The Ortega Blog: The Little Cemetery Near the Mission Brings Ancestry Into Focus

By Roy Ortega

I recently obtained my Ancestry DNA results and began a journey into my family's history. I am 48-percent Native American and 37-percent Spanish. The rest is a mixture of several other ethnic roots including Irish and Jewish. But it was my Native American roots that most piqued my interest. A careful analysis of my Native American ancestry indicates my blood line runs straight through the history of the region extending from Southwestern Mexico to South Texas and beyond.

With fresh knowledge about my Native American roots, I wondered which indigenous peoples I descended from. Which Native American group or groups did my ancestors belong to? What part of North America? The specific answers were not easy to find, but a knowledge of history gave me a very good understanding of who my ancestors were and where they came from. Most importantly, It gave me a better understanding of who I am.

The Little Cemetery Near the Mission

Less than a mile west of the San Jose Mission on the south side of San Antonio, Texas lies a small ancient cemetery. The San Jose Mission Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the original Spanish settlers and Native

Dolores Valenzuela Ortega

American inhabitants of San Antonio and their descendants. It is also the final resting place for many members of my family
including my paternal grandmother Dolores Valenzuela Ortega and numerous aunts, uncles and other distant relatives.

San Antonio Established

The city of San Antonio was established in 1718 by Spanish settlers who came to the new world seeking new lives and new converts to Christianity. Over a period of time, a series of Catholic missions were established on or near the San Antonio River.

Among them were the Mission at San Pedro Springs, San Jose Mission, Espada Mission and the most well-known mission of all - Mission San Antonio de Valero, otherwise known as the Alamo.

The missions served as places of worship for the deeply devout Catholic settlers. But they also served as a means of protection from Native Americans who often looked upon the settlers as unwelcome visitors.

Native Americans Inhabited All Parts of North America

Native groups such as the Huichol, the Comanche, the Apache, the Tarahumara and the

Coahuilatecan were firmly established in the region. They were part of a large group of native tribes that inhabited all of North America for tens of thousands of years.

In the regions of what are now northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, these groups descended from the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Inca, Mayan, Olmec and Aztec peoples. These societies had already created a thriving civilization long before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Mexico and Central America in the early 1500s.

It was the intermarriage of the Spaniards and the natives that gave Mexicans their cultural identity as "mestizos", a blend of native and European blood. Hence, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans relate closely to the legend of La Malinche. It is the story of the young Nahua woman who was violated by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. The violent union gave ample meaning and symbolism to the phrase "somos los hijos de la chingada madre" (we are the children of the raped mother).

How does someone process their ancestry as deep and formidable as this one?

Understanding The Past Is Key To Understanding The Present

People who seek knowledge of their ancestry are often trying to find the answer to the age-old question "Who am I?"

I am both European and Native American. I am Mexican and I am American. I am brown and I am white. I speak the language of my past and the language of my present. I am a mestizo. I am a descendant of both the conqueror and the conquered.

Many other important questions arise from this knowledge. Some answers I will never find. For me, however, it is part of life's journey. Learning about my ancestry is actually comforting because it gives me a better understanding of who I am.

San Jose Cemetery Photos