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Patterns do not happen at random. The fact that we humans can even recognize patterns is miracle in itself. Patterns are a morse code granting us knowledge to something deeper. They give us the wisdom to recognize what helps us thrive, and adversely, what needs to change. Without them, I suspect that we would live in chaos. Then again, if we couldn’t see patterns, perhaps we wouldn’t even know that something was wrong.
Gael Diego Ruiz was a little easier to discover, as he plays trumpet for a salsa band called La Colada. They perform at several clubs and breweries, but the most frequent venue is the club La Paloma in Wynwood.
Like Celia, he has not posted anything on his Facebook since 2017. However, he is tagged in every post related to his band. In his “action shots,” his joy emanates over the bell of his trumpet. His large, brown eyes sparkles while his thick, black eyebrows are playfully raised as he performs.
His profile states that he is completing a Masters in Business at IUM. His gigs probably help him pay for classes. His parents are alive and well, and he is the youngest of three brothers. Both brothers are married, the oldest with a toddler. His profile also does not show a relationship status.
Gael’s parents grew up in Homestead, but his grandparents are from Mexico City. Immigration records indicate that they arrived to Miami in April of 1969. The Ruizes came from San Miguel Chapultepec, a seemingly middle class neighborhood. Their reason to leave was likely not for economic purposes. Their escape was likely socio-political. Around that time, the Movimiento Estudiantil exposed the government of its heavy, bloody iron fist.
As a Venezuelan-American, my personal opinion is that a corrupt government is one of many things we share within the Latino community - then, and now…
Reaching further back into the Ruiz family revealed that they had not lived in Mexico for long. Gael’s ancestors migrated from Spain around the mid-1800s.
It was at this point that I decided to map out his lineage on a whiteboard, with Gael at the bottom with his brothers, sister-in-laws, and niece just a step below his generation. I mapped out his lineage through his parents, grandparents, and so on. At the top of my whiteboard sat his Spanish ancestors, Ana Maria & David Ruiz. With the genealogy book in my hand and opened to the family tree, I compared the two histories.
What are the chances that both families came to Miami around the same time? The Ruizes in 1969. The Echevarrias in 1965.
What are the odds that their ancestors migrated from Spain to their respective countries around the mid-1800s? (Though at that time, Cuba was still a colony.)
However, the families are from two different Spanish cities. The Echevarrias, from Guernico. The Ruizes, from Madrid.
Regardless, a good historian never sees a pattern as a mere coincidence.
The plot thickens! The idea of the family tree having thoughts about this relationship is interesting. But--that was in the last episode. In this episode you merely explore the two trees, which seem to have parallel history--rival trees? Do the roots in the cities of spain matter? I have questions!!