Find Family in Mexico

Family Genealogy Search Begins with a Name

2011-07-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Everything has a starting point. Your Mexico family genealogy search starts with the name of the person you want to find. The other vital piece of information you must have is the state in Mexico where this person lives or lived. These are the two building blocks of information from which to start your search. So let's look at the structure of the name.

Recently Chantelle posted on Facebook asking for help to find her son's biological grandparents in Mexico. She wrote that she only had the city and the one apellido. If you are unfamiliar with Spanish, apellido is the term for last name, commonly referred to as a surname in genealogy.

Now when I say that your starting point is a name, I'm always referring to a complete name that includes both the father and mother's last names. You should read my blog #3 Want to find family in Mexico? What you need to get started because it covers the structure of Spanish names in greater detail.

Let's say that you have only one surname and it's Hernandez, one of the top 10 most popular names in Mexico, then more information would be needed to have any real hope of finding this person. In the case of Chantelle, the surname of her son's grandparents is Gaimes. She also let us know that the grandparents are reported to be living in San Luis Potosi. Gaimes is not a very popular name so a search was done to see if there were indications of any records with this name in San Luis Potosi.

Unfortunately, no evidence was found that there are records for someone in San Luis Potosi having the surname Gaimes. The genealogy search was extended to several cities beyond San Luis Potosi. Nothing. At this point, the surname Gaimes is now suspect. I like the principal of Occam's Razor when it comes to a family genealogy search in Mexico. Simply stated, "when you have two competing theories making exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." In this case, which is the more likely, that all of the Gaimes family left San Luis Potosi or that Gaimes may be a misspelling?

When no records are identified, it often indicates that there is a misspelling of the surname. An expert in Onomastics, the study of proper names, was brought in to review the surname Gaimes. After an exhaustive search, no record could be found of Gaimes as a Hispanic surname. This search included surname origins from Spain and most of Latin America. The closest surname spelling was Gamez that shows up in many Spanish countries.

Of course, not everyone who lives in Mexico has ancestry in Mexico so it's quite possible that Gaimes is a legitimate surname from non-Hispanic origins. However, with no indication of the existence of current records with this surname, the probability is that Gaimes is a misspelling. The good news is that Chantelle now knows this and she can talk with relatives to see if Gamez is perhaps the correct surname.

Doing your family genealogy search should be fun and can be very rewarding and at times exciting. Keep in mind, though, that you may hit a wall with the information you have. If so, then it's time to step back and seek out help from experts who specializes in Mexico family genealogy. Chantelle was smart because she got help and advice from an expert in Onomastics to review her information and point her, hopefully, in the right direction.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Mexico Family Genealogy Resources: If You Offer It, They May Come

2011-05-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

I received an interesting email from a genealogical society. I had posted some tips on their Facebook page. The woman explained that they don't have much need for Hispanic genealogy information. The writer commented that in 20 years they had never had anyone ask for such information. That got me reflecting on comments I've heard over the years from genealogists.

I remember an email from a woman living in Los Angeles who wanted to start her Mexico family genealogy. Her challenge was that the places she had visited had little or no reference materials to help her. She was shocked and frustrated that in a city with so many Hispanics that she could not find the help she wanted. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common complaint.

On the other hand, I had a genealogy society in Southern California ask me to recommend Hispanic genealogy resources. Someone had come in looking to do Mexico family genealogy, and the members realized that they didn't have much in the way of reference materials. I applaud this society for reaching out and wanting to be better prepared for the next person.

If libraries and genealogy societies in heavily populated Hispanic areas don't have resources available to help someone with their Hispanic family genealogy, should they expect Hispanics to show up? Maybe this is a chicken and egg situation. Do people show up because there are resources or should societies wait until they get a request?

Back to the email I got. The woman from the genealogy society mentioned that there is a significant Puerto Rican population nearby. We recently helped a woman of Puerto Rican descent locate relatives living in Mexico. Over the years, many people who were originally born outside of Mexico (think Russia) have come to us for help to locate family members in Mexico. We've helped people from as far away as Australia! The bottom line is that we're a mobile society. Anyone who is originally from outside of Mexico could still have Mexican ancestors that they want to find.

Adding that 1 out of 6 people in the U.S. are Hispanic and two-thirds are of Mexican origin, the interest in Mexico family genealogy can only increase. Maybe a good starting point for genealogy societies is to offer occasional advice about Hispanic genealogy. It doesn't have to cost. Tips can be made in a newsletter, blog or Facebook page. If genealogy societies want new, younger members, they need look no further than at Hispanic communities that are starving for genealogical help and resources. It may simply be a matter of letting Hispanics know that they are welcome.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Success with Mexico Family Genealogy Search Could Depend on One Piece of Information

2011-05-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes little things happen in life that can help you be better at work, at home and even with your Mexico family genealogy research. I had one of those "Ah ha" moments this last weekend.

My headset died on me last week. I tend to sleep with my headset so I didn't want something bulky. I had bought a simple model from Radio Shack that goes behind you head and doesn't have moving part. I had only one complaint - because the headset is a one-size-fits-all, I couldn't make it fit more tightly. So it would slip down. I would sometimes put on a cap to hold the headset in place.

You're probably thinking, "Well, why didn't you get another headset?" The simple answer is that it wasn't enough of a bother to motivate me to buy another one until mine died last week. When that happened, I went online checking brands to find a better headset. Problem is that no head/ear bud set seemed as durable as the Radio Shack model so I found myself back there shopping for a replacement.

The only model that I liked was again the same headset I had previously. Since I had already owned a set, I was about to leave, but the salesperson asked if he could help. Fortunately, I took him up on his offer and that's where things changed. I asked if I could try on the headset since this model seemed like it might fit tighter than my last one. The guy opened the package and I popped them on.

Immediately he comments, "Actually, these are make so the headset fits over your ears to stay in place." OMG! I had been putting them on UPSIDE DOWN (not over my ears) so that's why my headset kept slipping off. Now that I know how to properly put on the headset, they fit fine. Problem solved.

That's when I realized that some people doing family genealogy encounter the problem of not knowing that they are doing something incorrectly. You may start off with good advice either from an article, book or blog. But somewhere along the way, you may get off course. You may think you're taking the right steps but become frustrated when your family genealogy search seems to hit a wall.

The solution is to get help from someone who's been down the road before. Take your information and have someone look it over. Visit your Family History Center or Genealogy Society. Pay for a professional service such as our Profile Builder so an expert can review your data.

It only takes one error to slow down or stop your progress. You could have the right information, but you may be doing something incorrectly just as I had a headset that would have fit perfectly IF I'd known that I was putting it on improperly. There's lots of help out there so you can have fun and success with your Mexico family genealogy. You may just need to check in once in a while with an expert to be sure you're on course and not missing that one piece of information that's stopping you from having success.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Doing Mexico Genealogy Research Online? Information Can Be Limited

2011-04-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today Tina posted this comment on our Facebook wall:

"Working on a new family for a friend that is Mendoza, Morales and Miranda. Learning alot, learning there is not much "online" for Mexico research compared to others, which is sad."

One of the challenges with doing Mexico family genealogy research is that the majority of documents are sitting in boxes either at government offices or worse in warehouses. Now it's true that new documents are coming online each month, but again, that is still a small amount (perhaps 20%) of the documents that could be available and aren't.

Be sure to take advantage of your local Genealogy Society and Family History Center. They have access to resources and information in other formats such as microfiche. And if your Genealogy Society is lacking in materials to help you do Mexico family genealogy research, have them email us. We can recommend key resources they should have on hand. You can also visit our Resources page.

The Internet is an incredible tool. It's fast and free, but it has its limits so be flexible and look for additional resources as you do your family genealogy research.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Latino genealogy: Advice from leading experts

2011-04-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

If you want to jump start your Mexico family genealogy, this is the podcast for you. It was my privilege to be a guest on the show. On this podcast by Geneabloggers, you'll hear about doing family genealogy in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Listen to internet radio with GeneaBloggers on Blog Talk Radio

Listen in as I and three other experts on Latino genealogy share insights into how to start your family genealogy search, identify important documents and much more.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Mexico Genealogy Search On Hold? Maybe It's Time for a Paid Service

2011-04-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just read a blog post by Thomas MacEntee where he touches on the topic of doing genealogy using only free information versus the value of paying for certain services. I agree with the author that genealogy is one endeavor where the average participant seems to feel that everything should be free of charge. I'm certain this belief is supported in part because of the enormous amount of free articles, tips and advice available on the Internet.

I have and continue to offer free advice to help people start their Mexico family genealogy search through this blog, Facebook and several articles. But there may come a point where your success could depend on a paid service to move you forward especially if you need to find immediate family members living in Mexico.

Recently a woman came to my company for help. She was looking for her sister that she hadn't seen for more than 17 years. She knew the Mexico state where she thought her sister might be living. She just wasn't sure of the exact city so we did a search of the entire state. This isn't a free service. We're talking about covering hundreds of cities and thousands and thousands of records.

Using the woman's information, we located an uncle she was unaware of. The woman talked with her uncle and received some surprising news. Her sister was living in a different state! That explained why we didn't find her sister. And there's even more good news. She also found her birth mother.

