Hopefully, some of you have heard of Victor Villasenor, the writer who was
nominated for a Pulitzer two times. He wrote Rain of Gold, Burro Genius, and
many other critically acclaimed books.
Hopefully, some of you have heard of Victor Villasenor, the writer who was
nominated for a Pulitzer two times. He wrote Rain of Gold, Burro Genius, and
many other critically acclaimed books. He writes about his family’s
experiences in Mexico as well as in the U.S. In his books, he often mentions
that his family came from Los Altos. In fact, one book, Wild Steps of Heaven,
is about the family’s experiences there. I was very curious where in Los Altos
they were from and wrote to his website. Surprisingly, his sister wrote back
to me and said they were from Arandas. She mentioned that the people there are
known for being great horsemen and for having really good teeth! Any
Villasenors from Arandas out there?
Hi Alice,
I have always wondered the connection between Victor Villasenor and Los Altos de Jalisco. I will
admit I only have read Rain of Gold, very good read. Also, in spanish Lluvia de Oro. I would
love to research his ancestry. How could I contact his sister. It is very probable that he
comes from the Villasenor-Cervantes family, but one would have to research it.
Daniel Méndez Camino
Daniel,
I’m so glad to hear that somebody out there has read a Victor Villasenor Book!
Everybody from Los Altos should be so proud that such a gifted writer has
ancestry from there. It was his father Juan Salvador Villasenor who was born
there but left during the Revolution (like many of our grandparents did). At the
beginning of Rain of Gold, also known as Lluvia de Oro, there is a family tree
that identifies Juan Salvador’s parents as Juan Villasenor and Margarita. Many
other children of the couple are listed as well: Jose, Alejo, Luisa, Emilia,
Lucha, Domingo and “otros siete hijos que sobreviven” (whatever that means). We
need to do the math and figure out approximately when these people would have
been born and then review the records for Arandas. I’m going to guess that Juan
Salvador (Victor’s dad) was born around 1890.
In Victor’s books (particularly Wild Steps of Heaven), he often refers to his
dad as having an evil Spanish father who was fair (I think he described him as a
redhead) and pampered. He married an India, who Victor held in the highest
regard as being very wise and spiritual. He claims she was responsible for the
family’s survival during the Revolution. It has been a while since I’ve read the
books and hope I’m remembering everything correctly.
Here is contact information which I copied from Victor’s website – his sister is
named Linda and she answers all of his e-mail: linda@victorvillasenor.com.
Alice
Alice,
We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor Villaseñor
as one of ours. I would like to bring him up in my next Los Altos
Chroniclers reunion later this month and see if we can recognize him not
only regionally but all over Jalisco and Mexico. Are his books available in
Spanish also? I bet he inherited the alteño “picardía” writing style.
I am also planning to start a Los Altos de Jalisco website
(www.losaltosdejalisco.mx) where I can add his biography, publications,
recognitions and many more of his important achievements so people here in
Los Altos can know what he’s accomplished.
Anyone else know about other accomplished persons with Alteño roots in their
ancestry?
R. Rodríguez
—–Mensaje original—–
De: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
[mailto:research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org] En nombre de alice
wissing
Enviado el: jueves, 14 de julio de 2011 7:23 PM
Para: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Asunto: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
Daniel,
I’m so glad to hear that somebody out there has read a Victor Villasenor
Book!
Everybody from Los Altos should be so proud that such a gifted writer has
ancestry from there. It was his father Juan Salvador Villasenor who was born
there but left during the Revolution (like many of our grandparents did). At
the beginning of Rain of Gold, also known as Lluvia de Oro, there is a
family tree that identifies Juan Salvador’s parents as Juan Villasenor and
Margarita. Many other children of the couple are listed as well: Jose,
Alejo, Luisa, Emilia, Lucha, Domingo and “otros siete hijos que sobreviven”
(whatever that means). We need to do the math and figure out approximately
when these people would have been born and then review the records for
Arandas. I’m going to guess that Juan Salvador (Victor’s dad) was born
around 1890.
In Victor’s books (particularly Wild Steps of Heaven), he often refers to
his dad as having an evil Spanish father who was fair (I think he described
him as a
redhead) and pampered. He married an India, who Victor held in the highest
regard as being very wise and spiritual. He claims she was responsible for
the family’s survival during the Revolution. It has been a while since I’ve
read the books and hope I’m remembering everything correctly.
