FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT: PART II

Victoria OlivaGeo-10Professor Schmidt

MY MOM’S SIDE Where were you born? My mom was born in Motebello, California.

She was born on June 6, 1972 She is the daughter of Yvonne Marie Bufanda and Manuel Chavez Rios (biological father)

She has 14 siblings. Some through marriage and some half-siblings.

She is the third child of her siblings and is the first girl.

MOM’S SIDE Where did your parents come from? Both of her parents were born in California. My grandmother was born in East Los Angeles.

My mom was never close to her mother, Yvonne Marie Bufanda and she never knew her father, Manuel Chavez Rios.

After my mom was born my grandmother remarried and met my grandfather Ruben Camargo (my mom’s stepdad) she grew up calling him her dad.He was born in Arizona. She is not sure which city.

MOM’S SIDE Like mentioned before, my mom was never close to her mother. She was raised by my great grandmother (her mom’s mom) Marion Barron.

My grandmother got remarried to my grandfather Ruben Camargo. He had two children from a previous marriage. After my mom, Yvonne and Ruben had four children together.They resided in La Puente, California.

MOM’S SIDE After a while my grandmother and grandfather, Yvonne and Ruben split up.

My grandfather, Ruben (my mom’s stepdad) remarried to my grandmother (by marriage) Charline Camargo.

She was their neighbor at the time while living in La Puente, California.

She had a daughter of her own. Together Ruben and Charline had one child and adopted another.

They then moved to Hesperia, California.

MOM’S SIDE Where have they moved since? After meeting in La Puente, California. My grandparents Ruben and Charline bought a house in Hesperia, California.

They moved there because houses were cheaper. My mom would still go over their house and do things with them and her siblings like camping, dancing, and family get-togethers.

What kind of work was your family involved in?

My grandfather Ruben was an electrician.

MOM’S SIDE While my grandparents moved to Hesperia, California my mom was still living with her great grandmother, Marion.

They moved from La Puente to El Monte, California. Shortly after highschool is when my parents met in El Monte.

MY DAD’S SIDE

Where were you born?My dad was born in Tijuana, Mexico. He was born on November 1, 1970He is the son of David Rodriguez Oliva and Victoria Delgado Oliva.He has two siblings: Goyo (brother) and Josefina (sister)He also has two older brothers, Rigoberto and Mario, from my grandfathers previous marriage.He is the youngest of his siblings.

MY DAD’S SIDE Where did your parents come from?

My grandmother, Victoria Delgado Oliva was born on February 26, 1934 and passed away on April 23, 1984

MY DAD’S SIDE She was born in Ejutla, Jalisco She is the daughter of Ignacia Alocer and Nanciso Delgado

They were from Jalisco, Mexico as well.

My dad is not sure how many siblings she had. He has only met two of them.

MY DAD’S SIDE Where did your parents come from?

My grandfather, David Rodriguez Oliva was born on December 1, 1935 and passed away on June 23, 2014.

MY DAD’S SIDE He was born in La Estanzuela, Michoacan

He is the son of Cleotilde Rodriguez and Gabino Oliva.

His parents are also from Michoacan, Mexico.

My dad is also not sure how many siblings my grandfather had.

MY DAD’S SIDE Why did you guys come to the U.S? For better oppurtunities: more jobs, better education, safer environment.

Where did you guys first come to? El Monte, California How did your family originally get here?

They drove across the border.

MY DAD’S SIDE What kind of work was your family involved in?

My grandfather was a mechanic and my grandmother was a homemaker.

My grandmother was a stay at home and my dad remembers when she would make all kinds of food for their family gatherings.

What kind of food did you guys eat? My grandmother was known for her tamales and banuelos.

WHAT DO I THINK OF THESE INTERVIEWS? For my mother’s side I am sure there is so much more for me to learn, although my resources are limited. I am curious to know if her biological father Manuel Chavez Rios is still alive and what he has been up to the whole time. I would also like to find out more about my grandmother Yvonne’s side of the family. Since my mom was never close to her mother and never knew her dad this interview was a bit challenging.

WHAT DO I THINK OF THESE INTERVIEWS? For my dad’s side I thought it was going to be difficult to learn about my family since I never really grewup knowing them. Up until my grandfather, David Oliva passed away my family has been getting together more frequently, which is great! While interviewing my dad we had to contact other family members for information and even my dad was learning things about our family that he didn’t know. It was quite interesting to learn of the places my family was born in in Mexico. Also, the kind of names they had, I’ve never heard of such names. I am more curious to dig deeper into my dad’s side of the family. I grewup not knowing Spanish so as of now I am learning and am excited to learn more about our culture.