If this woman hadn't come to us so we could access resources not available to the public and definitely not free, she most likely would never have found her sister using her limited information.

There are many free, quality information sources you can use as you start your Mexico family genealogy search. Blogs and articles can be very helpful. Your local Genealogical Society and Family History Center can also help you. You may be fortunate as many are to find living relatives without having to pay for access to documents, information or services. Learning about your Mexico family history should be fun and doesn't always have to cost you except for your time and perseverance.

However, if you aren't making progress and truly want to find someone, you have to be open to the option that you may need a professional service to help you get past a sticking point. Otherwise, you might end up as some people do who spend years only accessing free information and not making the progress they want. And there's nothing fun about that.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Ready to Quit Your Mexico Genealogy Search? Get an Expert Opinion First

2011-04-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

The other day a man wrote that he has been trying to find his birth father for more than six years. He had had no success in his search and felt that he didn't have enough information. He was ready to quit looking for his birth father.

Fortunately, before giving up the man had called and talked with me. After a brief conversation, he revealed that he had his parents' marriage certificate from Mexico, but he didn't think it was very helpful. I explained how valuable this marriage certificate was to his search efforts.

Often people who are not trained in using documents underestimate their genealogical value. Another challenge is that even if they can appreciate the information contained in a legal document, they may not have access to databases so they can actually do a search.

People will sometimes give up looking for family in Mexico because they've spent several weeks, if not months, searching online. They feel that the Internet is THE source to find someone. The truth is that there's still a significant amount of documents and personal information that isn't accessible online. The Internet is a great resource, but it's only one resource especially when it comes to doing a family genealogy search for living relatives in Mexico.

People can mistakenly feel that they have exhausted all possibilities and give up. In the hands of an expert, a few pieces of information can be all that is needed to locate a person in Mexico.

If you have started your family genealogy search and feel that you can't go further or that you don't have enough information to ever find this person, take your information to an expert. Let them review your information. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you have enough information so that your relative can be found. Then you can have the joy of learning more about your family and continuing with your Mexico family genealogy search.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Searching Maternal Side of Family? Conversation on Facebook

2011-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday afternoon, but I just posted a response on Facebook to the following question:

I am researching my husbands family - His great grandfather is as far as I can go back right now - his name is Luis Origel Gonzalez from Penjamo, Guanjuato, Mexico. My husbands grandfather is Luis T Origel Torres and I have the names of his sisters and brothers, but not any marriage information, etc from those siblings. Part of my problem is knowing how to search with the maternal name included. I know that there is a Luis Navarro Origel that was a mayor of Penjamo during the Cristero Rebellion (1926) and am trying to find if he is related to my Luis Origel Gonzalez (born 1875)

As you may know, when a woman marries in Mexico it's customary that only the surname of her father will be part of her married name. So if Elena Gomez Gonzales marries Jose Martinez Ochoa, then Elena's name will be Elena Martinez Gomez.

So how can you work backwards to find out more about Elena? The rules of genealogy still apply. You start with the most immediate family. Then you search out information on extended family members, distant cousins, that ex-husband. If they are still living, then you want to contact them if possible.

If you would rather not contact people, then you can try to obtain legal documents, such as marriage and birth certificates and church records. Death records are also a great resource; however, you usually have to know the date when the person passed away and that could be challenging.

Marriage records are an excellent source of genealogy information. You usually have parents of both the bride and groom listed. With that information, you can search for siblings of the bride who are still living.

Once you move past 100 years (meaning 1911), then you have moved past many of the restrictions on personal information due to privacy laws. At this point, visiting your local Family History Center is a good idea. You can search their library, get help with ordering records and probably find more information about the maternal side of your Mexican family.

However, do not underestimate the value of reaching out to any and all family members still living. I've told the story several times of meeting my fifth cousin in France because it impacted me so much. We resolved so many questions we had about our family with that one trip. My fifth cousin is very old, and I may never see him before he passes away. So do as much as you can to gather family information from living relatives.

If you feel stuck and don't know how to move forward to find relatives still living in Mexico, then it may be time to have a company such as Find Relatives In Mexico provide professional service to put you in contact with your relatives there.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy Search? How to Get Started

2011-03-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I received an email from a man who wanted to find relatives of his ancestor who left Spain and came to Mexico. I can relate because my Mexican family on the Villasana side was originally from an area of Spain near Burgos.

The problem for this person was that he doesn't know where to start searching. He had dates, parents names (mother is Mexican & father is Spanish) and location, but that is the extent of his information. He wanted to conduct the search, but he wasn't sure where to start his search. So he was looking for advice.

My recommendation was a process of collect, verify, and search. If you're starting your Mexico family genealogy search and need to first locate living relatives in Mexico, you want to have the complete name of this relative. He had that. Did he also have the name of the city and state where his ancestor died and presumably where his ancestors children grew up? Check again.

Verify. This is the one step where many beginning genealogists make a critical mistake. They've collected information but instead of verifying the accuracy of their data, they start to search. Skipping this step can cost you years of wasted effort. Many people come to my company frustrated and upset because they're losing hope of ever finding their family or relatives in Mexico. And often the problem is that they were working with inaccurate, incomplete or simply wrong data.

One woman came to us after several years of searching online for one of her cousins. As soon as we received her information, we noticed a glaring problem. She had listed the city where her cousin was living as being in San Luis Potosi. The problem was that there was no such city in San Luis Potosi, but there was a city by that name in the neighboring state of Queretaro. This is like you wanting to find your cousin in Henderson (near Las Vegas) but you're looking for him in California.

This is why you want to have your information verified by experts who know Mexico. Finding someone who knows about New Mexico is not the same thing. They can find and correct inaccurate data that will save you years and help you find your relative much faster.

Search. Once you have your information verified, I recommend you spend time on the Internet. Maybe you tried doing a search on Google or Yahoo, but that may have been before you verified your information. If so, it's time to go back and give the search engines another shot. And don't forget to check social media sites such as Facebook.

I want you to know, though, that there is only so much information available online on people living in Mexico and some of it's completely wrong. Try the Internet for a few weeks but don't spend months searching online.

If you follow the collect, verify and search process, you may just find yourself united and back in touch with your family or relatives in Mexico faster than you may have thought possible. If you do all of the above and you still can't find your family or relative in Mexico, then it's time to look at working with a company that specializes in finding people in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Have questions? Want to leave a comment? Then click here to become a fan on Facebook. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

To Find a Birth Parent in Mexico, What Not to Do

2011-03-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of general information online about finding a person in Mexico. Some articles offer good suggestions that can help you start your Mexico family genealogy search while other ideas are written by someone well-meaning but who hasn't researched the topic. I recently saw one erroneous recommendation that I can't let slide by.

In this particular article, the author gives several ideas for how you can find a birth parent or relative in Mexico. One of those suggestions was that if you know where someone went to school, you simply call the school, ask nicely and someone may give you the information you want.

I want to be sure that I am very clear here. This idea, no matter how well intended, is recommending an act that is a federal offense in Mexico. When I mentioned this idea to a Mexico government official in education (who's also an attorney), he was shocked. He quickly referred me to La Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública Gubernamental.

So let's say you call down to a school in Guadalajara and make this request so you can find a relative. If someone gives you this information, they just violated Mexico privacy laws, a federal crime. We are talking fines of thousands of dollars and years in prison.

There's this mistaken notion especially in the U.S. that everything in Mexico is very lax, that there are either no laws or that no one follows them. This is a serious misrepresentation of reality. Unfortunately, many people including businesses take action based on these misconceptions. This misunderstanding of the realities in Mexico cost U.S. businesses millions of dollars in fines and penalties each year. No matter what you may feel from reading stories in the news, one thing should be clear - there are definitely laws in Mexico to protect the privacy of people especially with regard to students in public and private schools.

There are many ways to find someone in Mexico. Some are free while other options include hiring a company to help you find your birth parent or relative in Mexico. I think we can all conduct our Mexico family genealogy searches and find people in Mexico without having to resort to criminal acts.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Want to Find Someone in Mexico? Why Finding Distant Relatives Can Help with Your Family Genealogy Search

2011-03-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a woman wanted to find specific relatives in Mexico. She had searched for a couple of years and had not located any of the relatives on her list. My recommendation was that she look for other relatives. She seemed shocked at this suggestion and asked why she should bother and how this could help her.

I explained that often it's relatives, and distant ones at that, who may have the information you need when you are starting your Mexico family genealogy search or just simply trying to find a birth parent in Mexico. I flew to France years ago and met my fifth cousin. I had brought a box full of old photos. We spend several hours going through the pictures. My cousin's father was also there, and he was able to identify certain people in the photos. My cousin knew about my grandfather and his father's side of the family. In just a few hours, we were able to identify several ancestors and filled in the gaps on who had met whom, where and when.

Here was someone I had never met who knew so much about my family and about my grandfather. Stories I had never heard. It's often these distant relatives who because they are distant, they will know details about your side of the family that can really help you with your Mexico family genealogy search.

When we search for people in Mexico, we always look for relatives. It's often these relatives who can be found who can then lead you to the person you really want to find. We were searching for Humberto, a friend of a client. We called one woman who appeared to be a relative only to discover that she was Humberto's sister. That one connection put our client in touch with their friend.

