Monterrey Trip - August 2013

    Registro Civil: This translates to "civil registry." It is a government office that I assume is similar to a justice of the peace. Citizens went to that office to register a birth, death, marriage. The good thing about this entity is that they were very detailed in their documentation. For example, when my grandmother died, my grandfather's brother went to report. Here is some of what was written:
"On November 17, 1925 at 10 am, Manuel Vidales, 50 years old, merchant resident of this city, reports that last night at 8 pm, at 157 Altamirano street, Estefana Vidales died. She was 30 years old and died of an internal tumor. She was the legitimate daughter of Tiburcio Villanueva (deceased) and Brigida Argueta. She leaves a widower, Feliciano, and four children Beatriz, Maria, Fidel, and Cristobal."
     So I have found similar documents about marriages, births and deaths for other folks. The account of my grandmother's death verified that I had an uncle (Fidel), up to now hearsay. It also told me that my grandmother did not die at home, because the address given was her aunt's house. I also discovered that her father had already died.

 I continue to look for family roots. The focus of this trip to Monterrey was to connect with a "cousin" that I have known forever, but that I have not seen in many, many years. He is the son of my grandmother's sister. This is the side of the family, the Villanueva family,  that remains hidden. My grandmother, Estefana, had sisters that I knew growing up and other siblings unknown to me.  As much as I have found about so many people, on the internet and using the Mormon database, the Villanueva Family has been elusive. I have not been able to find baptismal records, nor birth records, nor marriages, nor deaths.

Meeting with this cousin was productive because he was willing to share information and because he repeated family information that I will now believe as true. I have his email address and will use it regularly.

Cousins:
     This folks I recently discovered - last year. They are children of my father's cousin - our grandfathers were brothers. I visit them every time I am in Monterrey. This visit was the fist time to get them all in one house. The oldest is 82 and the youngest is 63.

In the picture below, my sister is wearing purple. The woman in pink is Maria (82). The guy on the far right is Eduardo (63) with his wife next to him. The guy in the wheel chair Roberto (77) will get a hip replaced next month. The woman in the white blouse is Conchita (70), and is the mother to the young guy in maroon (42). Only Eduardo and Conchita and son do not live in that house.

Monterrey Picture:
     What would a post about Monterrey be without pictures. The first one was a shop across the street from the hotel. I find it interesting and odd because we do not see such a sign in the USA.
     This is an opticians store and from top to bottom they sell "prescription glasses, contact lenses, artificial eyes, and apparatus for the deaf."  Next time I will go in and get an eye. Should I get a left eye or a right one???

 Old buildings:
These are from late 1800s (the yellow one) and 1901

Now a bank

Now a museum - was a government building

 I wonder if they had really tall people back then. The "french doors" to the balconey and the doors on the ground level are very tall.



Two views from the hotel window.