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Garcia family history

This is the story of my parents, Ruben and Margarita Garcia. In 1989 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we produced this video scrapbook for that occasion.

See the video (you will need RealPlayer):
56K Modem (1.8M) | Cable modem/DSL (11.5M)

Although both were born in Mexico during the turbulent years of the Revolution, Ruben Felipe Garcia and Margarita Pérez traveled thousands of miles north before they met, fell in love, married and raised a family in Detroit, Michigan.

Ruben was born in 1912, third of the four children of Leonides and Maria Ernestina Garcia. The family lived in Agua Leguas, a small town in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The family left Mexico around 1916 and ended up in Deridder, Louisiana, and from there settled in Laredo, Texas. They became U.S. citizens at some point along the way. Ruben graduated from high school in the early 1930s.

He and his father were lured by the promise of earning $5 a day in Henry Ford's auto plant up north. By the mid-1930s they were living in a rooming house in Dearborn, within walking distance to the Ford Rouge plant. The rest of the Garcia family remained in Laredo.

Margarita was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1914. My grandmother, Maria Luisa Pérez, became widowed, lost her eldest son José to the Revolution, and decided to follow her next eldest son north in 1919. My uncle Jess found work in the coal mines of Homestead, Pennsylvania and sent money back to my grandmother in Mexico. Little did he know that she was saving it all in order to bring my mother, my uncle Ben, and my aunts Eloisa and Teresa to a new life in the United States.

In 1928 my mother's family left Homestead for Detroit to find work. Although times were tough, they found work in hotels and bakeries. Margarita loved school, but had to help support the family. During the Depression, my uncle Jess decided to leave Detroit and return to Mexico. This was during the period known as Repatriation, and although many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were involuntarily sent to Mexico, he wasn't among them. Also during this period Mexican muralist Diego Rivera worked on his masterpiece at the Detroit Institute of Arts. My mother remembers that many of her friends would go there to watch him work. Rivera was reputed to have put up some of his own money to help Mexicans return to their homeland, until he realized that life there was even worse than in Detroit.

By the late 1920s, the Mexican-American community in Detroit was thriving with social clubs. My mother belonged to the Chapultepec club and took part in pageants, plays, dances and excursions to Put-in-Bay Island. My parents met at these social events around 1936 or so. They were married in 1939, after my father lost my grandfather. Leonides was a healthy man when he first moved to Detroit, having worked in the lumberyards of Louisiana. At the Ford Rouge plant, my grandfather worked in the foundry, before any safeguards were put in place to protect the workers from whatever was in the air. After only a few years, he died of pneumonia. My father always thought it was because of the foundry.

Ruben and Margarita had six children. Leonides Ruben was born in 1941. He now has five children: Jennifer, Jessica, Jason, Randi and Zachary. Loretta Jean was born in 1943. She has two sons, Michael and Thomas. Hector Douglas was born in 1945 and has three children: Kimberly (who has a daughter named Lauren), Ella and Nikolas. Oscar Dennis was born in 1946 and has two sons, Oskar and Pablo. Cecilia was born in 1949 and Carmen was born in 1955.

The family is now spread out from coast to coast. While most still live in the Detroit area, Oscar and his family live near San Francisco, as does Loretta's son Thomas and his wife. Cecilia lives in Washington, DC. Ruben's children Jessica and Jason live in Texas, and Michael (Loretta's son) lives in Brooklyn, New York.

My father died in 1997 after several years of illness. Ruben and Margarita shared 58 years together.

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Family Album Unity in the Community \| Festival of the Arts 2003 \| Festival of the Arts 2004 \| Hernandez \| Luevanos \| Paiz \| Díaz \| Garcia \| Vargas \| Chris \| Anonymous \| Jenny Mendez \| Marcos Bonafede \| Stella Afesumeh and Toyeeb Fujah \| Sarah Khazem \| Edward Lesko \| Intisar Markus Garcia family history This is the story of my parents, Ruben and Margarita Garcia. In 1989 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we produced this video scrapbook for that occasion. See the video (you will need RealPlayer): 56K Modem (1.8M) \| Cable modem/DSL (11.5M) Although both were born in Mexico during the turbulent years of the Revolution, Ruben Felipe Garcia and Margarita Pérez traveled thousands of miles north before they met, fell in love, married and raised a family in Detroit, Michigan. Ruben was born in 1912, third of the four children of Leonides and Maria Ernestina Garcia. The family lived in Agua Leguas, a small town in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. The family left Mexico around 1916 and ended up in Deridder, Louisiana, and from there settled in Laredo, Texas. They became U.S. citizens at some point along the way. Ruben graduated from high school in the early 1930s. He and his father were lured by the promise of earning $5 a day in Henry Ford's auto plant up north. By the mid-1930s they were living in a rooming house in Dearborn, within walking distance to the Ford Rouge plant. The rest of the Garcia family remained in Laredo. Margarita was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1914. My grandmother, Maria Luisa Pérez, became widowed, lost her eldest son José to the Revolution, and decided to follow her next eldest son north in 1919. My uncle Jess found work in the coal mines of Homestead, Pennsylvania and sent money back to my grandmother in Mexico. Little did he know that she was saving it all in order to bring my mother, my uncle Ben, and my aunts Eloisa and Teresa to a new life in the United States. In 1928 my mother's family left Homestead for Detroit to find work. Although times were tough, they found work in hotels and bakeries. Margarita loved school, but had to help support the family. During the Depression, my uncle Jess decided to leave Detroit and return to Mexico. This was during the period known as Repatriation, and although many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were involuntarily sent to Mexico, he wasn't among them. Also during this period Mexican muralist Diego Rivera worked on his masterpiece at the Detroit Institute of Arts. My mother remembers that many of her friends would go there to watch him work. Rivera was reputed to have put up some of his own money to help Mexicans return to their homeland, until he realized that life there was even worse than in Detroit. By the late 1920s, the Mexican-American community in Detroit was thriving with social clubs. My mother belonged to the Chapultepec club and took part in pageants, plays, dances and excursions to Put-in-Bay Island. My parents met at these social events around 1936 or so. They were married in 1939, after my father lost my grandfather. Leonides was a healthy man when he first moved to Detroit, having worked in the lumberyards of Louisiana. At the Ford Rouge plant, my grandfather worked in the foundry, before any safeguards were put in place to protect the workers from whatever was in the air. After only a few years, he died of pneumonia. My father always thought it was because of the foundry. Ruben and Margarita had six children. Leonides Ruben was born in 1941. He now has five children: Jennifer, Jessica, Jason, Randi and Zachary. Loretta Jean was born in 1943. She has two sons, Michael and Thomas. Hector Douglas was born in 1945 and has three children: Kimberly (who has a daughter named Lauren), Ella and Nikolas. Oscar Dennis was born in 1946 and has two sons, Oskar and Pablo. Cecilia was born in 1949 and Carmen was born in 1955. The family is now spread out from coast to coast. While most still live in the Detroit area, Oscar and his family live near San Francisco, as does Loretta's son Thomas and his wife. Cecilia lives in Washington, DC. Ruben's children Jessica and Jason live in Texas, and Michael (Loretta's son) lives in Brooklyn, New York. My father died in 1997 after several years of illness. Ruben and Margarita shared 58 years together.	Family Album Sites of Interest Articles of Interest American Family The Series Health Resources Community Partners Latinos and Hispanics Ethnic Prejudice and Anti-Immigrant Policies En Español The New Americans The Series Sample Civics Questions Sample Civics Questions for Elderly Applicants
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