They had been looking for Humberto for years. Now just imagine if we had not searched for other relatives. I can't stress enough how important it is to look for anyone who may be related to the person you want to find. Your efforts could pay off in a big way and have you laughing with that special person sooner than you might imagine.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Mexico Genealogy Search: Don't Overlook Search Engines

2011-03-10T00:31:00.000-08:00

The other day, Joe shared his story on our Mexico Genealogy Facebook page.

After your most recent e-mail, I ended up reading your blogs last weekend and was inspired to see if I could find my father who I haven't seen since I was young. I had very little information to go on (just full names from my Mexican birth certificate and a few anecdotes) so I was surprised when, after 27 years, a few minutes on Google... turned up solid results, including, a telephone number.

I think my story proves that even with just a little information, it IS possible to find long-lost relatives in Mexico.

Here are three reasons why Joe was successful:

He had information on his father including a legal document
He looked for information that would help him with his search just as you are doing right now.
He took action.

Joe's story could have been very different if he hadn't taken action. Lack of action is one of the key reasons people don't find their relative or loved one in Mexico. It's not always easy to find a person such as a birth parent in Mexico, but I have seen people get so close and then give up. Joe got inspired and then took action. Now he's looking for other relatives.

Here's one other step Joe took. He joined us on Facebook and shared his story so others could be inspired to take action. You may need to find a family member so you can start your Mexico genealogy search. You don't have go it alone. You can find lots of information and steps that you can take to find someone such as a birth parent in Mexico.

Sometimes it's the simple things that we overlook that could have the answer we are looking for. So if you haven't tried Google, Yahoo, or Bing, now is a good time to try them. You just might find your birth parent in Mexico or a friend you haven't seen in years. If you do, please share your story so you can inspire someone else to take action. The world is a better place when we all work together.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Your Mexico Genealogy Search Online - Give the Search Engines Another Chance

2011-03-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick note. Sometimes you can overlook the simple things when doing your Mexico genealogy search. Maybe you tried Google or Yahoo months ago and didn't find anything. But if you've been gathering information, now is a good time to go back and try searching again.

You just might have a pleasant surprise and find that special person online.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

NYC Homeless Man Finds Daughter Through Twitter: Lessons to Help You Find Family in Mexico

2011-02-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

By now you may have heard about the New York City homeless man who found his daughter through Twitter. Daniel Morales is part of a program for the homeless who were given cell phones. He set up a Twitter account and has been tweeting about life on the street. Just today, he reported that he has been contacted by his daughter whom he hasn't seen in 11 years!

So how can his story help you to find someone in Mexico? Here are three important steps he took that helped his daughter find him.

He let people know that he was looking for his daughter.
He posted her name.
He posted a photo of what she looked like when she was 16 years old.

One of the challenges with using social media is that often people do not give their full name. So if you are looking for Jose Martinez, there could be hundreds, if not thousands of people with that same name. That's like having a list of a thousand people and having to go through each one asking them if they are your Jose Martinez. If Daniel had only tweeted the name of his daughter, she probably would never have found him.

Another problem is that often there are no photos that you could look at to help you know if a particular person is the one you want to find. Daniel was smart because he put a photo online of his daughter, Sarah, so she could see it.

And finally, Daniel listed his cell phone number. You'll have to decide if you want the world to have that number since you could have that same cell phone number for the rest of your life. But by listing his cell phone number, Daniel made it easy for his daughter to connect with him.

The important lesson for you to take away is that it is possible to find someone through social media. Now this story takes place in the U.S., but you, too, may be able to find someone in Mexico through social media. However, you may discover that the family member you want to find in Mexico doesn't have a Twitter account or hasn't put up any personal information that will help you identify them as that special person you want to find.

Social media isn't a magic bullet for all of us to find family in Mexico, but you should check it out. In a week or so, you could be sharing with your friends (and maybe the world) that you have found a relative or friend. However, if you feel you need more help, especially for Mexico, you should get advice from a company that has the expertise to find family in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

To Find Family in Mexico, Know the Person's Name

2010-11-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

A little while ago, a young woman emailed me asking for help to find her birth father in Mexico. Sometimes, for whatever reason, family members aren't too helpful when someone wants to find a birth parent. These people often come to us for help to ensure that they have good quality information such as the correct spelling of names of the relative they want to find.

In this young girl's case, she provided us with what appeared at first glance to be a complete name for her birth father. One of the last names was spelled "Tintos." We work with several databases that have the origins of Spanish names from Spain to Chile. Tintos did not appear anywhere.

This doesn't mean that it's not possible that Tintos is incorrect. But my experience has been that if a name doesn't show up in these databases of Spanish names, there's a good chance that the name is misspelled. We wrote back to the young girl and asked her to check her source to verify the spelling of this unique surname.

When we got her reply, she also made an interesting comment that I want to share with you. For privacy reasons, I'm changing the name a little, but she wrote that Juan was the first name and that Escarra was the middle name and that Tintos was the last name.

Here are a couple of important points. First when we got back her response, she had changed the order of the names. Originally, she had written us for help to find Juan Tintos Escarra. Now she wrote that she wanted help to find Juan Escarra Tintos. She also thought Escarra was a middle name.

As I've written in past blogs, very few Mexicans have middle names. Many Mexicans, especially women, have two or more first names such as Maria del Carmen or Juan Carlos. Some may choose not to use their first names so Maria Guadalupe may be known to her friends as just Guadalupe or even Lupe. On the other hand, I have a good friend named Juan Carlos who always goes by both names.

Escarra is not a first name. It's a last name also called a surname or apellido in Spanish. If the name order that the young girl wrote in her last email is correct, Escarra is the last name (apellido) of the father of her birth father and Tintos is the last name (surname) of his mother.

It's very important when you are looking for family in Mexico that you know the person's complete name and the correct order of the surnames. It makes a huge difference if you are doing Mexico genealogy or trying to find a relative whether you are looking for a person with the surnames Escarra Tintos compared to Tintos Escarra. If you get the order incorrect (and this happens more often than you may imagine), you could spend years searching a family tree that has nothing to do with the person you want to find.

If you are unsure of your information, have an expert check it. We can usually spot issues in seconds, save you years of wasted time, and put you on the right path so you can find family in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

Where do I put in my information to find people in Mexico?

2010-08-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I received an email from a guy asking a great question about finding people in Mexico. He knew the complete name of the person he wanted to find as well as the city and state where they are living. His question was, "Where do I plug in this information to get an answer so I can contact this person in Mexico?"

There are a few free ways to go, most, if not all, of which involve the Internet. I explained that once you try the Internet and that doesn't help you find family in Mexico (and for many people the Internet doesn't deliver), your options move from free (Internet) to paid services.

Now before someone tweets about this and takes this out of context, we're talking about finding people who are alive and well in Mexico. If you're doing Mexico genealogy, there are many free resources out there. But for people who are trying to find family in Mexico, those resources really don't help you to get a current address or telephone number so you can call your sister, birth father or college buddy in Mexico.

As for the guy, he was less than happy with my answer. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that I told him the reality for finding family in Mexico. He may have been upset that he might have to pay for professional services before he finally finds the person he has been seeking for over two years.

When the Internet fails to give results, some people may need to ask themselves how serious they are to find someone in Mexico because they may have to spend a few dollars to get a professional service.

Marie Daly, Research Library Director for the New England Historic Genealogical Society explained in an article that only about 10% of all the information on people is available online. I feel that since that article the percentage has grown. But let's face it. Even at twenty percent means there are 80% of the people out there who have nothing on the Internet. And when it comes to Mexico, even less of the population's personal information is available online.

Sure, there are some documents that you can get online, but you usually have to know all the information that is on the document before you can get a copy. If you knew that much about the person you want to find and unless you are doing Mexico genealogy, you probably don’t need the document.

Bottom line – many people in the U.S. may (strongly) believe that they can put together some information and go to the Internet, fill in a few fields and simply hit a button to know where their family or friends are in Mexico and have a way to contact them immediately. It could happen but just as the guy above experienced, it doesn’t usually work that way. But remember there are options when you really want to find a person in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

You want to find family in Mexico. Putting an ad in newspaper is NOT your first option.

2010-06-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

I was reading a question by a woman who wanted to know how she could find someone in Mexico. The best and only answer she got was "put an ad in the newspaper". First, this was the best advice given on Yahoo Answers. The response got a one star, and the Asker was being generous.

This is not the first time I have seen this advice given by someone who knows very little or nothing about Mexico. This answer implies a stereotype that can be a great danger to anyone who is looking for a relative, loved one or friend living in Mexico.

The idea of placing an ad in a Mexican newspaper assumes a couple of things:
1) That everyone reads the paper including the "notices" section
2) That the city is so small that everyone knows each other

I'm from Texas where we have some pretty small towns with only a hundred or so people, those towns that if you blink when driving, you discover that you've already driven through it. There are such towns in Mexico, but in my experience because of how people populate an area, few relatives or friends are living in these small towns. Instead they are moving to medium to large cities.

