My Garcia roots originate in the sierra of el Municipio de Tepehuanes, Durango, Mexico - that is as far as we know.  We've asked my grandfather before he passed away where our Garcia name came from if all of the exploring Spaniards (not many because that area was so desolate) were killed or chased out in the indigenous rebellion of Tepehuanes in 1616, plus he claimed his origins were of the "sierra" (meaning he is of the mountain lands).

My Tio Jose (pictured with his chickens) said it was a name that was probably given to the family as was common when baptizing people after they were "converted".  Although my Garcia family is neck deep in the Catholic faith (with a couple Garcia priests & even a bishop in Mexico) some of their traditions are still reflective of old beliefs - like the adoration of ... let me see if I remember... something like el Señor de la Milpa or Huerta or some kind of saint that is more like a watcher of your crops.

As with most people who would be writing here, at some point, the Garcia line came North.  My dad was the oldest of three (My Tio Jose & Tia Barbarita).  He said he came & went from the US illegally and legally through the Bracero Program - which he said was more like slavery.  Because he has such rich stories, I had him participate in an oral history program focused on the Bracero program (Braceros, farmers, mayordomos and all those still alive who had a role) through University of Texas at El Paso.  My parents married but my dad (with my mom & their friends) would still migrate to the US - mostly in the Southwest.  I was born in California because they were picking near Sacramento but their home base was still Nuevo Ideal, Durango, Mexico.

When I was little in the 70's, my dad heard they were hiring in the railroads of the

Midwest.  He moved us all to Chicago Heights, Illinois but we would still spend every summer in Mexico.  My brother was born in Durango, Mexico and my other youngest brother was born 16 years after me in Chicago Heights, Illinois.  Three states, two countries, but still a family.  Because I was the oldest, I went thru bilingual ed and the whole translating for my parents, going to ESL classes with my mom, learning the American system along with them.  My immigrant experience shaped my view of the world and my ease of adjusting from culture to culture and curiosity about others.  The Garcia family has stayed put for a long time.  I was the first and only one to leave the Chicago area.  Although that is where I grew up, I still considered Nuevo Ideal, Durango home.  It hurt so much when my dad finally decided to sell the house in Durango.  I asked "How could you?" and I asked my mom "but where will you live when you retire?"  She said, I have lived more than 1/2 my life in the US, this is where I will retire, this is my home.  Strange, isn't it?  I think there is an idealization that 2nd generation Garcias (& other immigants) have about their parent's native country.  Just ask my brothers, I spent a some time trying to tell them that I am a CHICANA (a mix that is not mainstream American & not Mexican) and they keep saying that they are very Mexican.  I am the one who can speak the language fluently, not them, I am the one who reads Mexican history in Spanish, not them, I am the one who chose to apply for dual nationality & regain my Mexican citizen status, not them - yet, they are more Mexican?  It's an immigrant children's thing, its hard to understand but I think it comes from the gut feeling that you are different but it is rarely discussed amongst each other.  Academics may analyze it, but not your average person.

I left the Chicago area after I received my Masters and accepted a position at a university in the bordertown of Laredo, Texas.  All of the Garcias I left behind asked why I had to leave, why couldn't I stay in the area.  As I explained to my parents, "I am following your great example of having the ambition to better myself, to go where the bigger challenges are, after all, I too am a Garcia".