In My Nana’s House

I don’t have tons of memories of my first couple of trips to Panama at the young ages of 4 and 5, but there are certain things that stick out. Eggs being served at some event related to Tia Ilka’s wedding. Swiping a fingerful of frosting from the wedding cake as soon as Tia Mirna had turned away to attend to something else. The matching dresses Tia Mirna had made for me and my primas. Lying in a beach hammock at Gorgona with my mother and my brother.

I also remember being cranky one night, wanting all of the people (a.k.a. relatives) partying late into the night at my nana’s house in the neighborhood of Rio Abajo to go home so I could go to sleep. For whatever complicated reason, based on stubborn kindergartener logic, I had decided that even though I was exhausted I was simply too inconvenienced by their presence to allow myself to give in to the sleep. My mom says I even asked her in desperation, “Why don’t all these people go home?!”

Anyhow, back in the days of the house in Rio Abajo, my mom, my brother and I would sleep in my mother’s old room – the one she had occupied before she married my father and migrated to the U.S.  I think all three of us may have even slept in one single twin bed (I was only 4 or 5 and Igmar was a toddler…but still!). From what I remember the room was quite bare and plain, but something about the memories of it evokes feelings of home, comfort, coziness. When I came across this picture of my mother, taken long before she knew she’d end up with children with crazy names like Anulkah and Igmar, I knew instantly it was that room – not so much from sight but from that feeling.  The feeling of nana’s house.

It’s Me, But It’s Not

Day two of the parade of pictures…

All of my life people have told me I resemble my mother, and in my personal opinion this is the most striking photographic evidence.

My mom is pictured here with Danitza, Brice, Lanett, and baby Luchito. I think the owner of the pigtail towards the bottom left of the frame is Itzel.

The first time I saw this picture I wondered why my mom would put a picture of me in an album full of photos taken before I was even born. It wasn’t until I examined the faces surrounding the young woman in the red top that I realized it was my mom, not me.

Thanksgiving Parade of Family Pictures

A couple of months ago my mom gave me an old album of hers. It was filled with pictures that had been taken before she ever moved to the United States. I’m thankful for this priceless and timeless gift, so now that the photos are all scanned I will kick off a “picture parade” in which I’ll post at least one each day until they are all up on the site.

Out of all the pictures, the one I was most excited to come across was this one. It’s all of the Vallee-Colombs in one picture, looking quite groovy if I don’t say so myself.

Hilarion y El Cristo Negro de Portobelo

Today my mother’s father Hilarion “Julio” Vallee

would’ve turned 90 years old so I just wanted to take a quick moment to say, “Happy birthday abuelo!”

His birthday happens to fall on a day that is very important to Catholics in Panama and is also ardently observed by many followers outside the country as well.  October 21st is El Dia del Cristo Negro de Portobelo. People form all over the country journey to the small town of Portobelo to pay homage to the statue of a Black Jesus (one of many found in Latin America) that has resided there since 1658.  When he was alive, my grandfather was among the many that would make this trip each year.

Unfortunately, Hilarion did not live past the age of 37.   I wonder, would a 90 year old Hilarion still have been making that pilgramage? Judging by how sharp and feisty some of my oldest Medicare clients are, I can definitely say it’s a possibility we can not rule out!

A few fun facts about El Cristo Negro de Portobelo:

• El Cristo Negro de Portobelo is the saint for singers.
• None other than the queen of salsa, Celia Cruz, was known to join this pilgramage on occasion.
• Another great salsero, Ismael Rivera, recorded “El Nazareno” in honor of El Cristo Negro de Portobelo.

You can go here for a short news peice on this year’s gathering at the church of San Felipe in Portobelo.

Vallee Graves in Panama

Report #1 on my 2011 genealogy research trip to Panama

Last month, in just a matter of days, I went from having no idea when my next trip to Panama would take place to having a ticket booked for a ten day trip in June. The main purpose of this trip was to do genealogical research. This and my next several postings will report on what I accomplished.

Thomases Buried in Corozal

 Report #2 on my 2011 genealogy research trip to Panama

Exactly a week after visiting the Vallee graves I returned to Corozal with my father’s cousin, Enrique, who showed me where my paternal grandfather’s siblings and their mother are buried.  Sadly, the cemetery is not well cared for and the state of the grave sites range from kinda bad to deplorable.