Take Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacan. This city has over 600,000 residents. Monterrey, Nuevo Leon has close to 2 million residents. Mexico City has over 21 millions.

The idea of placing an ad in a Mexican newspaper assumes that Mexican cities are so small that everyone knows each other. The idea is that surely someone will see the ad and run down the street and knock on the person's door and say, "Jose, look! Someone is trying to find you."

In the many years that I have worked with clients to find their birth parent, mother or father, cousin or friend in Mexico, people have told us that they tried to find a specific person by posting an ad in the newspaper with no success.

I applaud anyone who has the determination to try everything to find a person in Mexico. However, the sad truth is that putting an ad in a newspaper has as little chance of working in Mexico as it would if someone put an ad in a U.S. newspaper.

Instead if you are wanting to find someone in Mexico, save your money and use it to gather the necessary information: their complete name, the city and state where this person lives/lived and search for them using whatever resources you have. If all of that fails, then get the professional help you need so you can find this person.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

#8 Can I find a person in Mexico and their address with only a phone number?

2010-06-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

I get asked this question a lot. The idea is based on the belief that you can do a reverse phone lookup with a Mexico telephone number. If you are unfamiliar with a reverse lookup, it means you go to a database or website (there are several) and enter in a telephone number. The system will go through its database and, in most cases in the U.S., you will get the name and address of the person who has that specific telephone number. This reverse lookup is free and works very well in the U.S. so many people assume that this will happen for Mexico. They couldn't be more wrong!

Here's the reality for Mexico. There is no reverse look up in Mexico meaning there is no database online or offline where you can enter a phone number and get the address. We know there are thousands of sites that claim you can do a reverse lookup with telephone numbers, but they do not apply to Mexico. I have already written about this in the blog post dated Tuesday, May 18, 2010 entitled "Want to find family or friends in Mexico for free? You must read this before you spend hours online." Articles that claim that you can do a reverse lookup for Mexico are wrong and misleading. A few even try to sell you on their product to do a reverse lookup. Don't waste your money!

I also wrote about this topic on Monday, May 10, 2010, in the blog "#7 Is there a website to find people in Mexico with only a phone number?" I commented that you can just call the person and get their address, but I realize that there are situations where this is not possible.

Recently a woman wrote that she wants to find her ex-husband who is living in Mexico so she can get child support. The Mexico police will serve him papers, BUT they need his physical address. The woman only has her ex-husband's phone number. Of course, she knows his name, but that hasn't helped her to find out where he's presently living, and he isn't offering to tell her where he is.

Now just because you can't do a reverse lookup for a Mexico telephone number doesn't mean there are no other options to find out more information that can help you find people in Mexico. You can take the city code and find out where the person lives barring that they have a cell phone, which means they could be living and calling from anywhere in the world. To see a listing of the most popular cities with their area codes, go to www.findrelativesinmexico.com/resources.html and click on the link under "Area Codes for Mexican Cities".

Once you know the city and state, you can take your information and go online and do a search to find the person. I recommend using several search engines because they all give slightly different results.

If this doesn't work, and about 96% of the time it doesn't (but you should try anyway), then you will need professional service. For instance, our company doesn't rely on telephone numbers to find people in Mexico. We have our own databases and access to thousands more throughout Mexico.

Bottom line: reverse phone lookup does not exist for Mexico telephone numbers. You can still use the number to learn more so you can find a person in Mexico. If you can't do it on your own, then take your information to an expert so they can get you the rest of the way to finding that person in Mexico for you.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority
on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

And be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

Lessons to find family in Mexico from mother who found her kids through Facebook

2010-06-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t read the story already, the title says it all: “Mother finds kidnapped kids through Facebook.” Over 15 years ago, a woman’s husband took her two small children and disappeared. While using Facebook, she was able to locate her daughter, which led to her recovering her family.

Here are some lessons you can take from her situation as you try to find family in Mexico, or start your Mexico genealogy:

The woman had investigators searching for her husband and the children. Someone was taking action. Someone was checking records.
She knew the full names of her children and their relatives. She had documents on them, including their birth and medical records.
She didn’t give up. She continued to look for her children. She tried new ideas such as going on the social media site, Facebook.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you want to find family or a person in Mexico:

You probably want to find someone in Mexico sooner than later. Many want to find someone right now. This woman spent over ten years looking for her children before she found her daughter on Facebook. There are many steps you can take to find people in Mexico.
She didn’t find her children by herself. Even after she found her daughter on Facebook, she had to get the district attorney and the police to actually track down where her daughter is now living. You may get to a point where you need an expert to step in to finally put you in touch with your family in Mexico.
Even with the help of all the resources the police could bring to a kidnapping case, they couldn’t find the children because they didn’t know where to look. You must know at least the state where the person you want to find in Mexico is or was living. If you don’t know this, then your chance of ever finding them is almost impossible.
The article stresses that this all happened because of the existence and popularity of Facebook, something that did not exist a few years ago. One thing you should keep in mind is that far fewer Mexicans are online than Americans. Over 90% of Mexicans do not have a listing or presence online including having a profile on a social networking site. The majority of Mexican who do have profiles online are government officials, celebrities or business people.
Far fewer Mexicans have access to computers than we do in the U.S. It’s not uncommon for there to be two or more computers in many U.S. homes. There are desktops, notepads, laptops, BlackBerrys, etc. There is often not even one computer in a Mexican home. For Mexican homes that have computers, they are often a tool for business or homework only and not for spending several hours a day online chatting on social networks.

The Internet can be an excellent tool to use to find someone in Mexico. You should spend time online to search for family or friends in Mexico. However, keep in mind the limitations of the Internet. If you have searched online for more than a month to find a person in Mexico and been unable to locate them, then it’s time to take other action.

It may be time to bring in an expert who can review your information to be sure it’s accurate. An expert can also take your information to locate records to find that special person in Mexico. This woman found her family, but she didn’t do it alone. You, too, can find your family or friend in Mexico and with the right help, you will probably find them much sooner than having to wait ten years. That’s news that we can all be happy about.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority
on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Want to find family or friends in Mexico for free? You must read this before you spend hours online.

2010-05-18T01:38:00.000-07:00

Many people want to find family or a person in Mexico such as their birth father or friend. If you are like most, you have already spent time searching on the Internet. You probably went to Google and entered a phrase such as “how to find people in Mexico” or “Mexico genealogy”. That’s how you found this page, right?

Although the Internet is a fabulous tool for finding information, it’s easy to get misdirected away from your goal of finding someone in Mexico and instead spend weeks going to sites that promise to help and really don’t.

There are many sites online that advertise, “If you just follow this link, you will be able to easily find a person living in Mexico for FREE!”

Here’s the truth: If you have the right information and if the person has a presence online, you could possibly find them using the Internet. But here’s the rest of the truth: Almost 96% of people living in Mexico are not on the Internet, so even if you have the right information, the Internet won’t help you find them. Even worse, most sites that tell you how to find a relative or friend in Mexico for free give bad advice and in one article we’ve identified, they recommend you do something that is illegal in Mexico.

I’m going to focus on one site in particular that is the perfect example of a site that promises a lot and doesn’t deliver. An article entitled “Find People in Mexico for Free” says the following:

“Those that might want to look through the telephone directory can go to www.numberway.com. It is about the only place that has as many online white pages from different countries as it does. If you want to find people in Mexico for free then you can use the country's white pages to search for them.”

One of our experts went to www.numberway.com, which advertises that they are “the easy way to find phone numbers all around the world.” It sounded promising. Then we clicked on the Mexico link and got the following message:

“The white pages from Telmex can only be used by their own customers, so are not listed here.”

This is why you need to be careful before you trust information from these sites. They are at times ineffectual or, even worse, intentionally misleading you because they’re presenting a marketing scheme that plays on your emotions, suckers you in and wastes your time. Even worse, they will encourage you to spend money on their services, which -- based upon their accuracy rate so far -- is highly suspect. Realize that time is of the essence in finding someone in Mexico. Relatives and friends may move off-grid at any time, meaning time wasted in chasing false leads have the potential to prevent you from ever finding that person.

There’s no magic web site or secret way hiding out there for you to find people in Mexico on your own. But there are legitimate services that use sophisticated searching systems and private databases that allow you to track down your relatives in Mexico.

Here’s the way to determine whether you need help in finding your lost loved one in Mexico: If you try the Internet for more than a week and haven’t found the person you want to find, then it’s time to find a company that has the specialized knowledge and experience to successfully find your birth father, mother, loved one or friend.

Check back often because we at Find Relatives In Mexico don’t want amateurs misleading you into thinking that there is a five minute solution to finding someone in Mexico. The truth is that there is more to finding family and friend in Mexico than just going to Google, entering their name and clicking a button. We’ll share more with you on how to really make it happen.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Want to Find a Person In Mexico? Don’t Waste Money on an Ad.

2010-05-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

Many people ask, “How do I find a person in Mexico?” For example, Betty posted on Yahoo! Answers to learn how she could find someone in Mexico. The only answer she got was, "Maybe you can try the personal ads?" I’m sure the person meant well by suggesting this action. This is not the first time I have seen this type of advice.

