Fond Memories of Aunt Concepcion Garcia de Watanabe

I must have been ten years old when I overheard a conversation between my parents and my aunt Concha. The story involves a mint 1956 Chevy BelAir. At the time of this anecdote, she had been the widow of my uncle Francisco Watanabe, a very wealthy merchant.

Shortly before his sudden death, he had given my aunt the car to celebrate her birthday. Upon his passing, she related, she was so heart broken than she placed a tarp over the vehicle. She did not have a need to drive the car, as she was driven by her personal assistant.

Years later, my aunt was visited by her brother Damian Garcia, who lived in Mexico City. My aunt mentioned the car sitting in the garage, wondering if the car, because of its age, was worth anything. Damian, being a car mechanic, inspected the car and found nothing mechanically wrong with the vehicle, except for the condition of the rubber tires that had deteriorated.

My aunt offered the car to my uncle at a very low price, but Damian refused to take advantage of the situation and declined. The car was placed back in service. I still can see the car outside our house, driven by her assistant when she visited us. The bright cherry red car was a beauty.

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Descendents of Luis Brambila

Luis Rafael Brambila Contreras was born May 2, 1885 at exactly 5:30 in the morning in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico. Luis' parents were Felipe N. Brambila and Florencia Contreras. Grandpa Brambila notes: When Luis was baptized, his godparents were Rafael D. Elias y Ms. Ponciana de Anda viuda de Fonseca. Luis Rafael Brambila died in Mexico City on August 1, 1927 Luis Rafael is my mother's brother. Uncle Luis was 19 years old when my mother was born. Luis Rafael married Margarita Lara. . His children are Maria Luisa, Maria Guadalupe, Margarita, Gilberto, Carlos Manuel, Elena Esperanza and Enriqueta. Maria Luisa was born October 9, 1910. Her maternal grandparents were Manuel Lara and Soledad Morales (my source is Alfredo Pena Perez-Plazola). Maria Luisa lived to a ripe age of ninety years. I don't know the vital statistics for Maria Luisa's siblings. Maria Luisa had four children: Antonio, Javier (aka el chato) Jorge and...

DNA Results

I have been thinking about doing a DJNA test as to ascertain my genealogical origins. I selected FamilyTreeDNA as the laboratory to conduct such test. I started by requesting a Y chromosome study, which means the chromosome that is passed from father to son. Here are some results: My Haplogroup is J-Z631. My understanding as a lay person is that Haplogroup refers to a genealogical tree branch. According to FamilyTreeDNA my paternal line was formed when it branched from the ancestor J-Z8421, and the rest of mankind, around 1900 BCE. The man who is the most recent common ancestor of this line is estimated to have been born around 950 BCE (FamilyTreeDNA.) He is the ancestor of at least six descendant lineages known as J-Y87605, J-Z1043, J-Y144394, J-BY178901, J-FT101890, and J-PH9933. There are 793 DNA tested descendants whose earliest known origins are from Germany, United States, England and 46 other countries. Descendants of J-Z631 (my Haplogroup) are from these countries: S...

What is this Blog About?

What I want to talk about is the content of this blog. My original intent is to convey some of the history of who I am and where I come from. I do this by providing some data that was originally written by my grandfather and the long conversations I had with my dearly departed father and mother regarding our family history. The other topic I want to cover is the wonderful journey that I have traveled as an immigrant to the United States for fifty-five years. I am so interested in the cultural differences of my country of birth in contrast to the values and mores of the people of this country; it is a fascinating subject. What has encouraged me so much to excel, regardless of my economic condition, is the number of Americans who have mentored me and encouraged me to attain my goals. My gratitude to Bill Baker, my long- time friend and mentor. I also include some information regarding DNA test results that might clarify some the information that I provide in this blog. I ho...

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