Francois and Adele

Report #3 on my 2011 genealogy research trip to Panama

Nearly two years ago Alfonso Vallee Cadignan, one of my grandfather Hilarion’s brothers, passed away. This led relatives to go through his old documents and make an interesting discovery.  Though we had always known his parents’ names to be Simon and Josephine, they were listed as Francois Vallee and Adele Cadignan on Alfonso’s birth certificate. This lead to an automatic reaction of “Who the heck are they?” from the members of my mother’s generation who had never heard their grandparents referred to as such.  In a fairly offhand manner their last living child, Tia Claire, confirmed that these were her parents’ real names.  It was quite a shocking paradigm shift for those of us who marveled over this discovery at the time.

Happy Father’s Day, Indeed

Report #4 on my 2011 genealogy research trip to Panama

In genealogy circles there is much talk about breaking through the "brick walls" in one's research.

I think I just crushed through my first brick wall!  As I described in my last post, Tio Lucho and I went through a box of old documents towards the end of my trip in Panama.  Among these documents was one legal sized, yellowing sheet of paper that represents my most important genealogical research discovery to date.  My grandfather’s brother’s birth certificate was a goldmine of new information.  The most precious peices of information in Louis Vallee’s birth certificate are reviewed here.

Actes d’individualité

A few nights ago I resumed an online investigation that, to this point, had been a wild goose chase. I was simply hoping to find a contact from whom I could request records from Martinique, as I did when I requested records from St. Lucia. What I ended up finding was even better. I happened upon a blog that pointed me towards the website for La Banque Numérique des Patrimoines Martiniquais. I’ll quote from my fellow geneablogger Anne Morddel to explain just what can be found at the BNPM website:

No Jumping, Please

Addendum to report #4 on my 2011 genealogy research trip to Panama

I have to say, things have really been moving on the Cadignan end of things. I also have to admit that I may have gotten so excited about the progress I was making I jumped ahead of myself and went running full steam ahead towards a conclusion based on shaky evidence.  I’ll explain.

Photos I

Months ago I purchased my first ever Groupon. For just $40 I was entitled to $100 worth of digitized pictures. Though I didn’t have any old family pictures at the time , I knew this was a great deal worth buying into.  Plus, I figured that once I had spent the money I would actually get myself to work on obtaining old photos to have scanned. And that’s just what happened.

As the June 15 deadline to use the Groupon neared I remembered having looked at an album full of old family pictures at Tito’s house last Thanksgiving.  These pictures originally belonged to his mother, Lydia, who is first cousins with my mother (on the Colomb-Mondesi St. Lucia side). Mere days before the groupon expired I borrowed the album and sent some of the pictures away for digitizing (I didn’t thinking I would have enough on my account to have the entire album). 

Photos II

A continuacion! More pictures from Tito’s album.  Let’s see what else we have here…

Looks like a bridesmaid gig for my mom and a couple of her primas.

Mom (Julia), Berta, and Danitza (?). Familia, whose wedding was this?

I wonder whose house they are standing in front of in the picutre below.

Not sure who the little girl with Tia Isa is.

So glad some of these pictures give the year and names!

Carmen and Berta (I totally have to start calling her Betty now) with their older cousin Lydia, apparently in 1954.

Who are most of these people, where are they, and what are they doing?

The second woman to the left is Rita and the second woman to the right is Julia aka mommy.

Another precious memory of Tia Ilka.

I don't know who the little ones are in front of Tia Ilka.

A family picnic?

Looks like Celia is feeding Rolondo something while Martita digs into her own plate.

That’s it for now. Thanks again, Lydia and Tito, for the memories!

Sisters

The other day, I heard my mom laugh while talking on the phone with one of her sisters and realized that the sort of laughter that erupted from her at that moment – where she’s laughing so hard her eyes are closed and the giggles are absolutely uncontrollable – most often hits her when she’s talking with one of her sisters. Tere and Hilarion had five girls and one boy. I’m not sure how Tio Lucho handled being the only man in the family after their father passed away, but here’s a look at the ladies he had to deal with.

Celia (right) with a friend.

Marta and Ilka

Mom (Julia) and Mim (Mirna)

Though they all live in different states, I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that at least one of these sisters doesn’t talk to at least one other.