nuttall "The Gobernantes of Spanish Upper California: A Profile," California Historical Society Quarterly, 51: 3 (Fall, 1972).
George Harwood Phillips, Chiefs and Challengers: Indian Resistance and Cooperation in Southern California (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1975).
Russel A. Ruiz, "The Santa Barbara Presidio," Noticias, 13:1 (1967), 1-13.
Manuel P. Servin, "California's Hispanic Heritage: A View into the Spanish Myth," Journal of the San Diego Historical Society, 19:1 (Winter, 1973).
Manuel P. Servin, ed., "Costanso's 1794 Report on Strengthening New California's Presidios," California Historical Society Quarterly, 49:3 (September, 1970), p. 229.
Maria del Carmen Velazquez, Establecimiento y perdida del septentrion de Neuva Espan (Mexico, 1974).
Excellent record groups for the study of the Alta California presidios exist in the Archivo General de ]as Indias in Seville and the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico City. The transcriptions of the Spanish Archives of California, made by Hubert Howe Bancroft and his associates, and a variety of other primary data are available in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley. Mission and chancery archives are also valuable sources for the study of presidios. A wealth of information on presidial population and social structure is to be found in the Zoeth Eldridge Collection and the California Mission Collection of the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.
The regulation governing the conquest of California is found in Archivo General de la Nacion (AGN): Seccion Provincias Internas, Legajo 166, 3. A series of military crimes reaching trial covering the period 1773-1779 are located in AGN: Californias, Vol. 2, Part 1, folios 244-293.

Links to Related Webpages
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/sindex.htm 
hispanic.html

NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

"Building a Lasting Legacy."
Computerized Genealogy Conference
March 10-11, 2006

The Division of Continuing Education is pleased to announce the eighth annual Computerized Genealogy Conference March 10-11, 2006, in the BYU Conference Center at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 

Richard C. Eddy, Dean, Division of Continuing Education
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY 899 HARMAN CONTINUING EDUCATION BUILDING PROVO. UTAH 84602-1534 (801) 422-4146

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

The sophistication of the tunnel surprised officials, who found it outfitted with a concrete floor, electricity, lights and ventilation and groundwater pumping systems. The authorities said a tip led to the discovery. The tunnel is one of the latest to be found along the border. Most are attributed to Mexican drug cartels searching for ways to move contraband into the United States, but some appear to be the work of smugglers of illegal immigrants. Since Sept. 11, 2001, when border security was tightened, agents have uncovered 21 tunnels of varying degrees of length and sophistication, from "gopher holes" to engineered marvels. The tunnel is almost like a mineshaft. The builders, had to have access to money and somebody with a strong construction and the engineering background. Also, several miles west of big tunnel, the authorities found a smaller one — about two feet underground and extending 30 feet across the border near a storm drain — after a United States Border Patrol vehicle hit a sinkhole. 

BLACK

"The message from the contributors to my book, I believe Black daughters everywhere, is clear: 
We need our fathers,” stated Mrs. Beaty when reached for comment.

Mrs. Beaty’s article “A Collective Message To Daddy”’ which is featured in the Winter 2006 issue of IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® identifies the top 10 reasons that little girls need their fathers:

v 10. To restore our faith in our black men 
v 9. To never have to feel like we are easily left behind
v 8. To know perseverance and strength
v 7. Protection
v 6. To break the cycle of dysfunctional relationships that plagues our community
v 5. To love ourselves
v 4. We need to know that true love is possible
v 3. You are the standard by which we judge all men
v 2. So we don’t fill your void with others 
v 1. Because we love you.

Palm Springs Native American Film Festival and Cultural Weekend
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum hosts the Palm Springs Native American Film Festival and Cultural Weekend. PSNAFF is considered to be one of the most respected and celebrated Native American and indigenous film festivals in the United States.