Here is contact information which I copied from Victor’s website – his
sister is named Linda and she answers all of his e-mail:
linda@victorvillasenor.com.
Alice
Rick,
I know for certain Rain of Gold is published in Spanish because I have a copy of
Lluvia de Oro, but I don’t know about his other books. Also, Victor seems very
proud of his Los Altos roots, so it seems fitting that Los Altos recognizes him.
He said in one of his recent books, Crazy Loco Love, that everybody he ever met
with the last name Villasenor turned out to be his relative. Also, what is this
Alteno writing style you are referring to?
Thanks,
Alice
Hello Alice,
Just wondering if you’ve ever met Victor Villasenor.
— On Fri, 7/15/11, alice wissing wrote:
From: alice wissing
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Friday, July 15, 2011, 10:54 PM
Rick,
I know for certain Rain of Gold is published in Spanish because I have a copy of
Lluvia de Oro, but I don’t know about his other books. Also, Victor seems very
proud of his Los Altos roots, so it seems fitting that Los Altos recognizes him.
He said in one of his recent books, Crazy Loco Love, that everybody he ever met
with the last name Villasenor turned out to be his relative. Also, what is this
Alteno writing style you are referring to?
Thanks,
Alice
Rick,
Besides Rain of gold/Lluvia de Oro, other books from Victor Villasenor that are translated in Spanish are Wild Steps of Heaven/Pasos Salvajes del Paraiso, Thirteen Senses/Trece Sentidos, Walking Stars/Estrellas Peregrinas, Burro Genius/Burro Genio, Macho/Macho. Also, he has written several bilingual children’s books. I ordered a couple of them to read with my 3 year old daughter, and I really like the message, especially in one titled The Stranger and the Red Rooster.
I’ve met Victor Villasenor on two ocassions and he really talks with passion about his family history. I had already started on my genealogy before I read Rain of Gold, but after reading this book, I felt even more motivated to learn about my own ancestors.
Steve in NC
— On Thu, 7/14/11, Rick Rodriguez wrote:
From: Rick Rodriguez
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 9:15 PM
Alice,
We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor Villaseñor
as one of ours. I would like to bring him up in my next Los Altos
Chroniclers reunion later this month and see if we can recognize him not
only regionally but all over Jalisco and Mexico. Are his books available in
Spanish also? I bet he inherited the alteño “picardía” writing style.
I am also planning to start a Los Altos de Jalisco website
(www.losaltosdejalisco.mx) where I can add his biography, publications,
recognitions and many more of his important achievements so people here in
Los Altos can know what he’s accomplished.
Anyone else know about other accomplished persons with Alteño roots in their
ancestry?
R. Rodríguez
—–Mensaje original—–
De: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
[mailto:research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org] En nombre de alice
wissing
Enviado el: jueves, 14 de julio de 2011 7:23 PM
Para: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Asunto: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
Daniel,
I’m so glad to hear that somebody out there has read a Victor Villasenor
Book!
Everybody from Los Altos should be so proud that such a gifted writer has
ancestry from there. It was his father Juan Salvador Villasenor who was born
there but left during the Revolution (like many of our grandparents did). At
the beginning of Rain of Gold, also known as Lluvia de Oro, there is a
family tree that identifies Juan Salvador’s parents as Juan Villasenor and
Margarita. Many other children of the couple are listed as well: Jose,
Alejo, Luisa, Emilia, Lucha, Domingo and “otros siete hijos que sobreviven”
(whatever that means). We need to do the math and figure out approximately
when these people would have been born and then review the records for
Arandas. I’m going to guess that Juan Salvador (Victor’s dad) was born
around 1890.
In Victor’s books (particularly Wild Steps of Heaven), he often refers to
his dad as having an evil Spanish father who was fair (I think he described
him as a
redhead) and pampered. He married an India, who Victor held in the highest
regard as being very wise and spiritual. He claims she was responsible for
the family’s survival during the Revolution. It has been a while since I’ve
read the books and hope I’m remembering everything correctly.
Here is contact information which I copied from Victor’s website – his
sister is named Linda and she answers all of his e-mail:
linda@victorvillasenor.com.
