FILMING TO FIND GRANDMA RITA by Sister Mary Sevilla, Ph.D. [email protected]

[This article first appeared in the October, 2000 issue of SOMOS PRIMOS , an online Hispanic genealogy/history newsletter.]

A friend once told me that when our ancestors are ready to be revealed, they will find a way. Neither she nor I could ever have thought of this fantastic and adventuresome happening.

I had long and painstakingly looked for information on the birth of my paternal grandmother, Rita SEVILLA, but kept running into dead ends. When Grandma died she left six children ages one and one-half to 13 years. Since they had been so young, no one knew when she was born and that bothered me. I was named after her and wanted to solve that mystery and give her a recognized place in history and in our family.

The adventure started when I received an e-mail from a man named Mike in Massachusetts, a documentary film producer working on a new exhibit for the American Family Immigration History Center, a new wing of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York. He was looking specifically for people of Latino/Hispanic heritage who have made some good progress in their own family history. He had read online a short genealogical article that I had written for SOMOS PRIMOS. He asked if he could call me about being the subject of a short documentary film about researching my family history.

That phone call set in motion a three-month series of e-mails and phone calls with Mike and with the film producer, Kate. I had to demonstrate that I actually had documents and the step- by-step procedure for obtaining them. They also wanted to know if any critical documents were still missing. Yes to both.

Mike and Kate consulted me about possible dates, places to film both here in California and in Mexico City. Even when the decision had been made that we really were going to make a film, I still had trouble believing it.

My film debut began at the Family History Center in Los Alamitos, California on Friday, 21 July 2000. The filming continued on Saturday at my apartment where I was interviewed extensively and shots were made of important family documents. The afternoon filming included a conversation about Grandma Rita with my cousins who had also been named after her.

Sunday, the film crew and I flew to Mexico City to continue filming. The first episode consisted of meeting a group of SEVILLA cousins in the patio of San Juan Bautista Church in Coyoacan. The filming with these cousins was especially rewarding for me because I had only met some of them since beginning my research four years ago. Three more of them were new to me that evening.

Monday was spent filming at Santa Veracruz Church where Grandma was thought to have been baptized. It takes hours for the film crew to set up and get the lighting just right. Then each scene has to be filmed five to seven times. I was flabbergasted to see the wall-to-ceiling books of sacramental records dating back to the 1600s. The excitement built up as the secretary pulled down each of the baptismal books of the years that Grandma Rita was thought to have been born. She painstakingly looked at page after page. I had the urge to grab the books and look for myself. Yes, her elusive record was found and I truly rejoiced and wiped the tears from my eyes so we could go on filming.

The third day in Mexico City, we filmed at the Registro Civil en Distrito Federal and found a record I had been seeking of one of Grandma Rita's children who had died as a toddler. That, too, was a very moving experience because now baby Gloria had her place in history and in our family.

It was an incredibly enriching experience on so many levels that I had trouble even absorbing everything. The categories seemed to be: 1. Exciting document discoveries; 2. My cousins, Aguilar friends, and people I met -- producer, film crews, drivers, couriers, etc.; 3. Film/light materials/gadgets/communication devices; 4. The Hotel de Cortes, San Juan Bautista, Coyoacan, Santa Veracruz Church sacramental books. I truly feel enriched and blessed to have had these experiences.

On the flight home, I was marveling at all the events and activities of the last several days. It is truly remarkable to think that our brief family film will be one of only six to be placed in the Ellis Island Museum in New York. Yes, Grandma Rita Emilia Galvez Tresarrieu Sanchez Daniel Sevilla had a unique way of adding more pieces to the puzzle of her life. Who ever would have thought of a documentary film?

If you have ancestors who are evasive, keep at it. You never know how or where they will present themselves.