Angelica Gumucio

Presnell

ENGL 1102

Wild Mind Draft

A Step Back in Time

Curiosity Killed the Cat

As a child I had always been a curious one, always asking why, where and

how, annoying the crap out of my parents with my questions. As I grew older my

curiosity grew even more but instead of annoying my parents with my questions I

googled everything even what the meaning of my last name was. My background is

very diverse, my mom being born in Peru and my dad being born in Bolivia and me

being born in the United States, not only did I live an Americanized life but also was

able to enjoy my Latin culture through my parents. Crazy enough in middle school I

became ashamed of my Latin side because of my peers and my teachers, I really did

not understand what it meant to be Latina at 10 years old but for many it was not

seen as a positive trait during that time, I was confused on my identity. I would even

stop speaking Spanish because when my teachers would hear me they would bark at

me “This is America, you speak English in America, not Spanish!”

High school came along and not only did I embrace being Latina but before

my senior year I got to travel to Peru for almost two months and fully indulge into

the Peruvian culture that I had never really cared for while growing up. Of course

two months is not even long enough to find out about my family and my ancestors

from my mom’s side but it was long enough to become proud of my background and

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make me want to learn more about what being a Latina is all about. I also grew up in

a small town that was being populated by Mexicans and Central Americans, so my

family was the only South American family in the area and I wanted to show that off.

In the now, March 2014, I am no longer afraid of speaking Spanish or talking

about my Latin side but now it’s more like word vomit, I can never stop! This is

where my curiosity in learning about my dad’s side comes in. Last summer, I

traveled again to Peru and instead of going with my mom; I traveled alone and was

able to experience a different side of Peru, a “grown” up side. I drank, I danced, I

hiked, and I cried, all the things I could not do with my mom being there (my mom is

a tad bit of a worried some women). I was able to see my grand mother in a whole

new way, and realize also how lucky I was with everything that I have while my

family in Peru is not as fortunate but still happy. But I felt that something was still

missing in me and that was the history of my dad’s side, I needed to create that

connection that I had created with my mom’s side.

I have only been to Bolivia once and that was like 19 years ago. As a child I

was really connected to my dad’s side but now not so much, especially since all my

cousins are over the age of 40. My half-brother did some research about our last

name and our family coat of arms but I also never really cared much for it when I

was younger. But now that I have been indulged somewhat into my mom’s side, it is

time to indulge and discover my dad’s side and his/our ancestors. I do know that my

ancestors come from Czech Republic, well at least that is what I have been told from

many of my family members, so it must be true, but I want to know how do people

decide to go from Czech Republic to Bolivia and of course the WHY? It would be

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really cool if I could go back to the Czech Republic and actually explore and trace

back the areas that they have lived in.

What is in a Name?

Gumucio, my last name, my dad’s last name, and the last name I hope to keep

during marriage just because I think it is so unique and want to keep my lineage and

ancestry going. I was embarrassed of my last name as I was growing up because

people did not know how to pronounce it but now I just correct them and embrace

how unique and quite amazing it is, it has also be the topic of some very interesting

conversations or people just being curious and wondering where I come from. As I

googled my last name I got over 800,000 results, looking over some of these results,

I see people with the last name Gumucio, actually hundred of people with the last

name Gumucio, images, articles written by people with the last name Gumucio and a

link to a website called Gumucio.com. I click on it and bam, just what I was looking

for, not only does it have blogs of people with the last name Gumucio but an article

of someone who was in the search of his ancestors and with the last name Gumucio.

The article is “In Search of My Ancestors,” by Marcelo Gumucio, who happens to be a

relative but not sure how close of a relative he is, but I think I have heard my dad or

some other family members speak of him.

But first let’s take a step back and examine my last name Gumucio. Marcelo

Gumucio writes that Pero Saez de Torrezabal adopted the last name Gumucio early

in the XV century (circa 1430). He also states that from the information that he has

gathered that our last name Gumucio points out the “local nobility” and education

that the lineages during that century have had. During this time period a Gumucio

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Mayorazgo was established, meaning that a type of family trust/testament was

created in order to keep the family lineage going. Now there are many versions on

how to spell my last name, from Gumuzio to Gumucioeche, but the most commonly

used version is Gumucio and it has been used for hundred of centuries.

A Blast From the Past

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