Alice
Estimado Ricardo,
Desciendo de una hermana Antonio el Amo de Aceves y Casillas Cabrera. Felipa Catarina era hija de Juan
Francisco de Aceves y Antonia de Casillas y Cabrera. Felipa casó el 17 de febrero de 1773 en San Francisco
de Asís, Tepatitlán con José Ignacio Gómez Hurtado de Mendoza. Tuvieron entre otros a mi quinta bisabuela
María Josefa Gómez Hurtado de Mendoza quien casó a José Rosalino Leonel de Cervantes quienes tuvieron a
Maria de Jesús Leonel de Cervantes. Esta casó a Jose Manuel de Aceves y tuvieron a Filomena de Aceves quien
casó a José Antonio Rubio de Zepeda estos tuvieron Atilana Rubio de Zepeda abuela de abuelo paterno.
Probable ya tienes bastante informacion sobre el Amo Aceves, ya que desciendes de el segun mi entendimiento.
Daniel Méndez Camino
Victor Villaseno resides in Oceanseide California and he has a Thanksgiving dinner open to all his friends.
— On Fri, 7/15/11, Steve Apodaca wrote:
From: Steve Apodaca
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Friday, July 15, 2011, 9:37 PM
Rick,
Besides Rain of gold/Lluvia de Oro, other books from Victor Villasenor that are translated in Spanish are Wild Steps of Heaven/Pasos Salvajes del Paraiso, Thirteen Senses/Trece Sentidos, Walking Stars/Estrellas Peregrinas, Burro Genius/Burro Genio, Macho/Macho. Also, he has written several bilingual children’s books. I ordered a couple of them to read with my 3 year old daughter, and I really like the message, especially in one titled The Stranger and the Red Rooster.
I’ve met Victor Villasenor on two ocassions and he really talks with passion about his family history. I had already started on my genealogy before I read Rain of Gold, but after reading this book, I felt even more motivated to learn about my own ancestors.
Steve in NC
— On Thu, 7/14/11, Rick Rodriguez wrote:
From: Rick Rodriguez
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 9:15 PM
Alice,
We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor Villaseñor
as one of ours. I would like to bring him up in my next Los Altos
Chroniclers reunion later this month and see if we can recognize him not
only regionally but all over Jalisco and Mexico. Are his books available in
Spanish also? I bet he inherited the alteño “picardía” writing style.
I am also planning to start a Los Altos de Jalisco website
(www.losaltosdejalisco.mx) where I can add his biography, publications,
recognitions and many more of his important achievements so people here in
Los Altos can know what he’s accomplished.
Anyone else know about other accomplished persons with Alteño roots in their
ancestry?
R. Rodríguez
—–Mensaje original—–
De: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
[mailto:research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org] En nombre de alice
wissing
Enviado el: jueves, 14 de julio de 2011 7:23 PM
Para: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Asunto: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
Daniel,
I’m so glad to hear that somebody out there has read a Victor Villasenor
Book!
Everybody from Los Altos should be so proud that such a gifted writer has
ancestry from there. It was his father Juan Salvador Villasenor who was born
there but left during the Revolution (like many of our grandparents did). At
the beginning of Rain of Gold, also known as Lluvia de Oro, there is a
family tree that identifies Juan Salvador’s parents as Juan Villasenor and
Margarita. Many other children of the couple are listed as well: Jose,
Alejo, Luisa, Emilia, Lucha, Domingo and “otros siete hijos que sobreviven”
(whatever that means). We need to do the math and figure out approximately
when these people would have been born and then review the records for
Arandas. I’m going to guess that Juan Salvador (Victor’s dad) was born
around 1890.
In Victor’s books (particularly Wild Steps of Heaven), he often refers to
his dad as having an evil Spanish father who was fair (I think he described
him as a
redhead) and pampered. He married an India, who Victor held in the highest
regard as being very wise and spiritual. He claims she was responsible for
the family’s survival during the Revolution. It has been a while since I’ve
read the books and hope I’m remembering everything correctly.
Here is contact information which I copied from Victor’s website – his
sister is named Linda and she answers all of his e-mail:
linda@victorvillasenor.com.
Alice
Steve,
Thanks for the info. I’ve already talked about Victor Villaseñor to some
people in charge from the Departement of Culture from some municipalities.
I will be pushing and reminding them to include his books in their next
workshops. All I need now is to find where to buy the books and pick them up
on my next trip I make to the US, hopefully very soon.
