Gathering & sharing family stories is a beautiful process. What i’ve learned & shared here in the past is the importance of gathering the pieces of our past & sharing them in the present & learning to invent a new future.
My work in story-telling & culture-cultivating continues with my band Las Cafeteras. I hope you can take a second to watch this video & consider supporting our fundraising effort. We are raising funds to complete & print our new album & present it in NYC at the world’s largest Latin Alternative Music Conference in the world.
Here’s to more story-telling, unearthing our stories from the ground to give life to us all.
3:45a.m.: Up doing family research. I received a book in the mail recently from my cousin Sandra. The book is titled “Galindos in America: A Family History” by Roberto Victor Galindo Belis in El Paso, TX.
Incredible! I’ve done all this work to document family history thinking I was the first. This man has a lot of good stuff in here & it’s opening up possibilities for connecting a lot of dots & learning a lot about when our family came to the U.S., where they landed, what they did there, and what some of us are doing now. Also, I’m really interested in learning if our people had a longer history in Chihuahua, or if they moved there from somewhere else.
Digging through all these files, databases, books, photos, is like DJs crate-digging for those gem records. You go with your intuition, search for hours hoping to find some serious treasures, serious stories. Then you mix’em together with other stories to make a skillful remix. Following in the footsteps of some of the great mixers of story & sound…
My cousin Brian Brent Galindo (photo 2009). Rest in Peace primo.
One of the quirkiest, best-dressed, speech giving (when no one else made speeches), & jovial guys I know. Passed away suddenly last Sunday September 25th, 2011. He is missed & I am deeply saddened by his passing.
I’ve been on the road gathering all this family history for 3 months during the summer, meeting family I never met before, and I return home to help bury my cousin. An ever constant reminder that our time is here is not promised, precious, and needs to be lived to the full.
Brian’s brother passed just two years ago. This is the 2nd brother they bury. So much for one family to bear.
Our family & his friends/colleagues are working to raise funds to cover his funeral costs (which are always costly!). I invite you to join us.
Also, come join us for a tasty breakfast THIS Sunday in Boyle Heights. Your online donation receipt also counts as your ticket for breakfast, or just donate at the breakfast.
We had much fun celebrating our on-going struggles for justice & independence at Mucho Libre on Sept 17th at the Echoplexx. Check out some video from the show. Big ups to Mucho Music for having us out! It was a truly historic show for the Echoplexx & the Latin Alt scene w/ us (Las Cafeteras), La Chamba, & Chicano Son. About 400 people came through, bringing great energy, enjoying great music, artisans, vendors, live screen printing & a revolutionary photo booth! Mexican Independence Day done right!
I’m back in LA & have mad stories to share. Part of them go into tonight’s show!
Definitely check out Las Cafeteras show tonight at the MacArthur Park’s Levitt Pavillion. We’re got new music, special guests, & nothin’ but love for the city of angels!
I’ve enjoyed almost 3 months on this journey, traveling, learning, gaining family, stories, & friends. I’ve grown so much & wanted to stay longer in most places. But like all good books, one exciting chapter must end for the next to begin.
This will be a very reflective drive home. Just one stop along the way…
So excited! This is my cousin Sandra. Her Great Grand-Pa Victoriano is my GGrand-Pa Severo Galindo’s brother! We met through Ancestry.com! We traded stories on her lunch break. She gave me a picture of our great-great Grandma Preciliana “Chelana”. I gave her Victoriano’s wedding records from Ojinaga, MX. Still not sure where the Galindos came from in Mexico, or if they stayed in the now TX, then MX, area for a longer time.
Was only enough to time to start a conversation. Gotta find a way back to nor. cal!
I’m here in the heart of Rapid City, SD one of the largest cities in the state, and my Android phone on T-Mobile is STILL roaming! This service is whack & I want my money back. I expect to be roaming in rural areas, but not in the city. What a pain, especially when I’m using my phone as GPS & to coordinate this trip.
A summer rite-of-passage road trip travelogue documenting the search for answers to the question "Where do I come from?". On April 30th, 2011 I was laid off of my job as a community organizer. Two weeks later I left Los Angeles in my little hatchback to explore N. America in search of my family histories. From the road I'll post pieces of interviews, photos, audio, & more.
My name is Daniel Joel Jesus French & this is my story.