Festival Date: March 14-19, 2006
Location: Camelot Theatres, Palm Springs, CA
http://www.accmuseum.org

Maya Writings Found
By Bjorn Carey
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 05 January 2006
02:42 pm ET
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=060105_
mayan_writing_02.jpg&cap=Drawing+of+the+painted+glyph+block+from+the+Maya+
temple+of+San+Bartolo%2C+Guatemala.+Credit%3A+%A9+Science

Newly discovered hieroglyphs show that the Maya were writing at a complex level 150 years earlier than previously thought.  The glyphs, which date to about 250 BC, were found on preserved painted walls and plaster fragments in the pyramidal structure known as Las Pinturas, in San Bartolo, Guatemala.  Las Pinturas also yielded the previously oldest samples of Maya writing, dating back to 100 BC.

New World slower: Writing emerged in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India as far back as 3,000 BC. Yet the first full-blown text—a series of signs that are clearly telling a story—don't show up in the New World until about 400-300 BC. They were left by the Zapotecs in the Oaxaca valley south of central Mexico. Most of the early Maya writing comes from 150-250 AD.

Because Zapotec writing emerged so much earlier, researchers have long believed that the Mayas were influenced by it.  The earliest single Maya glyph—which could have stood for a person's name or been a sign on a calendar—dates to about 600 BC. But it isn't considered writing. These new glyphs are much more complex, said project leader William Saturno of the University of New Hampshire.

"This is a full blown and fully developed script," Saturno told LiveScience. "Which is not to say that the Maya invented writing and not the Zapotec, but it does lead us to question the origins and the complexities of these origins."  One thing seems certain: The Maya style was not influenced by the Zapotecs.

"It's not similar at all to Zapotec," Saturno said. "You have these roughly contemporary examples that are completely different, which implies a more complex history than simple derivation."

Say what? Despite being clearly developed written text, the newfound work cannot yet be read by scientists. "Between 200 and 300 AD is when we become literate in Maya writing," Saturno said. "It's definitely writing, though, no question about that. Some of these signs are consistent with Maya writing for the next 1,000 years."

For example, glyph 7 is an early version of "AJAW," a symbol ubiquitously used with kings' names that means "lord, noble, or ruler." Glyph 2 has vague pictorial qualities and may suggest a hand holding a brush or a sharp knife-like object.

Firm date: A common problem with dating Maya writing is that it is often on stone, which scientists can't accurately date using radiocarbon dating. Instead, they must use stylistic changes to date materials. However, Saturno and his team found these writings in a pyramid made in part with wood, which is carbon based and can be dated with radiocarbon techniques.

"The way the Maya built pyramids is by building one layer on top of another," Saturno said. "We have [the building where the writing was found] sandwiched between two other buildings. We can get a date from the building itself, but also a range from the other two."

Taken together, these samples imply that the text was painted between 300 and 200 BC. But it's likely that Maya writing goes back a lot further, Saturno said.

"Given the grace, form, and consistent line-width of these symbols, it's not likely someone just picked up a brush and said 'I'm going to invent writing today,'" Saturno said. "This complexity shows it had been around for a while."  This research is detailed in the Jan. 5 online edition of the journal Science.

Native storytellers from California and Hawaii will showcase storytelling presentations and performances based on indigenous oral traditions and language. This year's event will also include children's activities, basket weaving circles, children's story time, and Native American vendors. 

This festival is made possible by funding from the Arts, the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, the California Indian Storytelling Association, and audience donations. 

SEPHARDIC

Semitism and Anti Semitism in Arizona and Sonora: An 
Ethnobiography of Experience and Insight.

Carlos G. Velez-Ibanez
Professor of Chicana/o Studies and Anthropology Motorola Presidential Professor of Neighborhood Revitalization Department of Transnational and Chicana/o Studies Professor Emeritus of Anthropology University of California, Riverside

Lecture delivered at LATINOS AND JEWS
A CONFERENCE ON HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY CONNECTIONS
Monday, January 23, 2006 UC Irvine School of Social Sciences, SSPA 2112