Thanks again,
Ricardo Rodriguez Camarena
—–Mensaje original—–
De: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
[mailto:research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org] En nombre de Steve
Apodaca
Enviado el: viernes, 15 de julio de 2011 11:37 PM
Para: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Asunto: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
Rick,
Besides Rain of gold/Lluvia de Oro, other books from Victor Villasenor that
are translated in Spanish are Wild Steps of Heaven/Pasos Salvajes del
Paraiso, Thirteen Senses/Trece Sentidos, Walking Stars/Estrellas Peregrinas,
Burro Genius/Burro Genio, Macho/Macho. Also, he has written several
bilingual children’s books. I ordered a couple of them to read with my 3
year old daughter, and I really like the message, especially in one titled
The Stranger and the Red Rooster.
I’ve met Victor Villasenor on two ocassions and he really talks with passion
about his family history. I had already started on my genealogy before I
read Rain of Gold, but after reading this book, I felt even more motivated
to learn about my own ancestors.
Steve in NC
— On Thu, 7/14/11, Rick Rodriguez wrote:
From: Rick Rodriguez
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 9:15 PM
Alice,
We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor Villaseñor
as one of ours. I would like to bring him up in my next Los Altos
Chroniclers reunion later this month and see if we can recognize him not
only regionally but all over Jalisco and Mexico. Are his books available in
Spanish also? I bet he inherited the alteño “picardía” writing style.
I am also planning to start a Los Altos de Jalisco website
(www.losaltosdejalisco.mx) where I can add his biography, publications,
recognitions and many more of his important achievements so people here in
Los Altos can know what he’s accomplished.
Anyone else know about other accomplished persons with Alteño roots in their
ancestry?
R. Rodríguez
—–Mensaje original—–
De: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
[mailto:research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org] En nombre de alice
wissing Enviado el: jueves, 14 de julio de 2011 7:23 PM
Para: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Asunto: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
Daniel,
I’m so glad to hear that somebody out there has read a Victor Villasenor
Book!
Everybody from Los Altos should be so proud that such a gifted writer has
ancestry from there. It was his father Juan Salvador Villasenor who was born
there but left during the Revolution (like many of our grandparents did). At
the beginning of Rain of Gold, also known as Lluvia de Oro, there is a
family tree that identifies Juan Salvador’s parents as Juan Villasenor and
Margarita. Many other children of the couple are listed as well: Jose,
Alejo, Luisa, Emilia, Lucha, Domingo and “otros siete hijos que sobreviven”
(whatever that means). We need to do the math and figure out approximately
when these people would have been born and then review the records for
Arandas. I’m going to guess that Juan Salvador (Victor’s dad) was born
around 1890.
In Victor’s books (particularly Wild Steps of Heaven), he often refers to
his dad as having an evil Spanish father who was fair (I think he described
him as a
redhead) and pampered. He married an India, who Victor held in the highest
regard as being very wise and spiritual. He claims she was responsible for
the family’s survival during the Revolution. It has been a while since I’ve
read the books and hope I’m remembering everything correctly.
Here is contact information which I copied from Victor’s website – his
sister is named Linda and she answers all of his e-mail:
linda@victorvillasenor.com.
Alice
Here is another entry from the book .
Noviembre 7 de 1795- Don Jose Dionisio Barbosa, de 28 anos, espanol, origianrio y vecino del Valle de San Mateo del Pilon, y residente de esteValle del Guaxuco, hijo legitimo de don Jose Manuel Barbosa, difunto y de dona Maria Manuela Villareal, de aquella vecindad, con dona Maria Guadalupe de la Garza, de 18 anos, espanola, originaria y vecina de este Valle, hija legitima de Francisco de la Garza y de dona Juana Josepha de la Garza, de esta vecindad.
Thats it for now , I searched the whole book and only found the two that I sent .
Take care,
Welester
Hi Alice,
I definitely need to read his books! The style I’m referring to is kind of
Juan Rulfo’s style, fun, its narrative, entertaining, descriptive so you
don’t want to put down the book until you finish reading it.
R. Rodríguez
I, too had already begun my family interviews and genealogy when I
discovered *Rain of Gold* in the early 90s. At my recommendation, many of my
extended family also read it and loved it. It took years for them to stop
asking me, “When are you going to write our story?” (Okay, maybe I never
actually told them I wouldn’t. Who knows? Isn’t that a secret dream of
many of us? Not for publication, but for our family?)