The suggestion of placing an ad in a newspaper to find someone in Mexico is based in part on the stereotypes too many Americans have about the country, what I call the “Speedy Gonzalez” syndrome. For anyone familiar with the cartoon, the characters always live in a small town, wear similar outfits including sombreros and all know each other. The idea of placing an ad in a Mexican newspaper hinges on the hope that surely someone who knows your person will see the ad, run down the street and knock on their door shouting, "Jose, look! Someone is trying to find you."

It is true that some residents of small towns in Mexico may know each other, but the assumption that everyone in Mexico knows each other is a fanciful holdover of the image many people still have of Mexico. Put simply, it isn’t so.

There are many towns in Mexico with fewer than 100 people, but they never have their own newspaper. Many won’t even be listed in phone directories, as even in these times there may be only one phone in the town. There will obviously be newspapers in larger cities such as Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacan – but that has more than 600,000 residents! Monterrey has close to two million residents and Mexico City is home more than 21 million. It’s unlikely that by placing an ad in one of those cities’ newspaper that the person you seek or anyone who knows them will actually see the ad.

In my 20 years working with clients to find family and friends in Mexico, not once have I heard of this method succeeding. My company has worked with thousands of clients looking to find their birth parent, mother or father, cousin, friend or loved one. Many come to us after they failed to have success from placing newspaper ads.

My advice is to use your time and money to gather the necessary information about the person, starting with their complete name, city and state. Once you have this information, search for them using whatever resources you have available to you. Here are a few strategies you should try:

Check your information to make certain it’s correct.
Search online using more than just Google. Try several search engines, such as Yahoo, Ask.com, and Dogpile.com.
Access the social media sites, including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

If all of that fails, then it is time to get help from an expert. Unless you want to risk never finding this person, use a professional service. Our company, Find Relatives In Mexico, is the leader in finding people living in Mexico. Placing an ad in a newspaper should be one of the last things you do, knowing that there are more effective steps you can take to find family and friends in Mexico.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

#7 I want to find people in Mexico. How can I do this with only a phone number?

2010-05-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

I often get asked, "How can I find people in Mexico with only a phone number?" There is no website to find people in Mexico with only a phone number. Whether in Mexico or the U.S., finding someone with just their telephone number involves what is called a reverse look up. If you enter "reverse look up" in Google or Yahoo, you'll find dozens of sites. The problem is that none of these sites work for Mexico. Mexico decided years ago to block this feature. It is not the only country to take this position with regard to privacy protection. Years ago Spain passed legislation barring reverse look ups.

What you can do if you have a phone number from Mexico is search online to find the city code. Mexico changed their entire telephone number structure in 2001. All cities except for Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey now have a three digit area code and a seven digit phone number. The three cities above have a two digit city code and an eight digit phone number.

So look at the number you have. If it starts with 001 or 011, ignore these numbers. The next numbers should be 52, Mexico's country code. Focus on the following next three digits. Click here to check the area code of many popular Mexican cities to find out from which city the call came.

Of course, if you have a telephone number and really want to know who it belongs to, you can always call and find out.

When your real goal is to find someone living in Mexico and you are having difficulty locating them, then it's time to work with an expert so you can find this person as soon as possible.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Mexico genealogy research using registro civil

2007-12-16T16:11:00.001-08:00

Someone who is trying to find family in Mexico recently asked how to access the registro civil in Mexico. The goal for most of my readers is to simply find and be united/reunited with family in Mexico or friends they have lost touch with. Most of my readers aren't really looking to do long term Mexico genealogy research on genealogy web sites or going to genealogy societies and meetings.

But for you readers who are genealogists and who have to find this relative or friend so you can start your Mexico genealogy research, you may have thought about tapping into the registro civil, the government agency that stores the government documents of the residents in their town.

So why would using the registro civil be an issue? It sounds simple. Just call them up or better yet go to their web site, tell them who you want to find, give them your credit card information (there is a charge), sit back and wait for the document to come in the mail. The hard truth is that we can only wish it worked this way, and it doesn't.

Check back next week as we continue to address this issue in Registro civil: Not easy Mexico genealogy research.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

There are five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report and find out what those challenges are.

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - Misspelling Mexican Cities

2007-11-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Another challenge to finding someone living in Mexico is with the spelling of the names of Mexican cities. You’ll need to make sure you are not misspelling the city name as this small mistake will limit your search. It’s important to know with certainty, the city and state of the person you are looking for. One person was trying to find the city of Colipa. However, the name of the city was Copila. Some of the letters were changed around. Maybe it is spelled with an “o” instead of an “a” or it has two “l’s” when it should be a “t”. Be sure that you are clear on the city and the state and their correct spellings.

Let’s say that you have discovered the complete name of the person you want to find and you have verified to the best of your ability the city and state where this person is now living in Mexico. You are now at the door and ready to enter to find this person. Now where do you go with this information? And what do you do if you have tried everything and you feel you have as much information as you will ever have, but it’s not quite enough?

Both situations lead us to the final challenge #5 . . . be sure to read next week's blog.

Do you know there are five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - What If They Are Female?

2007-10-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

What if the person you are looking for is a female in Mexico? I want you to know up front that it will be more challenging. Most females are going to be living with their father, an uncle or another male relative until they are married. Because of this, women will rarely have accounts, such as utilities, placed in their name. Females are not going to be paying the electricity or water bill or buying property. If the female is married, this may increase the difficulty of finding the person even more. When women marry, they usually drop their maiden name (the second name). They will then retain their father’s last name but they will be addressed by the last name of their husband’s father. This is quite similar to how women change their names when they get married in the U.S.

If you do not know the city and state and do not know who she has married, then the chances of finding her are very slim but not impossible. You can still search for this person by locating her relatives. A point to keep in mind is that your success in finding someone depends on the information you have and where you will be using it.

Next week . . . Getting the correct spelling.

What are the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report and we'll tell you!

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Connecting With Someone In Mexico - Sorting Through Your Information

2007-10-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

If you've been following these blog posts (and I hope you have), you now know what to do and what you need to find someone living in Mexico.

You may be wondering how to sort through the information that you have. You may have found some great information but you just do not know what to do with it. We’ll start by putting the information into context. You may be able to move ahead with the information you presently have or you may need to organize your information and fill in the gaps.

Let’s say that you talked to all of the relatives that you can think of and you came across a last name. Maybe you do not have the second last name, but you know the city and state where they were born. Here’s how to begin.

There are thirty one states in Mexico. Just as in the United States, or any other country, there are little towns and villages and then there are big cities. If you have someone you believe is living in Mexico City and you only have one surname and it is Martinez, your chances of finding this person are remote to impossible. Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world. Martinez is the fourth most popular Spanish name. There are thousands of people in Mexico City with the surname of Martinez. It would be virtually impossible to find someone with just the surname Martinez. That is why it is so important to have both last names.

On the other hand, if you have only one surname but it’s a name such as Alvarado and they are living in a small town, you could have success in finding them without having more information. Alvarado is not nearly as popular a name as Martinez. If you have a small town, it’s often true that anyone with the same last name is probably a relative. Many times I have located people with the same surname that turned out to be a relative of who I was looking for. So even if you don’t have a complete name, if the person is living in a small town or rural area, you may be able to use your information right now to find this person.

Next week . . . what if the person is a female?

There are five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report and find out what those challenges are.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Press Release: Unique Web Site Connects Hispanics to Family in Mexico

2007-10-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Richard Villasana
Tel: (619) 379-7862
E-mail: rvillasana@FindingRelativesInMexico.com
Website: http://www.FindingRelativesInMexico.com

Unique Web Site Connects Hispanics to Family in Mexico

CHULA VISTA, CA (October 2007) – Where there once was despair and disappointment, there is now help and hope thanks to a unique new Web site specially created to reunite families and friends from north and south of the Border. The Web site, www.FindRelativesInMexico.com is the labor of love of nationally recognized Hispanic businessman Richard Villasana who developed the site because he saw that many Hispanic families had become separated from their families in Mexico. Hispanics were abandoned with no experienced organization able to locate their families in Mexico.

Many foster agencies and child services from around the country have contacted Villasana as well as attorneys for child custody cases when the case involves a parent living in Mexico. His company has helped over 3,000 clients find mothers, birth fathers and other relatives in Mexico.

Villasana is a professional speaker whose recent presentation on Mexico Family History helped kick off Hispanic Heritage Month in Austin, Texas and was a guest speaker at the Latino Film Festival earlier this year in San Diego.

With Hispanic Heritage Month already halfway through (September 16 - October 15), Villasana has seen an increase in web hits of over 300% from people in Mexico coming to his new site. The site is so popular with Hispanic speaking people that Villasana will be launching a Spanish version of the site soon.

One customer claimed, "I was speechless. I dialed one of the numbers you gave me and I was talking to my son's grandmother. I've been looking for his Mexican relatives for three to four years."

Villasana has also written a book titled, The Insider's Guide to Doing Business in Mexico, and several articles including his most recent in CRM Magazine about the U.S. Hispanic market. He has also lectured in the U.S. and Mexico on international marketing and is President of The Mexico Guru. The company provides training and seminars to businesses wanting to increase sales and profits to Mexico.

