Questions...Questions...Questions...

A cousin (Jeri K.) asked me if I found the answers to all my questions?  Did I fill in the pieces of the puzzle I'd hoped for during my recent journey to Spain?  And I realized that was information many of you may have asked as well... So - here it is in a nutshell ~

1.  What were the villages like that our families came from?  Yes!  I visited Almogia, Alora, Campanillas, Los Nunez, Gibraltar, Benagalbon, Malaga and Huertecilla in the south for the RUIZ family.  And I visited Fuentesauco, Toro, Villamor de los Escuderos and Villaescusa in the north for the SILVAN family.  There were villages in between for fun and memories.

Almogia - This is the village the Ruiz family still lives in -- our cousin, Cristobal Torreblanca is the mayor.  He collaborated with my first father, Miguel Ruiz (Silvan) to connect Almogia and Winters, California in a "Sisters City" and a street sign is shown as Calle Winters in that beautiful Arabic village.  The Ayuntamiento (city hall) was closed the day we were there but we met Fernando, the bartender in the nearby bar, who knew my first father -- he was delighted to meet me and my brother, Steven.  It is my understanding that Josephine Ruiz (Martin) may have been born there and I am researching that information further.

Alora - This is the village that Rosa Romero Fernandez was from (and her parents).  She was Francisco Ruiz's first wife and mother to my grandfather Bernardo Romero Ruiz.   He later married a widow, Maria Carmen de Cordoba (still trying to document this name) Rey who was also from Alora.  I think they were related through marriage since her daughter (Isobel Fernandez) had the same name as my great grandmother, Rosa.  (more research to do there too).

Campanillas - This is the village where my grandfather, Bernardo Ruiz Romero was baptised.  It is unknown whether the other siblings were as well and that is another puzzle piece that is missing but I took photos of the church and walk those streets, ate Paella with chorizo, drank red wine and smile as I remember it was accidental that I knew about it at all.  Steven mentioned, "Oh, by the way, grandpa Ben was baptised there....." as we drove through the village looking for a post office (correro)...

Los Nunez -- This village is unique because it's where the round house sits atop a hill that my first father built.  Also, there are cousins in the village (Juani and Mari and their family) who live here.  I learned about the community efforts my first father made his mark with his actions and smiled once again.  I walked the floors of the house he built with the help of my brother, Steven and smiled again.  It was a most special day.

Huertacilla - This village is where cousins live:  Maria Angela, Manolo, Antonio and children live.  There is a bakery, a store and a cafe.  I met the cousins and felt immeasurably welcomed and warm.  And they gave us free cafe con leche...

Benagalbon -- This village is where Francisco Ruiz was from.  He was my great grandfather and the village is very quaint and has so much character that Steven and I wished we had more time.....

My next posting will summarize the Silvan villages.