Raquel H. Ruiz
maybe someone can contact him and see if he would like an “honorary”
membership in the NR group. . .which by the way would include a
invitation to speak at the next NR S.California get together.
it never hurts to ask.
joseph
======================
Joseph Puentes
NoMeat@h2opodcast.com
http://h2opodcast.com/vsse.html (Vegan Environmental Solutions Podcast)
http://h2opodcast.com (Environmental Podcast)
http://h2opodcast.blogspot.com (Blog for above)
http://PleaseListenToYourMom.com (Women’s Peace Podcast)
http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com (Latin American History Podcast)
http://nuestrosranchos.org (Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes
Genealogy)
francisco sevilla wrote:
> Victor Villaseno resides in Oceanseide California and he has a
Thanksgiving dinner open to all his friends.
>
> — On Fri, 7/15/11, Steve Apodaca wrote:
>
> From: Steve Apodaca
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
> To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
> Date: Friday, July 15, 2011, 9:37 PM
>
> Rick,
>
> Besides Rain of gold/Lluvia de Oro, other books from Victor
Villasenor that are translated in Spanish are Wild Steps of Heaven/Pasos
Salvajes del Paraiso, Thirteen Senses/Trece Sentidos, Walking
Stars/Estrellas Peregrinas, Burro Genius/Burro Genio, Macho/Macho. Also,
he has written several bilingual children’s books. I ordered a couple of
them to read with my 3 year old daughter, and I really like the message,
especially in one titled The Stranger and the Red Rooster.
>
> I’ve met Victor Villasenor on two ocassions and he really talks with
passion about his family history. I had already started on my genealogy
before I read Rain of Gold, but after reading this book, I felt even
more motivated to learn about my own ancestors.
>
> Steve in NC
>
> — On Thu, 7/14/11, Rick Rodriguez wrote:
>
>
> From: Rick Rodriguez
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
> To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
> Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 9:15 PM
>
>
> Alice,
>
> We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor
Villaseñor
> as one of ours.
Whe is the “next NR S. California get together”?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
—–Original Message—–
From: Joseph Puentes
Sender: research-bounces@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:36:33
To:
Reply-to: research@nuestrosranchos.org
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
maybe someone can contact him and see if he would like an “honorary”
membership in the NR group. . .which by the way would include a
invitation to speak at the next NR S.California get together.
it never hurts to ask.
joseph
======================
Joseph Puentes
NoMeat@h2opodcast.com
http://h2opodcast.com/vsse.html (Vegan Environmental Solutions Podcast)
http://h2opodcast.com (Environmental Podcast)
http://h2opodcast.blogspot.com (Blog for above)
http://PleaseListenToYourMom.com (Women’s Peace Podcast)
http://NuestraFamiliaUnida.com (Latin American History Podcast)
http://nuestrosranchos.org (Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes
Genealogy)
francisco sevilla wrote:
> Victor Villaseno resides in Oceanseide California and he has a
Thanksgiving dinner open to all his friends.
>
> — On Fri, 7/15/11, Steve Apodaca wrote:
>
> From: Steve Apodaca
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
> To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
> Date: Friday, July 15, 2011, 9:37 PM
>
> Rick,
>
> Besides Rain of gold/Lluvia de Oro, other books from Victor
Villasenor that are translated in Spanish are Wild Steps of Heaven/Pasos
Salvajes del Paraiso, Thirteen Senses/Trece Sentidos, Walking
Stars/Estrellas Peregrinas, Burro Genius/Burro Genio, Macho/Macho. Also,
he has written several bilingual children’s books. I ordered a couple of
them to read with my 3 year old daughter, and I really like the message,
especially in one titled The Stranger and the Red Rooster.
>
> I’ve met Victor Villasenor on two ocassions and he really talks with
passion about his family history. I had already started on my genealogy
before I read Rain of Gold, but after reading this book, I felt even
more motivated to learn about my own ancestors.
>
> Steve in NC
>
> — On Thu, 7/14/11, Rick Rodriguez wrote:
>
>
> From: Rick Rodriguez
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Author Victor Villasenor is From Arandas
> To: research@nuestrosranchos.org
> Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011, 9:15 PM
>
>
> Alice,
>
> We are very proud here in Los Altos to be able to brag Don Victor
Villaseñor
> as one of ours.