Villasana is available for interviews and can be reached at (619) 379-7862; or email: rvillasana@FindRelativesInMexico.com; Web site : http://www.FindRelativesInMexico.com

Finding Someone In Mexico - A Word About Mexico Phone Numbers

2007-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have more information than they think they do. You may only have a phone number. I can’t tell you the amount of people who had a phone number and contacted me because the number no longer worked. I was able to help these people by explaining what may have happened to cause the phone number to no longer function.

In late 2001 Mexico changed their entire telephone system to a more standard format much like telephone numbers in the U.S. or most of Europe. All but three cities now have a three-digit area code and a seven digit telephone number. Because of their large populations, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterey now have a unique two digit area code.

So if you have a number for a relative or friend who is living in one of these three cities and that number has seven digits, you will now need the ten digit number. What the Mexican telephone company did is add a “5” to the beginning of the old seven digit numbers. If your number was previously 223-4455, it is now 5223-4455. Let’s put this together. The Mexico country code is 52, the city code for Mexico City is 55. Your number would look like this: 52 (country code) 55 (Mexico City code) 5223-4455 (new eight digit number) or 52-55-5223-4455.

The same process was applied to Guadalajara and Monterey. Guadalajara numbers were transformed to 33 (city code) and another “3” was added to the beginning of the old seven-digit numbers. For Monterrey, numbers were transformed to 81 (city code) and another “8” was added to the beginning of the old seven-digit numbers.

What is relevant for you right now is to organize your notes and focus on finding the two key pieces of information you want to have to ensure you have the best chance of finding the person you are looking for in Mexico. You want to discover the complete name of the person and the city and state where they were living and may still be living. You may have to go back to people you already talked to. Remember that now you know what information you want to discover so you can move to the next step.

Do you know there are five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

How Do I Reconnect With Someone In Mexico?

2007-09-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

By now you should be armed with plenty of information about the person you are looking for and you are now ready to hit the ground running. This post will show you what to do so you will be able to move forward faster in your search. You could, realistically, be talking to that person within the next couple of weeks.

How To Get Started Finding Someone in Mexico

Start by organizing your work. A great way to stay organized is to take notes while you are talking to people about the person you are looking for. Write down everything you’ve heard because you do not know where this information could lead you. You want to be able to remember it later.

Get organized by focusing on finding the two key pieces of information that were presented in Challenge #2. Think outside the box. Think like a detective. Where did this person go? Retrace their steps. That is how you are going to find the information you need. What else could you use to get started?

Key information on family genealogy can be found in birth records, marriage certificates, and death certificates. If you have someone’s birth certificate, you then have their complete name. You also have the complete name of the person’s parents. You have the city and state where this person was born. This is a great place to start. If you know nothing about this person, you can start your research right there. We get emails all the time from people saying that all they have is a birth certificate. They have no idea how close they are to finding the person they are looking for because they do have that birth certificate.

Marriage licenses work the same way. These will give you information on people who were witnesses including the name of the church and the presiding priest or minister.

How about a death certificate? Obviously not the death certificate of the person you are trying to find, because your focus is on people who are currently alive and living in Mexico, but if you have a death certificate of one of their parents you also now know the city and the state. It is a great starting point and an incredible source of data for doing family genealogy.

Look at documents that you might have gathered in your genealogy research. Look at old post cards. Look at letters. Where are these written from? All of those are possible sources of genealogy information that you can use to find this person.

Learn the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico. Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - Get the City and State

2007-09-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Another key piece of information that you need when trying to find someone living in Mexico is to have the city and the state of where they are or where they were living.

Finding out where they did live can be helpful if you do not know where they are living right now. Family genealogist know that having the city and state are two critical pieces of information needed to locate someone and learn more about them. Family genealogy research also includes looking at where a people is from to help identify other relatives who may still be living in the same city.

If someone has lived in Guadalajara and they came to the United States for, say, ten years, there is a very good possibility they may be going back to Guadalajara at some point. Also finding where they did live is very helpful because their family and friends may still be there.

Why do you need to know the city and state? If you tried to go to an Internet search engine site, maybe one that specialized in genealogy research and put in only a person’s name without the city and state you are not going to get any information. Why? Even in the United States you have to tell the site where this person is living. If you do not have that basic information, you are not going to get an answer. It is virtually impossible to locate a person if you do not have the city and the state where they are living.

Next week, we'll organize all our findings.

Do you know there are five top items you must have to find someone living in Mexico? Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Expert on 1st 100 years of Mexico Family History

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - Through Story Telling

2007-09-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Story telling is an incredible tool to get people to tell you the information you want. It will also give you an idea of who this person was and what they were doing and may lead you to other ideas.

A great way to get information is to get a person to tell you stories using questions like, “So how did you and my father meet?” or “What did he/she like to do during the weekends?” Engaging the people that you talk to in your family and circle of friends in stories is a great way to jog their memory. Sometimes with story telling they remember something they may have otherwise forgotten.

Here is a key. Talk to every relative you have. There is always someone in every family who knows a little bit about everyone. And it does not matter if they are your third cousin or they are four times removed. They could be an ex-husband, an ex-uncle. It does not matter. You would be amazed at how much information other people in the family have about your side of the family. You may think that your immediate family should know everything about the family, but that is not always true. I urge you to go talk to every possible relative.

Maybe they talked to someone from another group, such as a priest or teacher. Go after as many leads as you can. You are going to have to interview several people to get all the facts.

Ths and next weeks post are two key pieces of information that will go far in helping with your search.

Find out what the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico. Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found!

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

#3 Want to find family in Mexico? What you need to get started

2007-09-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

A challenge that people experience in trying to find someone living in Mexico is just not having enough information or not knowing where to get started gathering information. This post will give you the fundamentals you will need to gather information to find people in Mexico.

Where to Get the Information You Need To Find Family in Mexico

You have probably already done a lot of Mexico genealogy research. I’m sure you have tried many ways to find the information you need to find someone in Mexico, from searching the Internet to speaking to friends and family. You may have been searching online for hours and hours. You may have talked to relatives or friends of the person you are searching for, but you just have not gotten the information you need and are not able to find this person living in Mexico.

Let’s start with the fundamentals of what information you should be searching for.

Your first goal should be to have the complete name of the person you are looking for. Let’s use the name Juan Carlos Garcia Gonzalez as an example.

If you have a friend who has a name like Juan Carlos, that is his name. In English we might separate out two names. Someone named Billy Bob may also be called Bob or Billy. However, in Mexico Juan Carlos is this person’s name. It’s not correct to call him Juan or to him Carlos. His name is Juan Carlos. Be aware of this because having the complete and full name is very important in your search and will help you to more quickly locate this person.

The complete name is not only their first name(s) but also both of their last names. In Spanish a person has two last names. The first last name in Spanish is the name of the father (for example: Garcia). Gonzalez is the second last name and this is the equivalent of our mother’s maiden name. By putting the two together and you have a complete name. Doing Mexico genealogy can often be easier because the two last names minimize the chance of accidentally researching someone else's family lineage.

You can also discover this information by talking to every relative this person has. Ask questions such as where did this person come from. Ask how they ended up in the United States. Ask where they went to school or where they vacationed as they were growing up. Different questions can help trigger memories and details that will help you find the information and the person you are looking for.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Finding Someone In Mexico - Does the Internet Work?

2007-08-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

So you've searched the Internet and can't find the person you are looking for in Mexico. The problem with trying to find someone in Mexico by using the Internet is that very little of the information on individuals who are living in Mexico is digitized. Herein lays the problem. The information is not on the Internet. If you did an Internet search for Mexico, you would receive a lot of results, but a closer look at the results reveals that most of them have to do with New Mexico or Mexico, Missouri. The search results are not focused on the Country of Mexico but more on searching for people that live in the United States.

Marie Daly, director of the Research Library at the New England Historic Genealogical Society is quoted in Margaret Moen's How to be a Self-Sufficient Researcher as saying, “I’d say perhaps only 10 percent of the genealogical information out there is on the Web. But when people do genealogy research, they think that’s 100 percent, and they make a big error that way. Not everything is on the Web. And some of the things that are on the Web are erroneous.”

Even though you may spend a lot of time looking for this information, it may be in the wrong direction. If you have spent over an hour searching the Internet, stop. Why would I say this? Because most people after an hour have tapped their knowledge of how to search online. There is a science to searching online. After an hour most people have used up all of their resources. They have used up all of their knowledge on how to look for information. At that point most people are pretty much just surfing around, looking and hoping to find new information.

People may feel that if they keep searching, they will find that one site that has the information they are looking for. There is no one magic web site to help you locate someone living in Mexico. It is just not out there and this includes family genealogy sites.

If you are frustrated because you have spent a lot of time looking for someone, have tried free genealogy sites and nothing you have done has worked, you are finally in the right place. In the next few blogs, I am going to share with you information on what to do and how to do it. So don’t give up.

Take the first step to uncovering the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico. Subscribe to get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - The #1 Challenge

2007-08-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Are you frustrated because you have spent too much time looking for someone in Mexico and nothing you have done works? You’re not alone. Hours of research only ending in frustration is the #1 challenge when trying to find someone living in Mexico or trying to start your Mexico family genealogy research.

