Background

I originally started writing my family stories here. But, I found myself overwhelmed with formatting and trying to get everything perfectly perfect (of course). Until I find the energy to reorient myself there (and maybe I never will), I decided to switch to a slightly more streamlined way to post that offers my brain a bit more freedom to just write. We’ll see how it goes. Until then, enjoy the stories.

I’ve reposted all the original stories from My Grandmother’s Name here in case you’re just making your way to these stories. The original site is still up and accessible and does offer more features like a photo gallery. Just because I’m not posting there currently does not limit your ability to check that out to! Feel free to poke around the original site (linked above).

Methodology

While in story telling, I do my best to corroborate as much as I can with the historical record, the nature of this personal project is a written version of collected oral history. My dad (Manuel) is the primary storyteller. I collect his stories whether from his perspective or stories that have been passed down and then summarize them. This is not an exact history. Don’t expect that. You’re getting a story passed down the line. I believe there’s beauty in the art of a family story. The point is to collect the parts of our family history that we can while we can. There’s something to learn from how we tell our stories.

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Family folkore and whatever else that influences in my brain.

People

Ezmerelda Contessa as a pseudonym circa 2009. Anabaptist with curandera blood.