Breaking through the #1 Frustration Challenge

One of the most interesting challenges that I have come across in my research is frustration. People may feel as though there may be no hope in finding the person they are looking for. Maybe they are frustrated because they don’t know or speak the Spanish language. This can be especially upsetting for people who are doing their Mexican family genealogy and researching to find a mother or father living in Mexico.

Some of our clients have said their biggest problem is they do not speak Spanish or have never been to Mexico and have no idea where to start looking. Some tell us they have names and some information, but have not had any luck at all finding anybody. They feel lost and have given up on their Mexico family genealogy research. They are possibly frustrated because they may have spent hours on the Internet and have come up with nothing. This includes free family genealogy web sites.

Let’s talk about that for a minute. There's a good reason why a person doing family genealogy research for someone in Mexico has not found any information. Let’s start with the Internet. For most people, the Internet is an easy way to find people. Let’s face it, if you are trying to find someone in the United States, all you need to do is put in their name, city, state, and maybe their zip code.

There are many online search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or the Internet White Pages. If someone has any kind of web presence such as: owning a web site; have published articles; been in a newspaper; or even just have a residential listing that is online, they can easily be found through an online search just by plugging their information into a search engine. There is a lot of information on people who are living in the United States and there are many ways to look for them and it is very easy to find them--if they are living in the United States.

Next week . . . Does the Internet work for finding people living in Mexico?

We'll share with you the top five challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico? Subscribe now and get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. to "Nicknames Can Hurt You" article

2007-08-17T01:10:00.001-07:00

I was reading through my blogs and this article caught my attention. With the large number of people contacting my company and using our information, we are always picking up better ideas to help people just like you.

First I recommend you read the article "Nicknames Can Hurt You". At one point I commented against using nicknames. Well, I'm going to change my position a little. People who are posting family information, especially to family genealogy web sites, should be listing the formal name of the person they are looking for. But they may also want to add a side note and mention that they believe the person had a nickname. I have noticed on a few records that people back in the late 1800s and early 1900s did sometimes list their nickname. One name might read Jose "Nacho" Rodriguez.

Patricia Diane Godinez, a 30 year veteran of Hispanic family genealogy research at the Bonita Family History Center, commented that the first 100 years of research can be the hardest. She was referring to those who want to start their family genealogy but because of divorce or other reasons have lost contact with their relatives in Mexico. For these people, any one piece of information could hold the key to their making contact with their Mexican relatives or friends.

I really started thinking about this when my wife was talking about some friends the other day. I was half listening as a husband might do from time to time but then she mentioned this one person by their nickname. I'm not even sure what his formal name is. I only know him as "Nacho". And if you mention "Nacho" around town, given the crowd, everyone knows who "Nacho" is.

So even though I tell clients to list formal names when posting on family genealogy web sites, I also now encourage people to make a comment and list the nickname. It's always possible that someone may have a record referring to a relative with the same nickname. If you're doing family genealogy research, you will want to verify all of this information with documents. But use all that you have, and you may find that person sooner than you expected.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert
Family & Friends Found

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Finding Someone In Mexico - Are Genealogy Sites The Right Place to Look?

2007-08-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Who is this person you are trying to find? Could they be a relative or a parent? Possibly a friend or maybe someone they met on vacation? You may be looking for this person because you want to learn about your Mexico family history or maybe because you are into family genealogy. You may be searching for medical reasons. We are hearing more and more how our relatives can affect us physically, how our genetics affect us. Many people now want to know all about their family’s health history so they will know what diseases or medical problems they may face as they get older or so that they can provide this family history to their doctor. Family medical history is rapidly becoming an important reason for people wanting to learn about their relatives.

Most people looking for someone in another country or looking for someone in their family think about genealogy first. Genealogy is a study of our family and our relatives. But here is the catch; most of the time genealogy deals with people who are deceased such as our great grandparents or people who came to the country hundreds of years ago.

Here is a quick example. Let’s say someone wants to do genealogy research on their Mexican Family History, but they do not know who their father, uncle, or current relatives are. It could be very challenging to discover more about their family history until they find out more about their living relatives.

If someone has been looking at genealogy sites, they are probably looking in the wrong place. Genealogy sites are there mainly with information to help users find people who are deceased. For privacy reasons, the majority of genealogy societies worldwide are prohibited from putting personal information online until that person has been deceased at least 71 years. If someone is trying to find a person who is living, then genealogy sites might help but only if they know who their great-great-grandparents were. Then the person has to work forward from there.

In most cases, this is not what people are looking for. What they want to do is find someone who is alive today and living in Mexico. They want or need to find their living relative. They may want to find a friend. This is the point where people want and need help finding someone living in Mexico.

Next week . . . overcoming the frustrations of finding someone living in Mexico.

We've uncovered the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico. Get Our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

How To Get Started Finding Someone In Mexico

2007-08-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for or want to find someone who is living in Mexico? Do you need help getting started on the right path for your Mexico family genealogy research? Do you want to find that person as soon as possible? This, and the next several blogs, will discuss the challenges and solutions for finding someone in Mexico.

How to Get Started Finding Someone Living in Mexico

First, we'll discuss the five biggest challenges people face when trying to locate someone in Mexico or beginning their Mexico family genealogy research. These five key challenges are what hold people back from successfully being able to find someone. The good news is, throughout these next blog posts, we will break down these challenges and explain the solutions to finding someone in Mexico. These blogs will get you to the door so you are ready to go through to achieve your desire: finding someone in Mexico. We will also save you time, frustration, anguish and confusion.

The five biggest challenges are:

1) Frustration in Searching
2) Having No Information
3) How to Get Started
4) Sorting Through the Information
5) Knowing Where to Go Next

Next week, we will focus on and identify two key goals to finding someone in Mexico. For some people starting their Mexico family genealogy, they may first have to find relatives who are living in Mexico. When you have the two key pieces of information, you will be ready to find the individual you are looking for.

Find out more about the five top challenges stopping people from finding someone living in Mexico. Your first step is to subscribe now and get our FREE Special Report.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Family & Friends Found

Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Providing the right information for family genealogy research

2007-06-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

Many emails asking for help have a lot of information showing that the person has clearly spent quality time researching to find someone presently living in Mexico. Often people are trying to get their Mexico family genealogy started and need to find a living relative. Over the next few blogs I'm going to talk about a few pieces of information that are frequently left out. I mention this because if you are going to several sources asking for assistance such as family genealogy web sites, you want to provide as much helpful information as possible.

One of the errors people make is not providing the name of the person they are looking for. I receive emails where the person says "I'm looking for someone." Someone is a hard person to find. It works much better if people will provide the person's full name up front. If there's an issue of trust, then don't approach strangers for assistance. I think, however, that some people are trying to be polite or not pushy so they don't include the person's complete name.

If you're going to email someone, put the vital information out there. If you are posting a message especially on a family genealogy web site, again put the information out there. You have no idea who might come across that web page. It could be another family member or someone who happens to have the one vital clue you need to find the person you are looking for.

So don't hold back. You don't have to tell every detail of the person's life but make sure you include the really important information, their complete name, city and state where you think they are or were living in Mexico.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Searching all of Mexico for someone

2007-04-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

I sometimes receive email with the simple request to find someone "in Mexico". The blunt answer to this request is, "It's not going to happen." In the U.S. we have the luxury of being able to access numerous telephone web sites, enter a last name of someone we want to find and get a list of everyone with that last name living in the U.S. No, actually that's not true either. In fact, most web sites, including family genealogy web sites, require a city and state before they will function and produce any results.

This same technology applies to searching internationally including searching for someone in Mexico. And Mexico is not a small country with a few inhabitants where you can find just one book or directory containing all residential listings. Mexico has a population of over 107,000,000 people. It is three times the size of Texas or more than the size of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas combined. It's a big place with lots of people.

So when someone asks to find the Garcia family in Mexico, they are making a wish that will go unfulfilled. This is where family genealogy research is needed to find clues and facts to narrow the search to a point where it's possible or probable that the person or persons can be located.

This blog and the ezine you can subscribe to (see below) focus exclusively on helping you find someone who is living in Mexico. This information is critical to those who want to do their Mexico family genealogy but first have to reconnect with a relative presently living in Mexico. You have to do your part, though, and provide facts such as the city and state where you want to search.

Don't give up. If your Mexico family genealogy research has stalled, hang in there. There are always new ideas and methods being created to increase the possibility of finding someone. However, in almost all cases, you're going to have to specify an area smaller than an entire country.

Good luck.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Mexico family genealogy come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Starting Your Mexico Genealogy Search - Nicknames Can Hurt You

2007-04-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

People send me the name of someone they are trying to find in Mexico. Sometimes I find the name is actually a nickname. Something to keep in mind is that with databases and listings, names are always in a formal format. Nicknames are not used. If you use a nickname, this decreases tremendously your chances of receiving any helpful feedback.

If you are doing a family genealogy search, you don't want to be using nicknames. It's sometimes confusing enough with misspelling on important documents such as birth and death certificates. You don't want to confuse people who could possibly help you with your family genealogy search by using nicknames instead of the person's proper name.

This also applies to cities. Sometimes people will ask for help, but they will reference the name the locals have for a city. It's very difficult to locate a city using a name known mostly to the indigenous people of a Mexican village.

When trying to find someone whether in the U.S., Mexico or abroad, always use the person's and the city's formal name. This will help ensure you get the help you are looking for.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to leave your comments on Facebook. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search. Click the LIKE button above if this article was helpful.

Want to find family in Mexico? Don't exclude potential relatives

2007-03-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

A client had asked me to locate a few relatives for their Mexico genealogy search. The last name was Hernandez Garcia. After I send the client the results, they asked why I would include listings of people with the last names Hernandez Garcia. The client felt they had provided all the names of the immediate family members so there was no reason to identify anyone else with the same last names.

In his book, "Finding Your History Roots", Dr. George Ryskamp, a family genealogy expert, explains that one of the key principals to locating someone is to work on family groups. When looking for someone in Mexico or doing a Mexico genealogy search, you also want to identify those people who have the greatest probability of being a relative of the person you want to find. You have no way of knowing if such an individual who could be a second cousin or distant relative has the information you want unless you add them to your list and contact them.

Anyone who is in the same city and has the same last names is a probable relative. Excluding someone from your search simply because you feel you have the entire list assumes your list is complete. Most of us have heard the problem with assumptions. Even if the person is in a neighboring city, if they had the same last names, I would definitely include them in my search to find someone in Mexico.

When you are trying to find family in Mexico, be sure to include anyone who has the same last names as the person you want to find. This individual is a quality candidate and a potential relative and should definitely be part of your search. Don't overlook any possible leads. That could be the person holding the key to your Mexico genealogy search.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Was this helpful? Then click the LIKE button and share this. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you tell us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

Include the facts in your story

2007-02-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

I often receive emails with stories of how someone met a friend in Mexico. The stories are excellent. Some stories are from visitors as far away as New Zealand telling of meeting a Mexican student and their adventures together as they crossed Mexico. Others are about how the person stayed with a family and the fabulous hospitality they enjoyed while in Mexico.

These stories are incredible and should be recorded so others will get a sense of what was happening in the person's life when they were in Mexico. These are especially useful when doing family genealogy research.

However, when you are trying to find someone in Mexico, the best approach is to stay with the facts. They may be dry and impersonal, but you want to give people facts they can work with. Knowing the person's complete name, city and state is the essential information you want to provide so you can get the best help possible. This includes free family genealogy web sites.

Knowing how you met someone or how funny they were makes for great reading, and I enjoy these stories because they are written with so much heart and feeling. And yet it's the most critical information that is often overlooked such as date of birth or the names of the parents.

So keep sending those stories and also remember to include the person's complete name, city and state. Do this and you may find your friend or relative faster than you might imagine.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Information you should provide when asking for help

2007-01-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

I just saw a message on a genealogy site where someone was asking for information on their relatives in Mexico. The girl provided the first names and both the last names of her relatives. The critical piece of information that was missing was the name of the city and state where her relatives are supposed to have lived.

Whenever you send an email or leave a message on a forum asking for help to find someone in Mexico, you always want to provide the city and state. This will narrow down any searches tremendously.

If you have the name of a city and state for the person you are searching, but you have questions, check my recent blogs on Knowing the Mexican States. If you still have questions, send me an email.

Good luck on your search.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

#3 Misspellings can hurt your search to find a person in Mexico

2007-01-18T03:44:00.000-08:00

One of the most common problems I see from people wanting to find a person in Mexico, even family, are misspelled names. It only takes one wrong letter to bring your search to a halt.

The most commonly misspelled words are the names of Mexican cities. Even if you speak Spanish, how can you know if you have the correct spelling? Here is a great tip. Go to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Type in the city name you have into their search field and wait for the results. If the search engine doesn't recognize the city name, it will usually offer you another spelling for the word.

In the case of Yahoo, I did a search for Hermosillo misspelling it as hermasilo. Yahoo came back asking, "Did you mean: Hermosillo?" with the correct spelling.

Give this a try and see if this helps get your search moving forward again. It's possible for you to find someone in Mexico, but you want to check that you are working with the right spelling of a person's last names, the city and state. If you are doing Mexico genealogy, you really want to pay attention to the spelling of names; otherwise, you could end up searching in the wrong city for your ancestors.

Good luck on your search. Hasta pronto!

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Knowing the Mexican states #4

2007-01-07T01:33:00.000-08:00

OK. I promise this is the last word on the subject of Mexican states...at least for the next day or two. But seriously, I had two situations that truly reflect the confusion that exists with the names of cities and states.

The first was an inquiry I responded to. The girl wrote she was trying to find someone in Jilote, Veracruz. I explained there is no such city. There is a city named Jilotepec in Veracruz and recommended she check with the person who told her the city name was Jilote.

This exchange shows how one small item can stop you from moving forward and finding the person you are looking for or stop your family genealogy research. The girl wrote back she was aware Jilote is a slang term for Jilotepec. However, it's always best to use the proper city name if you're searching online or asking for help.

The other reason for comment is there can be cities in the same state where the difference in name is only one or two letters. I sometimes do a double take because I'll see two names that look exactly alike at first glance.

Another event occurred Saturday night that demonstrated so well the confusion in the U.S. on how to properly list a Mexican city and state. The program, 48 Hours Mystery, opened with a scene from a city in Mexico. The caption read, "Ajijic, Mexico". I just happened to be watching the show with a friend from Guadalajara who immediately said, "Hey, that's in Jalisco! There's no Ajijic, Mexico!!"

Guadalajara is in the state of Jalisco, and my friend knows the town, Ajijic. The proper form for the city is Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.

So if you are or have had challenges with the name of a city and state in Mexico, take heart. Not even CBS and 48 Hours seem to know how to properly list an address. They may claim creative license, but when you are trying to locate someone in Mexico or do your Mexico family genealogy, that creativity can slow you down or stop your search altogether. Now you know what to look for.

Good luck on your search.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Knowing the Mexican states #3

2007-01-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

Let me address another common misunderstanding about the names of Mexican states. Mexico is the name of the country. I may hear a "duh" but stay with me for a moment. One of the thirty-one states is also named Mexico. So how can you know the difference?

Most Mexican documents and addresses will use the form Edo. de Mexico meaning State of Mexico when referring to the state itself. You may also see the complete name, Estado de Mexico, and the less common state abbreviation, Edomex. If you were trying to find someone living in the city of Acambay in the State of Mexico, the proper form could be any of the following:

Acambay, Estado de Mexico
Acambay, Edo. de Mexico
Acambay, Edomex

I wish I could tell you this is the final word about Mexico and the State of Mexico, but it's not. Some Mexican publications such as Guia Roji's Mexican atlas and Mexico telephone books refer to Edo. de Mexico as simply Mexico.

Good luck in your search.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

PS. Please let me know how can I make this blog work better for you.

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

#2 Know the Mexican states to find family in Mexico

2007-01-05T03:15:00.000-08:00

From the numerous emails I receive, it's apparent there are general misunderstandings about the Mexican states, the capitals and what makes a proper address. It's important to know about the states if you want to find people in Mexico.

Most capital cities have the same name as the state. For instance, the capital of the state of Puebla is Puebla. This is properly written as Puebla, Puebla. (There are state abbreviations, but I'll save that for another time.)

So what does it mean if you have an address with Puebla, Mexico? That's a good question. An educated guess is the address is/should be Puebla, Puebla Mexico. But when it comes to finding someone in Mexico and especially if you are going to pay for specialized services or resources, you really want to be certain what the proper address is before you start spending your money.

If possible, ask the person who gave you the address to verify the information. Maybe they left out a vital piece of information such as giving you both the city and state name. In some cases, the person may not know there is a difference and was simply passing on the address as they received it.

This may appear to be a minor issue, but it's not. I just received an email asking for help. The city and state the person gave me is Puebla, Edo. de Mexico. There is no city named Puebla in Edo. de Mexico so it's very likely the correct city and state is Puebla, Puebla. If this person hadn't asked for expert advice, he may have continued searching for months thinking Puebla, Edo. de Mexico was a good address. It can be the small things that stop you from finding a person in Mexico.

If at all possible, you have to verify your information is correct. This is one of the reasons why finding family in Mexico, a mother, birth father may require the services of experts who know the ins and outs of addresses and so much more.

Good luck on your search.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

# 1 - To Find Family and Friend in Mexico, Know the Mexican states

2006-12-29T23:35:00.000-08:00

People often ask for help with an address from Mexico. One of the biggest challenges is knowing what the names mean. Is one the name of a city or a state? Magdalena Jalisco Autlan is an example someone sent our company.

One of the easiest ways to handle this is to first identify which is the state name. There are thirty-one states in Mexico. Mexico City is the capital of the country. One of the best resources is at www.FindRelativesInMexico.com. There you can check the list of state names.

Knowing the Mexican state is one piece of the puzzle as you put together the information you will need so you can find the person you are looking for in Mexico.

Check back often because we'll share more tips with you on how to find someone in Mexico.

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Leading expert and international authority on finding relatives living in Mexico

PS. Want to have revealing information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. The answer to the example above is both Magdalena and Autlan are the names of cities in the state of Jalisco.